Piat Sambali Festival
June 23-July 02
Piat, Cagayan

Every year from June 23 to July 2, the Sambali festival of the Itawes town of Piat brings a spectacle of color and form, of movement and incantation, giving life to a centuries-old cultural tradition, which helped shape, the faith and fate of its people.

The Sambali festival has been revived in 1989 through the initiatives of the late Dr. Alfredo Rommel Reyes Sr. and former Mayor Ruben Casibang because of a firm belief that it would promote identity, unity, and harmony among the people of Piat. Since then, it has been institutionalized as a popular event in the municipality.

The festival commemorates the Christianization and unification of the Ytawits. The value of the celebration lies not only in the gathering of all the Twits of Peat to thank God, but above all, it is an occasion for them to see themselves as one people of God moving together towards one goal.

History says that when the Spaniards set foot in Caravan in the 16th century, they found out that the Twit towns particularly Tao, Faire, and Peat were inhabited by the Deadeyes and Menials, the aggressive Kalong sub-ethnic groups that originated from the nearby mountains of Kalinga-Apayao. The Spaniards tried to convert them but they vehemently resisted the Catholic faith, leading to war and bloodshed.

However, the Spaniards did not give up. In 1604, when the image of Our Lady of Peat originally known as Nuestra Señora del Santissimo Rosario was brought to the province by friars from Macao, numerous miracles took place, and the natives were gradually converted to Christianity. The Sambali festival therefore, is a weeklong celebration in honor of the Lady of Peat reliving her intercession in the conversion of aggressive tribes to the Catholic faith.

The word sambali in the Mallaweg dialect means "war" depicted through dance between the divided Utawits, Deadeyes, and the Twit converts. The dance starts with two native women called Ayayas, running and shouting to forewarn both camps of an imminent war. The new Catholics and the Deadeyes march to the battlefield armed with shields and spears. The Dadaya warriors are clad in predominantly red strings while the Twit converts in white camisas and pants. The fight begins and the warriors dance to the ethnic drum and gong beatings. The fight ends with the Christians as victors, which symbolizes the reign of Christianity over pagan beliefs.

The highlight of the festival is the grand Sambali parade where the war dance is performed in the streets of the town.