Vignettes of All Souls day in Asingan

All Souls Day is one of the best holidays in Asingan in the 50s. Ben-Hur Soloria says:

 I miss the tupig, the baduya, maruya, bilo-bilo and all the starchy, greasy delicacies on All Souls' Day.  As a young boy, I always looked forward to this holiday.  The town comes to life, as if everybody is home to wake up the dead.  One of the things I loved doing was gathering sackfuls of rice husk from Henry Chua's family rice mill.  We would build a mound of husks and lit it up and cooked tupig in them.

To which I add:

I love listening to the pampantawag a sort of Christmas caroling during All Souls Day. A group of singers would visit selected houses to sing a ballad ( sometimes it take an hour or so ) of soldiers who died in battle or young kids who died in sickness, etc. The singers are the "souls" of the dead beings who come to visit the household once a year. Of course, you have to give them money so they can have a little party afterwards ( usually an arroz caldo party ) in one of the singers houses.

I also love collecting wax drippings from the candles, mold them into one ball and bringing the ball the next day to school to show it off in class.

Jehan Manuel Valin adds

"I remember those years I was in high school when I would meet up with my classmates in the cemetery.  After lighting up candles and saying prayers to our dead relatives we would stay for a while then round up the whole cemetery looking for more classmates and hang out somewhere (usually on top of one of those tomb unknown to us).  I have not done that for more than 12 years now and so many things and people have come and gone.......their memories I'll remember.  .......Jehan Valin"