Paayos -- zanjera


BALIKAS ITA NGA ALDAW. (321) -- PAAYOS

paayos 1. a zanjera irrigation system ritual performed in the Ilocos and in some Ilocanized areas 2. a zanjera ritual of remembrance intended to assure the constant and abundant flow of water: the ritual consists of the pamisa, the offering of atang, and feasting 3. a ritual of remembrance for the dead founding members of the zanjera 4. the paayos ritual consists of the following: the leaders release a raft (made of four banana stalks held together by a rope) of atang to the wawa (mouth) of the canal; the leaders steady the raft; the pangulo then ducks into the water (for at least three times) for ritual cleansing; the pangulo comes out of the water and then releases the raft into the canal while reciting the invocation, ‘Paraayos, paraayos, paraayos!’ (‘For the waters to flow freely, for the waters to flow freely, for the waters to flow freely!’) 5. var. parayos, or paraayos 6. sin padanuman, palay-asan 7. etym. Ilk, para + ayos, ‘for the flow (of water)’

Source: A Solver Agcaoili, The Cultural Dictionary of the Ilokano People; other source: A Solver Agcaoili, Contemporary English-Ilokano Dictionary/Kontemporaneo a Diksionario nga Ilokano-Ingles.

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