Pangangaluluwa (literally 'souling') is aTagalog tradition observed annually on October 31 duringAll Hallows' Eve.
The practice ofpangangaluluwa isfolk tradition where people visit houses at night to sing songs related toAll Saints' Day andAll Souls' Day to solicit for gifts. The practice is more common in the rural areas and is often done by children[1] or teenagers.[2]
According to theNational Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the practice is usually done on October 31, the day before the "Day of the Dead" (Araw ng mga Patay), also known asAll Saints' Day. As per tradition, participants ofpangangaluluwa solicit people in front of their houses similar to what is done inharana andkaroling and sings songs pretending to be lost souls inpurgatory. Visited homes are expected to givekakanin or something else which the "lost souls" could bring back to the world of the dead.[2]
The NCCA also describes a superstition associated withpangangaluluwa. According to tradition, the door which connects the world of the living and dead opens during All Saints Day which causes the souls who died on November 1 to return to the world of the living.Kakanin or various sticky rice cakes as well as food products made fromsweet potato andpurple yam is usually prepared as a tribute to the souls who are said to be hungry for food and attention.[2]
The NCCA has cited pangangaluluwa as one of the evidence of Filipino belief in theafterlife as well as the existence of relations between the living and the souls of the dead.[2]
InPangasinan, the observance is calledpanagkamarerwa, which came fromkamarerwa which means soul in thePangasinan language.[3]
In the town ofSariaya,Quezon,pangangaluluwa is often observed from October 27 to 28. It was usually held on November 1 after families have returned to their houses from their cemetery visits, according to an account of a resident senior citizen born in 1920. A dying tradition in the town, it was revived by the local tourism council in 2005 as an annual fundraising for the local government's belen festival in December and the development of the local tourism in general. The modern practice ofpangangaluluwa in Sariaya town involves children dressing in scary costumes similar to the Western practice oftrick-or-treating.[1]
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