Kinabayo Festival

Kinabayo is an annual observance of Dapitan  City’s Fiesta in honor of Saint James “the Greater and the Moor Slayer”.  Held every July, Sinug and Kinabayo have become a festivity. Sinug’ is purely veneration using San Francisco Leaves raised high, dancing through the rhythm of the gong or beating of drums as the throng of devotees brings the saint’s image to his chapel. On the other hand, Kinabayo is a unique dramatization of the triumph of the Catholic faith over Mohammedanism believed to have happened through the intercession of the saint in view of his apparition during the battles of Clavijo and Covadonga and the appearance of the Lady of the Pilar.  Modernity has added more color to the festival with the allegorical dance drama presentation of the two events.