LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Blessed with a bountiful harvest and good weather, the sound of gongs reverberated as 20 native pigs were simultaneously butchered in a traditional owik for the grand canao of the Benguet Adivay 2019.

"There were no crops destroyed, we have good harvest, we have abundant vegetables and our roads were not destroyed. We consider it as abundant blessing of our lord," said Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas, adding the canao ritual gathers people of Benguet from the different towns of the province to be one to express gratitude for the blessings the province received this year.

The "owik" is local ritual of butchering pigs, believing the louder the screams of the pigs, the greater the blessings to be received.

The celebration on Saturday morning, November 23, started with a civic parade from the Benguet capitol down to Buyagan road going toward Benguet Sports Complex, with floats of every town bedecked with agricultural crops and flowers.

At the Benguet Sports Complex, representatives from each Benguet town simultaneously catch their share of live pig during the 119th founding anniversary with the theme: "For a Healthier Benguet."

Adivay, an Ibaloi term, refers to the "coming together" of every municipality. The celebration gathers all 13 towns of the province with focus on the products and culture of every town.

Guest speaker Brigadier General Israel Ephraim Dickson, of Police Regional Office Cordillera, said the celebration is another milestone for the province celebrating the day when it obtained its identity.

"Grand Canao has gathered each of us, regardless of who we are, for us to be one in expressing our gratitude and graces for the abundant blessings this province received. The offerings and the sound created by the synchronized and melodic playing of gongs symbolize how thankful we are for the wellness and all the triumphs that we have gained," Dickson said.

"Our forefathers have envisioned Benguet to be a place of progress and to be the heart of various cultures from different places here and outside Cordillera while preserving its own cultural identity," he added.