Capiz province is one of the five provinces of Panay Island, western Visayas. It is endowed with vast natural resources from which most of its income has been derived. It has very rich fishing grounds and almost 25 percent of the fishpond areas, comprising the aquaculture industry of the region, is located in the province, particularly Roxas City, hence its moniker: “the seafood capital of the Philippines.” It also shares the accolade as the “Rice Granary” and “Sugarlandia of panay” with Iloilo province.
Nationwide, its has strategic importance being one of the identified “bread baskets” of the country. Capiz province is primarily drained by Panay River which emanates from Nacuron mountain range. The river flows in a northeasterly direction and is joined by its major tributaries – Badbaran, Mambusao and Maayon Rivers. Father downstream, at the paslang area, the river branches off in two: the lower Panay River and Pontevedra River.
During the spanish period, Capis shells were used for window panes on houses and convents. today, these shells are strung together to make chandeliers or glued together to make lampshades. shell chimes are strung together in two or three graduated tiers and sometimes painted.
“Capiznon” is derived from the word kapis, seashell used to make square panes for windows and the suffix “non” for people. The term refers to the culture, language, and people of Capiz province.
The visual arts and crafts; the traditional method of piña is called pili or sinuksuk. This floating weft technique accomplished after clothing weaving. a typical design is a cluster of five-petal flowers surrounding a butterfly. This is repeated in a series along the borders of the cloth.
Literary arts; the patugmahanon (riddle) is a word game played by adults and children at social occasions, to while away the time, to create camarederies among warring parties, or simple to entertain. It reveals the people’s values, institutions, traditions, customs, and humor which is sometimes risque.
The hurubaton is most revealing of the natural environment and material culture of capiznon. The strong odor of ginamos ( fermented small fish) is used as analogy for one’s foul secrets, as in the proverb.
The most popular type of narrative peotry is the kupusu/composo a ballad, the topics of which range from historical events to love affairs of some people and social conditions. On the other hand, thereare kumpusu that are fictional narratives with a didactic purpose. prose narratives consist of tales, fables, and legends explaining the oigin of place names, land features such as caves and forests, and other elements of nature such as root croops and animals.
