22/05/2026
🇵🇭✨ NATIONAL HERITAGE MONTH 2026 ✨🇵🇭
📍 LAGUNDI FOLKDANCE
This month of MAY, let us celebrate our heritage and honor our roots by rediscovering our identity. 🏛️🌿
The Lagundi Folk Dance is a traditional dance that originated from the Municipality of Tigbauan, a humble town in the southern part of Iloilo.
According to local elders, the medicinal properties of the lagundi plant were discovered accidentally by fishermen. From this discovery, the dance was inspired and named after the plant “lagundi,” which is well known in the locality for its healing qualities. Lagundi is traditionally used as a remedy for cough, asthma, flu, stomachaches, rheumatism, arthritis, headaches, and other common ailments. 🌿
In earlier times, dancers performed the Lagundi Folk Dance around a potted lagundi plant as a form of gratitude and appreciation for its healing benefits.
Like many Philippine folk dances, the Lagundi Folk Dance reflects grace, charm, and cultural expression, portraying the elegance of country maidens and the courtship traditions shared with their barrio swains. 💃🕺
For the people of Tigbauan, this dance stands as a meaningful expression of cultural heritage—preserving local traditions, values, and identity through movement, music, and storytelling that continue to be passed on to future generations.
As we celebrate National Heritage Month 2026, may we continue to preserve and honor the stories that define our identity as Tigbauanons and Filipinos. ❤️💙💛