Tumba: The Forgotten All Souls’ Tradition of Cavite City

Long before Halloween costumes and plastic pumpkins reached the Philippines, the people of Cavite City had their own way of welcoming the spirits of the departed - a unique tradition known as Tumba.

The word Tumba is believed to be related to the English word tomb, meaning grave or nitso. The tradition took place a few hours after Todos Los Santos (All Saints’ Day), when families had returned home from perya. By midnight or shortly after, while most residents were fast asleep, groups of mischievous yet spirited young Caviteños would quietly enter the narrow alleys of their neighborhoods, looking for items to “borrow” for what would become a Tumba.

The first target was almost always a kariton (wooden cart). Into this cart, they would load whatever household items they could find outside flower pots (paso), chairs (silya), basins (batya), stools, tables, and even laundry still hanging on the line (sinampay). Entering houses was strictly off-limits, but that didn’t stop them from including clotheslines and garments, sometimes even underwears!

The borrowed objects were wheeled to a nearby street intersection, where they were arranged in a peculiar display. In Barrio San Jose, for instance, the youth would build these makeshift shrines at crossroads like Castelar–Plaridel, Inocencio–Plaridel, or Dra. Salamanca–Plaridel.

By dawn, these corners were transformed into whimsical public exhibits. Carts piled high with pots, chairs, basins, and hanging laundry fluttering in the early morning breeze. According to the elders, these were not just pranks but symbolic gestures. The rearranged household items represented the souls visiting homes at midnight. The Tumba served as a playful yet sacred reminder that the spirits had passed through the neighborhood.

Come morning, curious onlookers would gather around the Tumba sites, laughing and pointing out which household items belonged to whom. Gradually, the rightful owners would retrieve their things all except, of course, the underwears, which were left untouched and unclaimed. It was a scene of humor, mischief, and community bonding, wrapped in the spirit of remembrance.

This lighthearted ritual reflected a deep cultural belief: that the dead return to visit the living during All Souls’ Day and that the living, in turn, acknowledged their presence through a blend of faith and fun. The Tumba, in its own way, bridged the worlds of the living and the departed, turning fear into laughter and solemnity into creativity.

Sadly, by the 1970s, the tradition began to fade. With the formal establishment of Barangays and the presence of barangay tanods (village watchmen) patrolling the streets at dawn, young people could no longer freely carry out their midnight adventures. The Tumba was gradually replaced by the imported practice of Halloween - costumes, parties, and store-bought decorations taking the place of neighborhood pranks and communal folklore.

Today, few Caviteños remember the Tumba. But for those who lived through it, it remains a cherished memory - a time when the city’s youth celebrated All Souls’ Day not with fear, but with laughter, friendship, and faith.

So if you’ve never heard of the Tumba, ask your parents or grandparents. They might recall those nights when flower pots, carts, and chairs mysteriously gathered at the street corners playful tributes to the souls that once walked among the living.

Because sometimes, remembering the ways we used to honor our dead reminds us of who we truly are - a people who found light, humor, and community even in the presence of the departed.

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