The town of San Nicolas in Ilocos Norte takes pride in its age-old earthenware industry, introduced centuries ago by Augustinian friars — the mendicant order that founded the settlement as an independent parish in 1596.

This tradition encompasses brickmaking, which provided the primary construction material for many of the town’s historic structures, as well as pottery, locally known as damili, one of its enduring handcrafted products.

Each year, during the last week of December, San Nicolas celebrates this heritage through the Damili Festival, which started in 2004. The festivities feature street dancing and a dance showdown performed to the rhythm of the song “Agdamdamili Kami” (We are Potters) and a dance inspired by the labor-intensive process of pot-making.

Part of this year’s celebration was the unveiling of Important Cultural Property (ICP) markers for the San Nicolas Elementary School building, the Spanish-era tribunal, and the municipal hall — structures all dating back to the Spanish colonial period.

These sites form part of the 2015 National Museum of the Philippines declarations that recognized the said edifices, along with the church complex, Valdes House, Via Crucis structures and the Nagrebcan archaeological site, as ICP.

The marker for Valdes House was unveiled in 2021 following the completion of its restoration and conversion into a museum, while the remaining markers are set to be unveiled soon.

Transmission

San Nicolas tourism officer Richie Cavinta said innovations introduced during this year’s celebration included an art contest and a San Nicolas history competition among candidates in the local beauty pageant — initiatives aimed at instilling deeper awareness of the town’s culture and heritage.

He added that local history and culture are integrated into the elementary school curriculum and highlighted in a student-guided museum housed inside a repurposed old water tank. These efforts earned San Nicolas a Presidential Citation for Heritage Education and Interpretation at the first Philippine Heritage Awards in 2018.

“That distinction is both an honor and a responsibility to sustain the transmission of tradition and local history to the people of San Nicolas,” Cavinta said.

He emphasized that active community participation in heritage promotion programs remains vital to safeguarding and sustaining the town’s history, culture and traditions.

Diversification

On the future of damili, mayor Ed Mar Vincent Bonoan said the local government aims to upgrade technology and diversify production toward stoneware.

To support this goal, potters Vicente and Rita Gudiño of Tahanan Pottery in Quezon City were invited to train local artisans in stoneware production using materials sourced from Ilocos Norte.

Originally conceptualized by former mayor Alfredo Valdez Jr., the initiative seeks to revitalize a pottery tradition that has seen a decline in practitioners.

“We will have new technology with quality at par with international standards to entice the youth to return to our original industry, which is pottery,” Bonoan said.

For Nayong Pilipino executive director Marygrace Ac-ac, who attended the event as a guest, damili represents “the soul of the town.”

“Kapag nagkakaisa, ang kultura ay hindi kailanman mawawala (When united, culture will never be lost),” she said.

For San Nicolas

As for the festival itself, the mayor stressed that the local government is committed to maximizing its potential for the town’s benefit.

“Government positions are temporary,” Bonoan said. “I am tapping everybody without political color — I don’t care if they are red, white, and blue, or whatever. This is for San Nicolas. Let’s do it for San Nicolas!”