May 15th of every year is the feast day of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of the farmers. Cavinti, being an agricultural town commemorates this day to in a unique way. Pahiyas is to Lucban as Pamitin is to Cavinti, the word coming from the Tagalog root word bitin, meaning to hang in English.

A day or two before the feast day, the house owners prepare suman, sweet rice mixed with coconut milk and salt or sugar, placed in young coconut leaves prepared in a tube-like way, or wrapped in banana leaves and then boiled. In addition to this, they prepare fruits and vegetables, rice stalks and kiping. These are the pamitin. An arangya, a chandelier-shaped structure is prepared where the pamitin will be hanged. It is how the pamitin are hanged or arranged in the arangya that the artistic talents of the owners will be put to a test because even if no competition is mentioned, the onlookers cannot refrain from comments on the eye-catching arrangements as they hang outside the windows of the houses.

The festival is a way for the town folks to share their blessings. The celebration begins at three o’clock in the afternoon. The statue of San Isidro Labrador goes on a procession around the town. As the image passes in front of a house, the suman and the other pamitin are thrown to the devotees in the procession, who in turn catch the falling items which have been dropped by the house owners. It is believed that the more suman, etc. that one catches, the more harvest for the next season is to be expected.

But it is sad to say that this significant celebration is vanishing in Cavinti. It has been observed that the number of houses with pamitin is decreasing year by year.