TODAY IS THURSDAY and it’s market day in Jaro. In an alleged ancient Ilonggo-Bisayan calendar*, Thursday is called Baylobaylo (barter) because it’s the usual trading day. Perhaps, the age-old tradition of trading during Thursdays has been carried down in time until the Jaro Thursday Market was established.

The Jaro Thursday Market, oftentimes called “Juevesan” (Jueves is Spanish for Thursday) is the most popular market in Iloilo. It is here where people from outside of the city go to buy and sell their produce. The market has been famous since the early 19th century and has retained its popularity not only in Iloilo City but the whole Western Visayas.

During the Spanish regime and when the Dungon Creek was still navigable, trading boats dock at a port adjacent to the Jaro Thursday Market, transporting goods to and from neighboring ports.

Writing in 1857, British vice consul Nicholas Loney described the Juevesan as the most popular market and had a festive atmosphere. He added: “People from the town of Iloilo and from all over the province flocked to the place to sell their products and to buy what the market offered. The goods which were bought at the weekly market were mainly ferried through the Iloilo River and subsequently offered for sale in the towns of Iloilo, Molo, Oton, and other places.”

In 1933, the Jaro Thursday Market registered an income of P27,841.47, the highest among the markets in the province during that time, according to the 1937 Panay Directory and Souvenir Book by Manuel David and Ramon Campos, published by Ramon Roces Publications, Inc. Lapaz and Arevalo markets only earned P17,047.26 and P2,715.81, respectively, in the same year.

The photo above, titled “Jaro Market: Hemp for sale” was taken between 1907 and 1916, and now form part of the University of Wisconsin’s Philippine Image Collection, American Expatriate Album, Southeast Asian Images and Texts Project.

For more information about the photo, please contact:
Dr. Alfred W. McCoy
at: 207 Ingraham
1155 Observatory Dr.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: (608) 263-1755, Fax: (608) 263-3735
or at awmcoy@facstaff.wisc.edu

 * Days of the week based on an alleged
ancient Ilonggo-Bisayan calendar:

Tigburukad - Monday
Dumason - Tuesday
Dukotdukot – Wednesday
Baylobaylo - Thursday
Danghos - Friday
Hinguthingot - Saturday
Ligidligid - Sunday

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