Casanayan

Philippines , Philippines

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Casanayan is a coastal barangay (village) located in the municipality of Pilar, in the province of Capiz on Panay Island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.

With a population of 3,043 people according to the 2020 Census, this sleepy seaside village sits at approximately 7.1 meters above sea level and is about 15-30 minutes by tricycle from the main highway entrances at Santa Fe and San Nicolas. The village features its own beach with fine gray sand along the coastline, offering visitors a Seaside Restaurant where they can enjoy beautiful sunsets, walk along the shore, swim, or rent motor boats (pumpboats) to explore the ocean.

Casanayan is blessed with its own elementary and secondary schools that serve children from nearby villages, and it has a parish church that celebrates the feast of its patron, Saint Vincent Ferrer, every April 5 with a week-long religious and social event. The village is famous for a unique local phenomenon involving the preserved body of Maria Basañes, a religious woman who died in 1829 (some sources say 1929) at age 47, whose body remained intact and well-preserved ten years after death and is now displayed in a small wooden case.