Philippine Festivals

Kadayawan Festival

Posted on July 26th, 2007 by mvg.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Lumad celebration continues
By Carlo P. Mallo

EVEN after the Kadayawan festival has closed and its numerous visitors have gone home, the city’s homage to its indigenous roots is far from over.

With the thrust to allow people to appreciate and better understand the culture and heritage of the indigenous tribes of Southern Mindanao, the Institute for Indigenous Peoples Education (IIPE), together with the Kalinawa Art Foundation, launches Wednesday the Indigenous Peoples Visual Art Show. (more)

 

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Davao was at its best during the culmination of the Kadayawan sa Dabaw, with the beat and colors revving up during Saturday’s Inkak-indak sa Dalan and Sunday’s floral float parade. Shown in photo is the winner in the small float category, that of Sul Orchids. (Sun.Star Davao/Seth delos Reyes and Rene B. Lumawag)

 

 

 

 

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Parade props trigger 2 power line blasts
By Carlo P. Mallo

FESTIVAL props tripped off power lines causing revelers to scuttle near Rizal Park on Saturday and Sunday during the culmination highlights of Kadayawan sa Dabaw.

Aside from the two incidents, however, everything turned out fun complete with a cooperative weather that allowed the street dancing and the floral float parade under some clouds to temper the heat of the sun. (more)

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Tecarro grabs plum in Indak-indak tilt
By Grace L. Plata

COMPETITION first-timer Tecarro College Foundation (TCF) bagged the first prize among 22 groups in this year’s Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan taking home with them the P50,000 cash prize.

Placing second to TCF is Magallanes Elementary School, which in the recent years have been a constant placer in the competition.(more)

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Ledesma: A sterling success
By Jun Ledesma
Sunburst

FOR THE last four days it seems that all roads led to Davao City. I doff my hat to the planners, organizers, participants, the city officials, our policemen and the special military task force for a job well done. Now no one can question the ability of acting city mayor Inday Sara in overseeing the city’s most complex event.

Kadayawan is no doubt a test of how well-placed is our security matrix. Never have I seen as many people in so many places in the city that never slept. (more)

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Children from different schools participate in the Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan of the 22nd Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival celebration along San Pedro Street, Davao City Saturday. (Sun.Star Davao/Rene B. Lumawag)

 

 

 

 

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N. Cotabato goat breeders join Kadayawan festival

FARMERS from North Cotabato are showing off their best goats as they participate in the Kadayawan Festival display of Mindanao’s best agricultural products at the Davao Grounds in Ecoland, Matina, Davao City.

Led by Vice Governor Manny Piñol, one of the country’s top breeders of the famed Boer goats, the North Cotabato delegation also includes Vice Mayor Vicente Doletin of Midsayap who breeds Anglo-Nubians and Pigcawayan Councilor Greg Saljay Jr. who also breeds Anglo-Nubians and Boers. (more)

 

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Samra Nuh: Kadayawan’s Gem
By Grace L. Plata

A DAUGHTER of Arabic teachers, it’s not surprising for Samra Nuh to end up in the teaching profession.

By answering the judges’ questions in English, Bisaya, and K’lagan, there was no doubt that this K’lagan lass from Waan would best seven other candidates for this year’s Hiyas ng Kadayawan title.(more)

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Davao City Administrator Wendel E. Avisado and Deputy Mayor Gloria Uy of the Tagabawa tribe look on as Deputy Mayor Roel Arthur Ali of the Ata Tribe places the food on a plate after it was cooked on a bamboo trunk to be served to visitors who attended their Ata tribe presentation in line with the 22nd Kadayawan celebration at the Rizal Park Friday. (Sun.Star Davao/Seth delos Reyes)

 

 

 

 

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Pre-Kadayawan celebration at Villa de Mercedes

URAYA Land Development Inc. held its pre-Kadayawan open house for Villa de Mercedes project last August 11.

Over 200 guests were treated to an afternoon of festivities with dance performances by the Magallanes Dance Troupe. (more)

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Task Force Davao on red alert for culmination of Kadayawan fest
By Carlo P. Mallo

DESPITE the absence of a verified terror threat, Task Force Davao has been placed on red alert for the culmination of the Kadayawan Festivities over the weekend.

The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) also deployed about 1,400 personnel to man the streets of Davao. (more)

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Kadayawan top treats at Eden Nature Park

CELEBRATE the Kadayawan sa Dabaw with nature’s splendid abundance and have a grand fiesta time with your friends and family with Eden Nature Park and Resort’s Top Treats, the perfect way to indulge in this season of merriment.

Spend the long weekend with fun, pleasure and leisure at the resort’s cozy, mountain cottages and villas with these exciting packages: (more)

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A group of Kalagans performs a ritual at the Rizal Park on Monday as part of the daily tribal showcase of the Kadayawan sa Dabaw, while the womenfolk bring in cuisine for visitors to taste.

Everyday at the Rizal Park, a tribe shows off dances, food, and rituals. (Sun.Star Davao/Seth delos Reyes)

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A Kalagan for a queen
Carlo P. Mallo

THE Kadayawan festivities in the city kicked off last week, and just as in previous celebrations, one of its highlight is the much coveted — and controversial — Hiyas ng Kadayawan.

In the previous years, each time the Hiyas was staged, various groups would clamor for its abolition as it allegedly violates the women’s code of the city.

Thus, in last year’s Kadayawan celebration, just before the Hiyas was scrapped, males were included in the contest. A bigger howl followed, and then the scrapping.

This year, the Hiyas is back, making some of the very few who know little about Kadayawan’s history agape because while there are no more males in the pageant, one requirement is that the contestant is to be the official representative of one of the ten major tribes that reside in the city.

Rewind almost two decades ago, when what was then Apo Duwaling Festival initiated by OIC Mayor Zafiro L. Respicio in 1986 was renamed Kadayawan sa Dabaw in 1988. There was no such pageant called Hiyas ng Kadayawan, rather, there was the Bya’neng Kadayawan.

The Bya’neng was a pageant of beauty, talent and brains of those who has Davao lumad roots.

The Bya’neng contestants donned lumad costumes although not necessarily according to their tribes. Bya’neng was thus distinguished from the Mutya ng Dabaw. It was not just a beauty pageant, it has cultural roots.

Then came the Hiyas, which was supposed to be different from Bya’neng. It was a fashion show pitting the creations of local designers using ethnic materials, but soon became a beauty pageant of sorts. In the race between a regular beauty pageant complete with contoured gowns and long-legged models, the Bya’neng lost.

The Bya’neng was scrapped and became a hyped-up fashion show cum regular beauty pageant that saw girls sashaying in almost carnival-type gowns fit for a mardi gras with ethnic highlights, like a walis tambo on the head. That was until City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte raised a howl, a very loud howl that saw the booting out of his tourism officer as well.

This year, Hiyas is back, but in the form of what Bya’neng was before. No more long legs peeking out from strategically cut gowns. Just necessary space to stomp out a lumad dance, with those from Muslim tribes properly covered. No more heavy trains made of woven abaca, just abaca skirts like how lumads wear skirts, wrapped around their waist, at just above the knee length.

Contrary to other beauty tilts in the country, the Hiyas ng Kadayawan 2007 boasted of eight truly indigenous blooded participants representing their respective tribes instead of the mestizas clad in ethnic wear. The eight tribes that were aptly represented were the tribes of Tagabawa, Obu-Manuvu, Kalagan, Tausug, Sama, Maguindanao, Maranaw, and Ata.

With ethnic Mindanao music and tropical flora, the stage of the Cap auditorium was reminiscent of a tribal paradise. Bamboo, giant ferns, wild bush, and Davao’s best blooms were strategically utilized on stage. There was nothing overpowering about the stage set-up, it was, simply put, complimentary to the pageant.

The contestants donned their best tribal wear with utmost flair and grace. The finest silks, tinalak, and the most intricate brass, silver, and gold jewelries adorned the tribal beauties.

Besting the other eight contestants, 21-year-old Samrah Nuh of the Kalagan tribe was crowned as Hiyas ng Kadayawan 2007. Being able to truly represent her tribe is one of her traits that made her capture the much coveted crown.

This year’s first runner-up, or the Hiyas sa Kalambuan, is Maranaw beauty Nihaya Polao, an 18-year-old student. Coming in as second runner-up with the title Hiyas sa Timusbawan is Ata representative Madilyn Dalag, a 26-year-old social worker.

The other contestants have the Hiyas sa Kaliwatan as their title. The Tagabawa tribe was represented by Ryalim Boston, 19; Marryjoy Wayan represented the Obu-Manuvu, 22; Hamis Sherjalyn of the Tausug tribe, 18; Hadzmina Saraka of the Sama tribe, 22; and Jockra Ebus of the Maguindanao tribe, 19.

Samrah graduated from the Ateneo de Davao University in March 2006 with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Education Major in General Science. Currently, Samrah is an elementary teacher in a private institution.

One of her visions as the newly-crowned Hiyas ng Kadayawan is to organize the women from the different tribes in the city and to put up a project that would be beneficial to all of them.

Davao City vice Mayor Inday Sara Zimmerman-Duterte said that this year’s Hiyas was the best among all others. “It truly captured the meaning of being a Hiyas and that is to represent the tribes of Davao,” Inday Sara said.

Inday Sara added that all of the candidates deserve to win, and that being able to represent their tribe is already a feat in itself.

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The festival of festivals returns
By Grace L. Plata

From being a festival of thanksgiving for Davao’s harvest and culture to becoming a gigantic, “commercial” celebration and now back to its indigenous roots, one can say that the Kadayawan Festival has truly come full circle.Standing the test of time and tumultuous circumstances, the celebration that in the recent years has been called the “Festival of Festivals”, managed to survive and emerge renewed.(more)

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Choose your wild in this super fruit stand
Joy Romares-Sevilla

IT’S the biggest and the oldest fruit stand in Bankerohan; its contemporaries having fallen on the wayside as Davao’s economy tipped and tumbled in the past 25 years.

Maybe it’s in the name… Divine Mercy Fruitstand.

Located at the Marfori Building in the Bankerohan public market, it has witnessed how the industry grew over the years, experienced the challenges of the fruit industry, but has faced these challenges with perseverance and bravity.

Behind the Divine Mercy Fruitstand is a family that started the business from humble beginnings. Teofisto Camasin, 68, has gone a long way now as he started in 1983 selling only one kind of fruit variety - lanzones.

Perseverance and determination made Teofisto and his family acquire an area at the Marfori Bldg. where they gradually sell different kinds of fruits. Now, Divine Mercy Fruitstand sells over 12 kinds of fruits including lanzones, durian, mangosteen, marang, mango, rambutan, pomelo, mandarin, ponkan, apple, banana, avocado, and other seasonal fruits. It also displays various delicacies and preserved fruit candies produced from Davao City.

“When we already had a name, excitement became big, but challenges became big too, there are times when income is very low especially if there are no conferences and gatherings because hotels and convention centers used to order fruits from us,” Erlinda Camasin, 65, Teofisto’s wife, told Sun.Star Davao.

She added that in 24 years in the business, lean months are always experienced from June to July of every year.

The fruit for all seasons, however, is the pomelo. It is also the most in demand fruit in any conference or event that the city holds.

“We are happy when the city hosts conferences because it is a big help for our business, aside from we can earn a lot of profit, it is also our chance to let the visitors be impressed with the kinds of fruits we produce here in Davao, it is not only an advantage on our part, but also for the city because the quality of fruits from Davao will be recognized,” Erlinda said.

Erlinda said fruit harvest this year is more bountiful than last year’s.

“There is more supply of fruits this period. Now, we sell mangosteen at P35 per kilo, last year, we sell it at P60 per kilo because of a very little supply. Not only mangosteen, but other fruits are also abundant this time,” she said.

The Divine Mercy Fruitstand not only sells fruits within Davao Region, but also in Metro Manila. Erlinda said she has contacts with Manila-based fruit buyers who often get fruit products from their fruitstand.

“The volume of fruits we shipped to Manila will always depend on the volume requested by the buyers, she said.

She added that the Divine Mercy Fruitstand gets fruit stocks in Calinan, Davao City, in Zamboanga, and in Cotabato City.

“The biggest volume of fruits we get from the supplier is one ton each variety, for pomelo, one ton is approximately 25 sacks, while the smallest volume we get for each variety is 500 kilograms,” Erlinda said.

Asked what are the plans of the Divine Mercy Fruitstand, Erlinda said she and her family wanted to display their products at the Aldevinco Shopping Center, if not to acquire a site in the same area.

“We believe that our business will even grow if we try to expand it within the city,” she said.

With the business, Erlinda and Teofisto were able to send 12 of their grandchildren to school, two of them are taking up a nursing course. And because the couple showed determination to let their business grow, two of their siblings now are engaged in trading fruits in Bankerohan, one is into lanzones whole selling, while the other also owns a fruitstand at the Marfori Bldg. in Bankerohan.

“I and my daughter, Malyn, were the registered proprietors of the Divine Mercy, she takes over with the business in terms of dealing with buyers in Manila, she is also responsible for the arrangements of orders for our supply, my other two siblings have their own fruit business,” Erlinda sid.

She said she and her family is grateful to the people who served as their inspiration to let their business grow.

“We will always be thankful to those people, especially to Sheba Elepante, the supplier of our fruits since we started,” she said.

She added that entering in any kind of business entails patience, perseverance, bravity, and determination.

“Financial problems will always be there, but through prayer, you can continue with your goals. Also, faith in the Lord that He can make you business grow, is important, relying on your capacity is not enough, but with the Lord, unexpected things may happen for the improvement of your business and your family,” she said.

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Flight of the Eagles soars high
Marianne L. Saberon-Abalayan

Flight of the Eagles. It’s not the thriller novel, of the same title, by American author Jack Higgins that was published in 1998.

This Flight of the Eagles is the cycling event that has become part of the Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival for three years now.

It started as a cycling for the environment program staged in August, six years ago. Because the event was gathering substantial following and participants, it was integrated into the Kadayawan activities for greater impact.

Now on its sixth year, it marks another innovation — it will not just include bikers, but walkers as well. Thus last August 12 along with its Bike for Clean Air call, the sports-cum-environmental program of the Office of City Councilor Leonardo Avila III had also included a Walk for Clean Air by non-bikers. Thus, giving birth to the Flight of the Eagles Bike & Walk for Clean Air.

Non-biking participants walked from Freedom Park to Magsaysay Park where some 400 riders hit the road going to the far-flung Malagos Park in Calinan District.

It’s amazing how out-of-town riders troop to Davao City to get involved in planting trees for the protection of the city’s water resource in Talomo Lipadas Watershed which is one of the 12 watersheds that was identified as among the primary water source in the Davao Region.

Competitive bikers also flaunted their stuff in a fun race in the last five kilometers of the 40-kilometer ride that culminated with a party atmosphere at the Malagos Park.

Milestones

To date, some 500 fruit trees and 200 indigenous trees have filled one hectare of land in the site that was first adopted by the fun ride organizers in coordination with the Watershed Rehabilitation Project of the Davao City Water District (DCWD) in the past five years.

“The trees we planted there have all grown big. Thanks to the sweat and tears of the riders who took part in the first five stagings of the reforestation project,” Avila said in a recent forum of the Davao Sportswriters Association.

He said the recent edition of the Flight of the Eagles is geared at filling another hectare of land with trees.

“We are happy to start planting on another hectare. It is very fulfilling for those who have participated to see the fruit of their labor,” he said.

Since the fun ride is not competitive by nature, he said, the Flight serves as a get-together for all bike enthusiasts in the region no matter what club organizations they belong to.

It also serves as a breather for those who had a long week at work or school and get rid of all the stress that go with it.

Funds generated in the annual ride will be dedicated to its “adopted site area”, a watershed reforestation project of the DCWD Adopt-a-Watershed Project.

For five years, Flight of the Eagles has completed its five-year contract at the Talomo-Lipadas Watershed.

The sixth edition of the Flight was made possible through the efforts of Avila and his staff, DCWD and Energy and Clean Air Project (Ecap). It was held in coordination with the Federation of Off-Road Cycling Enthusiasts (Force) under its president Dominic Carpio of the Davao Pobre Bikers Association (Dapoba).

The USAID thorough its Energy and Clean Air Project had also been supporting the project along with the Watershed Management Coordinating Council (WMCC), Watershed Management Youth Council (WMYC).

Flashback

“The Flight of the Eagles started with a meeting with some cycling organizations in Davao City,” Councilor Avila said.

Its vision, according to him, promoting fun riding and at the same time protecting the Davao City Watershed and promote advocacy for clean air.

Force president Carpio said, “Force was an offspring of the first flight. Force was formalized after we met in the first flight. We intended to make it the longest running fun ride for a cause in the country someday.”

“We are used to concern ourselves with just racing but now we have matured into advocates for clean air and nature preservation,” Carpio added.

Force is now an organization of 30 cycling clubs all over Mindanao.

Flight of the Eagles, Kadayawan… just one more proof of Davao’s ability to make environment and cultural concerns fun and meaningful at the same time.

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Lumadnong kagikan
Rhodamae M. Hernandez

KADAYAWAN is back on the track as a festival in celebration of the city’s harvest and culture even if for a time it became just a festival, period.

This year’s Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival will be what it was being primed to be before crass commercialism came in, sweeping aside the underlying lumad culture that was supposed to be part of the celebration — and not just lumad culture for show.

“Lumadnong Kagikan, Mabungahong Kinaiyahan, Gasa sa Kaitas-an (Indigenous ancestry, bountiful nature, God’s gift)”, the festival’s theme this year says it all.

In the two-week celebration, traditional gatherings and festivities of the various tribes will strive to bring back the spirit in which Kadayawan was first conceived.

At the Rizal Park, the lumads converged to show off their food, dances, music, and products, one after the other; with a different tribe featured daily since August 10, starting off with the Tagabawa, then the Ovu-Manuvu Tribe, K’lagan Tribe, Tausug Tribe, Sama Tribe, Maguindanao Tribe. These tribes are said to be the first occupants of the city and considered Davao as their home.

In a message, Vice mayor Sara Zimmerman Duterte said in recent celebration of the Kadayawan sa Dabaw, the celebration have lost track of our indigenous beginnings that turned out the celebration to be commercial and too tourist-oriented. She said that in the eagerness to be pleasing to foreign and local tourists, we have offended the indigenous communities in the city.

She also said that in giving a festival a modern twist, we have contributed to the bastardization of our cherished cultural rituals and traditions.

So, she said we should go back to the authentic self which is rooted to tribal ancestry.

Thus, she said, what the people are witnessing now is but the harvest of what our first settlers who first cultivated and took care of this land that we now call our home.

She stressed that the tourism is not the whole point of the celebration.

The stress on the lumads was welcomed by locals.

“May okay na gitagaan ang mga lumad ug panahon na makita ilang mga talents. Kana dili na pinaktrisan, natural gyud na sa ilaha ug kadaghanan na naa sa stage, mga katiguwangan ug pati akong mama, giganahan ug tan-aw (It’s better now that the lumads were given the time to show off their talents. Not the choreographed presentations, but those they are born to. In fact most of those on stage are their elders, the elders are enjoying themselves, and even our elders enjoy watching them. My mother enjoys watching them),” said Virginia Milanes, 38, of Barangay Tamugan adding that the said event have made the dreams of her neighbor come true.

“Luoy kaayo nang mga lumad oy, sila gud ang tao dinhi sa unang panahon pagkahuman murag nakalimtan na. Kung buot huna-hunaon, ilaha ning selebrasyon, dili atoa (It’s pitiful that the lumads were fogotten when they are the real residents. Come to think of it, this celebration is rightfully theirs, not ours),” said Fred Lapinid, 54, a resident of Quezon Boulevard, Davao City.

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Vice Mayor Sara Z. Duterte, Abdulah C. Aquino, and Wendel E. Avisado light up the Kadayawan cauldron signaling the grand opening of the 22nd Kadayawan sa Dabaw 2007 held Wednesday, at Quezon Park.

The lighting followed after the banging of the gongs. (Sun.Star Davao/Rene B. Lumawag)

 

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2007 Kadayawan fest kicks off
Grace L. PlataTHE 2007 Kadayawan sa Dabaw festival is finally open and if its grandiose opening is any indication of how the festival will go this year, then the organizers are assured of success.The 22nd Kadayawan Festival kicked off Wednesday with a Holy Mass followed by the formal opening program at the Quezon Park fronting the City Hall building.(more)

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Spectacular Kadayawan celebration at SM City

IT’S a mix of everything you’ll look for in a festival celebration. In response to the City Government’s call of support for the festival of festivals, SM City Davao has come up with a week-long Kadayawan Sale and a spectacular line-up of events.

Bannering the festivities are cultural events that depict Davao and Mindanao’s indigenous culture through songs, dances and artistic creations. (more)

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Pre-Kadayawan expo opens at NCCC Mall
Joy Romares-SevillaTHE Pre-Kadayawan Showcase Extravaganza was formally opened Monday afternoon, at the Activity Center of the NCCC Mall in Matina, Davao City.Mae Gallardo, events organizer, told Sun.Star Davao that the event showcases different and individual products of the Davao-based companies from foods, delicacies, RTWs, and others. (more)

 

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Durian is starting to fill up fruit stands as the city gets ready to prepare to celebrate its bounty and culture in Kadayawan sa Dabaw.

Here, workers of Tito’s Fruit Stand at Magsaysay Park clean up the durian for display. (Sun.Star Davao/Seth delos Reyes)

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Mayor to go on vacation leave during Kadayawan
Ben O. Tesiorna and Carlo P. MalloDAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is planning to take a two-week vacation leave in time for the Kadayawan celebration of the city.In his television program “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” Sunday, Duterte said he will be relegating the task on running the city to his daughter, Vice Mayor Sara Duterte, especially during the Kadayawan celebration.(more)

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AHU fully operational for Kadayawan Festival
Ben O. Tesiorna

THE controversial Anti-Hoodlum Unit created by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to address the growing problem on hooliganism will be fully operational in time for the Kadayawan celebration this month.

In his television program “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” Sunday, Duterte said the AHU has not yet been “formally organized” since the City Government is still purchasing the much-needed equipments for the specialized police unit.(more)

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Only those from city can join Indak-indak
Grace L. Plata

THE Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan competition will be exclusive to Davao City participants — one of the many changes in the Kadayawan Festival celebration this year.

Unlike in the past when groups from neighboring cities and provinces have been allowed to join, the Kadayawan Festival committee, now under the supervision of the City Government, opted to limit the contest to city schools. (more)

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City vows to raise P5 million for Kadayawan
Grace L. Plata

CITY Treasurer’s Office chief Rodrigo Riola on Thursday assured the P5 million budget needed for the holding of the Kadayawan Festival will be raised in time.

“We will not propose a budget we cannot cope with,” Riola said, adding the projections for the budget are based on the proposal from the participants. (more)

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DOT unveils Kadayawan activities

WITH its theme of interweaving culture and tourism, the regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT) has kicked off a series of activities geared for the Kadayawan Festivities on the second and third week of August.

DOT-Southern Mindanao outlined a series of activities ranging from the Mindanao Travel Tourism Expo (MTTE), a dance showcase, fashion show. A forum with local government executives is also among those lined up for the festival.(more)

 

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Department of Tourism Regional Director Sonia Garcia enumerates various events that will highlight Wow Mindanao!, which will be held as part of the celebration of Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival 2007, during the launch at The Tent, Matina Town Square Monday. (Sun.Star Davao/Rene B. Lumawag)

 

 

 

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KADAYAWAN 2007
August 8-19, 2007

Theme: “Lumadnong Kagikan, Mabungahong Kinaiyahan, Gasa sa Kahitas-an”

Calendar of Events

Activity	Schedule
Hudayakaan sa Kadayawan Food and Music Fiesta	August 3-19 (4 p.m.-12 mn, NCCC Mall Parking Area)
Mass	August 8 (4 p.m., San Pedro Catheral)
Kadayawan sa Dabaw Festival Formal Opening	August 8 (5:30 p.m., Centennial Park)
Mango Festival	August 8-10 (9 a.m.-6 p.m., NCCC Mall Activity Center)
Kalingawan sa Kadayawan	August 8-19 (5 p.m.-2 a.m., SM City Davao Parking C)
Agro Industrial Trade Fair	August 8-23 (10 a.m.-10 p.m., SM City Davao)
Davao Association of Colleges and Schools Cultural Presentation DepEd Cultural Presentation Tingog Kadayawan World Music Festival	August 9 (8 a.m.- 12 noon, Rizal Park);(1-5 p.m., Rizal Park); (6-9 p.m., Centennial Park)
Cultural Celebration: Tagabawa Tribe	August 10 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Rizal Park)
2nd Mindanao Travel and Tour ExpositionTraveller’s Cup Open Shooting Competition	August 10-12 (10 a.m.-9 p.m., SM City Davao); (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Gold Cup Shooting Range)
Cultural Celebration: Ovu-Manuvu Tribe	August 11 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Rizal Park)
Cultural Celebration: K’lagan Tribe Jollibee Davao Fun Run Flight of the Eagles Caravan for Environment	August 12 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Rizal Park); (5 a.m., NCCC Mall Parking Area); (7 a.m., assembly area: Magsaysay Park)
Cultural Celebration: Tausug Tribe Kadayawan Fiesta Bazaar ‘07	August 13 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Rizal Park); (10 a.m.-12 mn, Davao Convention and Trade Center)
Canon Kadayawan Photo Contest	August 13-19
Cultural Celebration: Sama Tribe. Kadayawan Roots, Arts and reggae Festival	August 14 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Rizal Park); (12 noon-12 mn, Matina Town Square)
3rd Waling-waling Cup-Floral Arrangement Workshop & Competition	August 14-15 (Waterfront Insular Hotel)
Cultural Celebration: Maguindanao Tribe Indigenous Peoples’ Food, Craft and Literature Festival	August 15 (8 a.m-5 p.m., Rizal Park); (IIPE Grounds, Marfori Heights)
Sayaw Mindanaw–Isang Pagpupugay	August 15-16 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., CAP Auditorium)
5-Stag Derby	August 15-18 (Aquino Coliseum, Cabaguio Avenue)
Cultural Celebration: Maranao Tribe Davao River Festival Forum on Indigenous Peoples’ Education	August 16 (8a.m.-5 p.m., Rizal Park); (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Davao Riverfront); (Grand Men Seng Hotel)
Ikebana International Flower Exhibit	August 16-18 (9 a.m.-9 p.m., NCCC Mall Activity Center)
PANGAPOG FESTIVAL A thanksgiving festival celebration bountiful harvest features parade, indak-indak sa dalan, cultural presentation etc.	July 5- July 7 | Island Garden City of Samal
Cultural Celebration: Ata Tribe Durian Festival Opening Performing Dabaw: Homage to Home-grown Artists Republic of Davao: The Reggae Combo SK Midnight Fun Run	August 17 (8 a.m.-5 p.m., Rizal Park); (LandCo Compound); (CAP Auditorium); (8 p.m., RMC Gym); (9 p.m.-12 mn, assembly area: SM City Davao Car Park B3)
Medsa Mayor’s Cup — An Invitational Golf Tournament; Durian Festival	August 17-18 (LandCo Compound)
1st National Dog Ultimate Challenge	August 17-19 (Damosa Gateway, Market Basket)
Indak-indak sa Kadalanan Daghang Salamat Dabaw! An NCCC Kadayawan Celebration	August 18 (8 a.m. onwards, major thoroughfares); (NCCC Mall Activity Area)
Floral Float Parade	August 19 (8 a.m.-12 noon, major thoroughfares)
Lumad: Celebrating Indigenous Wisdom and Creativity	Post-Kadayawan Activities: August 21-25 (2nd Indigenous Peoples’ Visual Art Show and Auction) — (NCCC Mall)
Trade Exhibit — Organized by the Peace and Equity Foundation; Launching the Badjao products of Basilan.	August 30-September2

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Truly the festival of festivals
Nelson C. Bagaforo

 

A SPECTACULAR street dancing, a colorful parade of florally-dressed floats of various shapes and sizes, a food and musical extravaganza — these are just few of the most-awaited highlights of the celebration of Kadayawan sa Dabaw, which will kick off August 8.

Thousands of local and foreign tourists flock Davao City to celebrate with Dabawenyos a fun-filled festival, which depicts Davao’s rich cultural heritage.

Its remarkable success in the past made it at par with all other festivals in the country, such as Sinulog in Cebu, Ati-Atihan in Aklan and and Dinagyang in Iloilo.

 

In fact, it is one among the Philippine Festivals being promoted to the world by the Department of Tourism.

Kadayawan, indeed, is an attraction.

What used to be a cultural rite, where ethnic tribes around Mt. Apo usually gathered during harvest-time to give thanks to their gods especially the all powerful Bathala (Supreme God) for a bountiful harvest, has metamorphosed into a Festival of Festivals, celebrated in Davao City during the third week of August.

 

It has transformed into a festival, not only of thanksgiving, but to honor Davao’s rich heritage, its past personified by ancient “lumads” and its people and to promote Davao City as an investment haven where lumads, Christians and Muslims co-exist in harmony.

All these can be witnessed through various activities and events, depicting the city’s rich and colorful culture.

The thanksgiving festival was institutionalized in 1986 to unite Dabawenyos after the turbulent Martial Law years. It was then called “Apo Duwaling,” a contraction of the famous icons of the city, namely Mt. Apo, durian and waling-waling. Two years later, it was renamed “Kadayawan sa Dabaw” to better reflect the merry spirit and indigenous theme of the celebration. Dayao, the root word of kadayawan, is a Dabawnon meaning good. Its derivative Madayaw is an all-positive lumad word that connotes happiness, beauty, bounty festivity, and good fortune.

Each year, the festival has grown bigger and more spectacular, marked by street dancing, floral float parade, agro-industrial trade fair, cultural shows, food festival and the Bagobo horsefight, a tribal animal show where native stallions are made to compete for a chosen mare.

But its organizers, led by the Kadayawan Foundation, have never run out of fresh activities in a bid to promote the city’s rich resources and cultural heritage.

The food festival, first introduced some five celebrations ago in a limited scale and showcasing Davao’s sumptuous culinary treasures, is now one of the festival’s highlights with much flair.

Dubbed as Ka’an Dawet (literally means “food and music” in Bagobo), it features Davao cuisine as prepared by various restaurants, hotels, bars, resorts, eateries and caterers, in a bid to strengthen the claim of the city as the epicurean center in Mindanao.

This weeklong fiesta makes the festival even more exciting with nightly entertainment featuring Davao City’s finest bands and musical talents.

A milestone in Kadayawan celebrations is the live coverage of the festivities and beamed live all over the world, giving Davao City a positive exposure and big media mileage.

To be featured live before an international audience is Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan and the Floral Float Parade.

 

The Floral Float Parade, a colorful parade of florally-dressed floats of various shapes and sizes and adorned with thousands of flowers, fruit and fresh produce in wild abundance, will also be beamed live to world TV audience.
Viewers will surely be amazed by a deluge of flora and fauna in the region, thriving amidst forests and marshes protected by mountains and fertile land. Several highlights of the weeklong revelry are also worth mentioning.