In an interview with one of the group's members, 16-year-old Jocel Quimno, she said the group was formed in 2005 composed of high school students of Summer Hill School, a sectarian institution then known as Greentree School at Tejero Subdivision, Patag.
The original 30 members underwent a dance workshop with a Cagayan de Oro-based choreographer who was hired by Bread of Life Ministries, the church group which Greentree School was affiliated with.
The group was known then as Bai Lawanen, named after the local princess of old whose beauty and charm was without equal during her time.
Later, the group took on the apt title Taytayan and then to its present name Bahandi, the meaning of which is obvious.
Their music, all of them originally composed by Summer Hill School teacher Precy Madriaga, is influenced by the music of Pinikpikan, a nationally-known ethnic group.
At first, Bahandi performed periodically in gatherings of the Bread of Life Ministries, notably at Limketkai Cinema 4.
It was during these performances that pastors from their church headquarters in Manila took notice of the group.
Bahandi was then sent to grace the 25th anniversary of the Bread of Life Ministries in Yñares Center in Antipolo, Rizal in November 2007.
From then, the group has never looked back.
Jocel is now a freshman at Liceo de Cagayan University taking up BS Tourism majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Management.
Despite her hectic schedule, she still finds time to rehearse with the group, which is now composed of 14 dancers and nine band members, all of them part of the praise and worship team of the local Bread of Life Ministries.
Aside from their Miss Kagay-an 2008 stint, they also guested during the recent Charter Day celebrations in the city last June 9.
In its website, Bahandi stated that the main concept of their group is to show to other people the treasured history of Cagayan de Oro.
Jocel said their performance in Miss Kagay-an 2008 was one of the milestones of their group.
"The big boss of the prestigious companies here and in Manila were there, famous celebrities (like Angelika dela Cruz and Mark Herras) were also there and of course the press. They now know that our group existed," she remarked gleefully.
