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Friday, August 18, 2006
Truly the festival of festivals
By 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 week-long celebration of Kadayawan sa Dabaw, which kicked off on August 14.
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.
This year, Dabawenyos together with the rest of Mindanao celebrate the 21st Kadayawan sa Dabaw, with the theme: Nagkahiusang Katilingban Bisan Asa sa Kalibutan," aptly so as the festival goes beyond boundaries, limitations and beyond its past successes.
The 21st Kadayawan sa Dabaw, which kicked off with a Pasalamat on Monday, the formal opening rituals with an ecumenical ceremony held in front of the City Hall, and will be concluded on Sunday, has everything revelers could look for.
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 started August 14 and concludes on Sunday on Roxas Avenue. Making the feast even more exciting is the 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 on Sunday.
True enough, the world is about to witness anew people's celebration of life through street dancing and merriment to the beat of agongs and kulintangs and modern variants along the major streets of Davao City, highlighted by choreographed theatrics and participated in by children and adults clad in colorful costumes.
Each year, the participants have continued to grow. This year, at least 3,000 participants will join Sunday's Indak Indak, of which 50 percent will be coming from the different provinces outside Davao.
The Floral Float Parade, another 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.
The Pamukaw warms up the city with an early dawn noise barrage and parade participated by folks from different sectors.
The Sayaw Mindanao or the Mindanao Indigenous Dance Festival features theatrical tribal groups presenting music and dances of Mindanao's epics, folklore, and traditions.
The Hurawan, or Davao Horse Rites, is a real spectacle of the Bagobo's thanksgiving celebration where native stallions are made to compete for a chosen mare.
Tingog Kadayawan or the Concert of 400 Voices is a one-and-a-half choral concert serving as grand recital of 15-20 participating choirs. Urog Etnika or the Mindanao-based fashion and floral artists utilizing locally woven fabrics, fibers and accessories, and other materials endemic to Mindanao.
Agongan Ug Kulintangan or the Mindanao Indigenous Music Festival showcases indigenous music and performing skills in playing og agong, kulintang, gabang and other indigenous instruments participated by lumad elders and young enthusiasts of the tribal arts.
The Pasidungog is a culminating program formally recognizing winners of competitive events and festival supporters.
The Tabo or the Agro-Industrial Fair exhibits Mindanao's products, participated in by farmers, plant growers, handicraft producers and manufacturers.
The Indigenous People's Festival is a tribute to the ethnic and Muslim tribes in a presentation of songs, dances and dramatics that display their culture with pride.
The Floricultural Exhibit is a landscape presentation of flowers and ornamentals as well as display of indigenous flora species.
Yanog ug Yugyugan sa Kadalanan is street dancing in various thoroughfares in the city.
The Hiyas sa Kadayawan is a search without gender bias from outstanding personalities with Mindanawon appeal.
But, as expected, only female aspirants joined. The idea of having a beauty contest for both genders hasn't sunk in yet, it seems.
The Suba sa Kinabuhi or the Davao River Festival is an opportunity to present the historical Davao River from which Davao City derived its name. In this parade agricultural, industrial and aquatic products are flaunted on the waters in a procession of gaily decorated boats.
All these activities, coupled by various events organized by entertainment establishments and shopping malls in the city, made Dabawenyos proud of their cultural heritage. The past days saw the successful staging of these activities.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (August 18, 2006 issue)
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