IN CELEBRATION of the Indigenous People’s (IP) Month, the sound of gongs will reverberate in the city.

Raffy Kapuno relayed schedules for the staging of the annual gong festival highlighted by a “Gong-Vergence” with groups parading the city.

The gong festival aims to become a convergence for cultural groups to share their knowledge and skill in a venue dedicated for IPs and their heritage and culture.

On October 1, a mural painting at the Quezon Hill road will commence with local artists joining to kick off the month.

Kapuno said groups are encouraged to join the October 14 parade bringing with them their respective gongs which will be sounded and played along the way to the Ibaloi Heritage garden inside the Burnham Park complex.

On October 20, there will be a competition on Indigenous games at the Japanese Garden.

October is National IP Month following the issuance of Presidential Proclamation No. 1906 series of 2009, entitled “Declaring the Month of October of Every Year as National Indigenous Peoples Month.”

The gong festival will also impart how to use traditional attire the proper way as well as to teach the youth traditional dances.

In the cordilleras, there are nine main ethno-linguistic groups.