I JUST might be a bore but I’ve never been a fan of festivals and much less of beauty pageants. In the previous Kadayawan festivals, I’d wait for all the heavily decorated floats to park somewhere (Roxas Avenue or SM) and that’s when I’d look at every single thing not minding if the flowers have wilted or some have been filched by a fan.
But I would always look forward to the Kadayawan month because aside from being colorful, it would be the most delicious festival with the abundance of fruits -- mangosteen, lanzones, rambutan, and of course, durian. Then there’s the Hiyas ng Kadayawan pageant which is as colorful as the floral and fruit floats.
The interest in the Hiyas ng Kadayawan was born out of the awareness that the candidates come from IP (indigenous peoples) groups. I’ve always been circumspect of pageants and this one much more so because of the threat of cultural in-appropriateness. I was imagining what wars would ensue when one tribe claims their women were prettier than others.
After all history is rife with stories of battles fought over beauty -- think of Helen in the battle of Troy (yes, Brad Pitt was in one of its versions). But none of that has happened so far and if there were spats, I am sure these were limited to the make-up area which is common in all beauty pageants for all sexes. Eleven IP communities will participate in the 32nd Kadayawan festival, namely: Ata, Bagobo K’lata, Tagabawa, Matigsalug, Obu-Manuvu, Iranun, Kagan, Maguindanaoaon, Maranao, Sama, and Tausug.
The Ata, Bagobo K’lata, Tagabawa, Matigsalug, and Obu-Manuvu are considered as indigenous people’s groups while the rest are Muslim communities. In bygone days, both groups cannot be seen sharing the same stage. Noting this, the closed door interviews were dutifully represented by the NCIP (National Commission on Indigenous Peoples) and the NCMF (National Commission on Moslem Filipinos). Since their creation, both government agencies supposedly take care of issues peculiar to these communities. The officer-in-charge of the IGDD was also around to ensure that the pageant conforms the Women’s Code of Davao City.
Four of the Hiyas candidates have expressed so much premium on the importance of education. Edmalyn of the Ata tribe from Paquibato is a social work graduate who works as a service crew of a fast food chain.
She thinks there’s a need to have more college graduates among the Atas. Gifer of the Matigsalugs has expressed the same desire for education but emphasized the need for a curriculum that also preserves the Matigsalug culture. Mary Jane of the Obu Manuvu thinks that the young members of her community need to be educated about their culture and traditions and about protecting the environment. Norhaynie of the Maguindanaons articulates this need for education as an irrevocable gift to the next generation.
Other candidates see the preservation of each group’s unique culture as crucial. Stefanne of the Bagobo-Klata who is a tourism management student is interested in rediscovering and restoring authentic Bagobo-Klata beadwork patterns and designs. The same can also be said of Jenfin of the Bagobo-Tagabawa who thinks that there is a need to continue making the tribal accessories which she named as the salagbat, lolin, pamarang, robe, pangkis, tikas, kobol, etc.
This is similar to Ainadhel of the Tausugs who reasons that the tribal arts and dances cannot be promoted because there is lack of support for the production of musical instruments. She named them as: kulintangan, gabbang, biyula, agungbawa, agungpulakan, agungpanamukan, and gandang.
Norhana of the Iranuns likewise thinks that there is a need to research about the Iranun culture and disseminate it among the community’s youth. Jerlyn of the Kagan tribe calls the same activity as strengthening the minority identity. Sittie Haya of the Maranaos has identified visual art techniques in engaging the communities to resurface their cultural identity. Joy Grace of the Samas thinks that the preservation of cultural heritage is equal to a better quality of life.
On August 18, one of these 11 will become the Hiyas. But I am more interested to find out which of them will really make an impact on what seems to be cultural identities grasping at straws. Otherwise, the Hiyas is just another pageant that fades into memory just like beauty.