Festival of rituals

By Joe Palabao
Correspondent

“GIVING faces and voices to the rich culture of the Manobos, Talaandig, Higaonon and Bukidnon tribes of Kiokong, original name of Quezon, in Bukidnon highlights the Festival of Rituals celebrated every second week of February to preserve their rich culture for generations.”

  The main highway thoroughfare and streets of Quezon came alive as the foreign tourists, thousand of lumads dressed in traditional costumes coming from the 22 barangays of the town, with eight tribal chieftains, residents, town officials, dignitaries and guests gathered to watch the colorful Civic-Cultural Parade and Ethnic Street Dancing marking the SUNGGOD TA KAMANGA Festival, a grand thanksgiving celebration of the tribes held February 13-14.

  The tribes in full bright colored regalia together with the tourists, visitors and guests filled Dona Resing Park as they moved from one booth to another to see the yield of their bountiful harvests, cultural exhibits/the indigenous handicrafts and livelihood products of the tribal folks from ticus, beautifully woven backpack, native mats, decors and rattan sala set displaying their craftsmanship. 

  Festival of rituals and tribal traditional songs and dances were witnessed and enjoyed by the visitors as the different tribes performed the Ulaging- a dance and song worship to the Magbabaya.

  The songs and dances depicted their rich tribal costumes and traditions down to the pre-festival preparation for a rich and bountiful harvest wherein their farm tools, implements and other household paraphernalia were displayed for blessings from the Magbabaya and the dance for a bountiful harvest where the yield of the farms were displayed and being cooked like chicken, fresh water fish, root crops, vegetables and other native food as a sign of a bountiful harvest from the richness of the land the till. And to make the ritual so meaningful, the tourists, the visitors and guests together dined with them and savored the native food with gusto. 

  Deri Husi Tribal Band conquered their Freedom Park as they provided tribal songs from soft to rock tribal music enjoyed by everybody and the Tribal Disco which rocked the town and enjoyed by thousand of lumads, young and old alike dancing to the beautiful sounds of the tribal instruments.

  Laro ng Lahi showcasing traditional ethnic sports exhibition were witnessed b he tourists and guests on the last day of the festival.

  Games like Bag-id ha Kagtulro from making fire to cooking rice inside a bamboo tube called Kalumbo, Babayo Ta Para HLubok sa Humay by producing clean rice and other tribal household activities. Duso a human tug of war, a game using strong piece of stick wherein the lumads show their strength by pushing one outside the circle and be out.

The winners are then considered having strength and can give security to tribal women. The traditional Galing Ta Bato hu Kamais (corn grinding using stone grinder) mesmerized the crowd how the tribal women with precision put the corn kernel to the grinder and produce white corn grits ready for cooking.