Maguindanao is #MagandaNow! Celebrating Inaul Festival 2018

Buluan, Maguindanao is a province with artistic, colorful, unique cultural background and heritage in Mindanao, Philippines just recently concluded their second Inaul Festival and we are greatly honored to be one of the invitees to celebrate it with them. It was our first time in Maguindanao! Upon knowing about the invitation from the office of Sec. Ayesha Mangudadatu Dilangalen, DOT ARMM; we did not hesitate to sign up. We went there with all the enthusiasm and curiosity. We took Iligan – Marawi – Cotabato – Buluan, Maguindano route more or less 8 hours of travel on February 07, 2018.

The organizers of this year’s Inaul Festival made sure that people visiting Maguindao will have an unforgettable and momentous experience. This is evident in the activities line up. We were greeted with cheerful and smiling faces of Maguindanaon wearing their colorful “malong”  their traditional attire made from inaul  “hand woven fabric/cloth” during the Festival Parade in our first day on February 8 and followed by four other key events scheduled for that day such as the Kapaginaul Competition (Inaul Weaving Contest), Drum and Lyre Exhibition, Palamata Nu Maguindanao Talent Competition (Mutya ng Maguindanao) and Siakol Band to call it a night. It was brief, but an astounding introduction to the festival!

A Maguindanao adventure will not be complete without a tour to the famous grand mosques of which the province is known. We have a side tour at the famous Pink Mosque situated in the Municipality of Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Malingon Mosque after a sumptuous breakfast at iTravel Cafe, were enormous lake fish referred by the locals as “taruk” and “aluwan” served along with fried tilapia and other mouth watering Maguindanaon delicacies such as bulua and tapong. The aluwan were served grilled while the taruk were cooked in a traditional way usually adding turmeric and palapa a famous local appetizer which is added to a dish to give spicy flavor.  After the tour, we dropped by at the inauguration of the newest state-of-the-art halal dressed chicken factory.  CHICKEEN Corporation Hatchery Plant which is built by some local investors with support from some Malaysian counterparts. The inauguration was graced by no other than the Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.

We arrived at the Women’s Center where we are staying at past one o’clock and I was in awe gazing upon a Maguindanaon traditional sport competition called “sipa sa manggis” happening just outside the center. It is an individual sport having a minimum of two and maximum of 5 players interchangeably hitting the ball (manggis) by kicking which aims to hit the hanging balls more or less 10ft. from the ground. Each hanging balls has a corresponding prize set by the organizers. The hanging balls placed in the sides are usually with lower values than the ball placed at the center. Locals say, that long ago sipa sa manggis is sometimes performed in conquest of love (to settle quarrel in matters of love); that is to determine who should take the woman between two Maguindanaon males that desire the same woman – the winner takes the woman. Sipa as a sport is common to Filipinos; however, this form is unique to Maguindanaon and other Muslim tribes like Maranao in the southern part of the country.

After lunch, we proceeded to the town’s gymnasium where we witness another showcasing of Maguindanaon tradition called Sagayan. It is a local term referring to their war dance which has been part of their merry-making during special occasions such as weddings among royal Maguindanaon clans, as this is a dance of nobility, gallantry and honor. The movement of the dancers depicts the bravery and ferocity of the Maguindanaon warriors. Each dancer wear colorful costume called saya, a headgear called kapasiti adorned with palumpong  and carries a weapon called kampilan and a beaded shield called klung  which creates distinct sound that distracts the enemies attention and focus. The event was concluded were Municipality of Parang emerged victorious out of ten participating municipalities.

A break for an hour or two gave ample time for us to prepare for our next event for that day – the Gala Night hosted by the province of ARMM. The organizers have gathered renowned ethnic dancers across the region to perform dances and showcase talents of the people of the region. A dinner was served while feasting our eye with dances performed by graceful dance performers (dancers who performed around the world) was unforgettable. The night ends with a terrific performance with the Ex Battalion performing live outside the Trade Expo.

Our Maguindanao experience was one of the most memorable and remarkable travels around the country since I started blogging. It was in this endeavor that I was struck by a line  that I overheard in one of the discourses,  “A Moro child’s dream, IS NOT different with a Christian child’s dream.”

Truly Maguindanao is #MagandaNow! Happy Inaul Festival 2018 Maguindanao!