Arts & Culture

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Comment by CREATIVEfactory on August 13, 2008 at 9:36am

HULAGWAY SA KALIWATAN
Indigenous People’s Visual Arts and the Kadayawan Photo Competition



Since the inception of the Kadayawan Festival in Davao City known then in the early 1990’s as APODUWALING, has been a yearly awaited festival of the Dabawenyo’s. Its original title is a coined word between Mt. Apo (the highest mountain in the Philippines), Durian (a pungent thorny fruit with a heavenly taste) and Waling-waling (Queen of the orchids). The title with an appealing acronym of the colorful yet significant representation of Davao City did not last that long though; it metamorphosed into an interesting Dabawenyo word KADAYAWAN which basically means celebration. Through the years of celebration, Kadayawan became one important local event in Davao City apart from Araw ng Dabaw. Thus conventionally, Kadayawan means to become a celebration of bountiful harvest in Davao City.

However the celebration and thanksgiving to Magbabaya (God) is not only confined on the bountiful harvest of Davao’s produce and cheerful observance of indigenous life. Instead, the cultural event includes another chance that yields importance to the budding young Dabawenyo visual artists and photographers. HULAGWAY SA KALIWATAN (Pictures of Heritage) with its subtitle as Indigenous People’s Visual Arts and the Kadayawan Photo Competition is another awakening opportunity for the young creative minds to showcase their distinctive talents after the long absence of activities of this nature. Though admittedly the art competition sounds ironic in “promoting” local creativity, it is inevitably still another form of creative exposure that lures young artists in this part of the land due to lack of local exposure stuctures. Thus, the event invites young artists and photographers to partake in the celebration. At the same view with the ideals in mind, employing art to channel and immortalize the relevance of Davao’s indigenous ways of life, albeit making art as another form of catalyst in the observation of the local tradition.

On August 18 until 24, 2008 the artworks in competition, from two-dimensional mixed-media to three dimensional conceptual artworks, will be showcased at Museo Dabawenyo, along Magallanes St., Davao City. The photo entries will be launched by Sept 5 until 30, 2008 soon after the festival, at the same venue. These exhibitions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and creativity will highlight the vibrancy of Davao heritage hence creating another avenue for the thriving local art practice.

Comment by Hans Brandeis on July 26, 2008 at 6:24pm

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Comment by Hans Brandeis on July 26, 2008 at 5:32pm

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Hi Ricky,

additional information: while in Lake Sebu, look for Maria Todi as a guide. She is the best, officially acknowledged tourist guide, former artistic director of the Helobung Cultural Troupe, head of the SIKAT school (School for Indigenous Knowledge and Tradition), coordinator of the Tasaday development project... You can hire her as a guide. If you are interested, please contact me privately, as I don't want to post her telephone number in public.

Regards,
Hans

Comment by Hans Brandeis on July 26, 2008 at 3:27pm

Hi Ricky,

it's certainly a very good idea to go to Lake Sebu, which is one of the nicest places I've been in the Philippines. I don't know about September, but around November 9-11, there will be the Helobung Festival in Lake Sebu, a very colorful affair.

Going there from Cagayan de Oro is not a easy thing to do. Basically, you have to go to General Santos first. There is one way going through Moroland, and people advised me not to do so. This means you have to go all the way down to Davao first, then to GenSan, which means a very long ride by bus via Bukidnon, Buda etc.. Or, you might take the plane CDO-GenSan, but I don't know if there are any flights at all going that way. Other people in this group might know better. From GenSan, you have to take the bus, might even have to change twice... kalimutan na... via Koronadal, then Surallah. I think in Surallah, you have to take a jeepney to Lake Sebu. Well, maybe things changed, in the meantime, but I don't think so... In Lake Sebu, you can stay in one of the resorts there, like Punta Isla or Estares.

It's a long way so that you might have to stay overnight in Davao.
So far...

Regards,
Hans

Comment by Ricky Caluen on July 8, 2008 at 8:12am

Re: LAKE SEBU

Am considering visiting Lake Sebu sometime September this year. Anyone visited the place lately? Any recommendations (dos, don'ts,etc.)? What's the best way to get there, if starting from Cagayan de Oro?

Is there any tribal event taking place in the area around that time of year?

Salamat,
Ricky

Comment by CREATIVEfactory on May 5, 2008 at 5:28pm

Departing from my own perspective, considering lumad rituals and practices, I believe that there are practices that has to be opened for people to witness (especially if it is meant for their self determination and cultural appreciation) but there are also practices that are better left on their own (for the very same reason).

In any approach, what matters as far as cultural appreciation is concerned, has also to be coupled with the appreciation of cultural relativity. Thus, cultural appreciation will be much more enjoyed with sense and sensibility.

Jun

Comment by Ricky Caluen on April 25, 2008 at 12:33pm

I have been away from the Mindanao Scene for almost 20 years I don't even know where to begin. I am sure there is ample literature on what artists and cultural activists are doing to push their agenda of cultural preservation (whatever this means) and advocacy.

I wonder how well the Lumad population has maintained its observance of cultural traditions (e.g., religious festivals, etc.) hidden from the glare of publicity. And for the sake of discussion I would like to know whether opening such festivals to a wider public (especially tourists) is desirable; that the act of inviting more observers is in itself a way of promoting cultural appreciation.

Ricky

Comment by CREATIVEfactory on April 3, 2008 at 4:22pm

What is Mindanao art (may it be indigenous, conservative or liberal contemporary) in the eyes of the Mindanao artists or art practitioners? Unsa ba ang perspektiba o paglantaw sa mga mamugna-ay sa Mindanao bahin aning butanga?