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Kadayawan For Dummies, Part I

August 17, 2008 by Davao Traveler Admin

This article on Kadayawan is contributed by a Davao-based Internet writer who goes by the pen name Dabawenyong Robot.

Myth: The Kadayawan Festival is all about those pretty flowers, fresh fruits and tireless street dancing.

Fact: The Kadayawan Festival is actually a tribute to the indigenous people of Davao City. The flowers (showcased via the “Floral Float Parade”), fruits (oh so abundant in August) and street dancing (called the “Indak-Indak sa Dalan”) are connected to these people and therefore serves among the many highlights of the festival.

***

Official Kadayawan press releases and articles are notorious for being too well-written, too deep, too rhetorical. Try reading three well-worded and vocabulary-testing paragraphs from these articles, and then tell us with a straight face if you get the idea right away.

If the answer is NO, don’t worry. You’re not alone. We feel that way, too. Thus we’re writing up this little sham of an article for dummies like us. And you.

Our aim is to let you understand the very basics of Kadayawan in the simplest, clearest way we can… heck we might even share a tip or two. Or maybe not.

Oh well, enough with that already. Let’s get on with the bloody thing.

***

The annual Kadayawan Festival is one of the major events in Davao City, along with the Araw ng Dabaw. The latter celebration is a tribute to the city and the Dabawenyos in general.

This year’s festival will be held from August 18-24. However, some official Kadayawan-related events such as the AGRO Industrial Trade Fair (slated for August 8-31) and Kaan Dawet (starts August 17) will be held beyond that timeframe.

***

The Kadayawan is a week-long celebration here in Davao City and features several events. Some of the events are way up in terms of grandiose, while some are rather of the solemn type but nonetheless as important.

The official Kadayawan events are those being conducted by the Kadayawan Committee. The Indak-Indak Parade is one, the Floral Float parade is another. The non-official events on the other hand, are conducted by outside sources but acknowledged by the Kadayawan Committee. The Kadayawan Fun Run by the Davao Sunday Runners Club Inc is an example of a non-official Kadayawan event.

Madayaw!

You will most likely encounter this term often during the festival. Madayaw is often USED to convey goodness, beauty, and marvel. So when someone says Madayaw Dabaw, he means to say: “Davao is great and wonderful!”

***

The following are just some of the official events that are often considered as Kadayawan’s main attractions, especially for tourists looking to experience something unique and “truly Dabawenyo”. Now bring out the notes and jot these down.

Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan (Other variants of the name include: Indak-Indak sa Da’n/ Indak-Indak sa Dalan) – Street Dance Parade and Competition.

Pamulak Kadayawan – Floral Float Parade Competition.

Dawow: Tubod sa Kasaysayan – Davao River Festival

Tunog Mindanaw – World Music Festival

Moda Mindanaw – Fashion and Floral Design Competition

Sayaw Mindanaw – The Mindanao Dance Competition

***

Aside from the events listed above, there will also be lengthy showcases featuring each of the recognized indigenous groups in the city. This is called the “Lumadnong Bantawan”. This event will be held at both the Rizal Park and People’s Park.

The indigenous groups that shall participate in these activities are:

  • Tribong Ata Manuvu
  • Tribong Kalagan
  • Tribong K’lata
  • Tribong Maguindanao
  • Tribong Maranao
  • Tribong Matigsalog
  • Tribong Sama
  • Tribong Tagabawa
  • Tribong Tausug
  • Tribong Ubo-Manobo

The New Kadayawan Commercial (see Kadayawan 2008 video, above) features representatives from each of the ten groups. If you want to personally see more about these tribes, you already know where to go.

***

Indak-Indak and the Floral Float Parade

The two big parades of the festival are often held during weekends. This year’s Indak-Indak Parade will be held on Saturday, and the Floral Float Parade on Sunday.

The Indak-Indak has two main components. The first is the street parade, where performers groove it up while parading along selected points of the city. The second is the showdown, where the very same people perform on the same venue, which has traditionally been San Pedro Street. The parade normally takes place in the morning, the showdown from the afternoon to evening.

The Indak-Indak is wildly popular because of the distinctively Mindanaoan beat and costumes. Several tourists come to Davao to watch hundreds of people dancing with vigour in the streets, clad in their native attire and carrying extravagant props that would give Hollywood studios a serious run for their money.

The Floral Float Parade on the other hand, is a showcase not only of the best flowers and orchids that the city has to offer, but also brilliant Dabawenyo minds that never cease to run out of incredible ideas. Want to see giant replicas of animals the size of a truck made up of nothing else but flowers? No problem. Go watch the parade and you will see one.

***

In Part 2 of this article, we will touch on some other related topics like the following:

  • Bagobo Horse Fight
  • Hiyas Ng Kadayawan — sort of a search for beauty and brains
  • Fruits (literally) of Davao

So please hang on tomorrow for the second installment of this series.

Filed Under: Events, Pictures and Videos, Tourism News Tidbits Tagged With: Festival, Indak-Indak, Kadayawan

Summertime Is Beach Time in Davao

April 24, 2008 by Davao Traveler Admin

Most people would agree that summertime is best spent on the beach — swimming, snorkeling, or getting your skin colored under the heat of the sun. For us here in Davao, the best place (or beaches) to be is to jump out of the city’s land mass into the nearby island: The Samal Island.

Falling In Love With Isla Reta

Davao Traveler’s pick for this summer is the lesser advertised (too bad) beach resort in Samal, or more specifically in Talicud Island. The name is Isla Reta. Now thanks to the Internet, the resort is getting its share of high-tech exposure.

Here is Isla Reta at a distance:

Isla Reta Talicud Samal Davao

Got a few words to describe it? Here are some from those who have been there (including the author):

  • Very clean, white sand
  • Nice view of the mountain in front
  • Secluded and very quite
  • Perfect for snorkeling
  • Peaceful and relaxing

Well, you can add yours on the comment of this article after you have visited the beach yourself. You will definitely like it there, just like the kids on the photo shown below.

[Read more…] about Summertime Is Beach Time in Davao

Filed Under: Pictures and Videos, Resorts Tagged With: Beach, Beach Resort, Isla Reta, Resorts, Samal

The Davao Region

January 26, 2008 by Davao Traveler Admin

When people talk about Davao, they usually mean the Davao City. But did you know that there are three more Davao provinces? Yes, they are the Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental. Add the province of the Compostela Valley and you get a larger land mass known as the Davao Region. Just how large really? Well, I can’t remember exactly but the short video shown below provides the answer plus a couple of other information that you might be interested with, such as the following:

  • Gross Regional Domestic Product
  • The Davao Region Economy
  • Population And Growth Rate
  • Literacy Level

Watch this video about the Davao Region:

And the million-dollar questions is: Do you think it would eventually become the Philippines’ most livable region?

Filed Under: About Davao, Pictures and Videos Tagged With: Compostela Valley, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Davao Region, Davao Statistics

Kadayawan Festival in Davao

August 3, 2007 by Davao Traveler Admin

Davao City gets over-crowded with visitors on three important occasions:

  1. Christmas Seasons – when everyone wants to know how everyone’s doing in Davao.
  2. Araw Ng Dabaw – the founding anniversary of Davao City
  3. Kadayawan Festival – A Thanks Giving turned into a Festival.

Madayaw! It’s a simple word signifying warm greetings from Davao. Madayaw! is to Davao as Mabuhay! is to the Philippines or Alloha! is to Hawaii. You will come across that word especially when you are here in Davao during the month of August when the city celebrates the Kadayawan Festival. It’s written all over the place: posters, billboard ads, and if you are quick, you can spot it reflected in everyone’s face.

Kadayawan Festival is a celebration of a bountiful harvest and a tribute to Davao’s rich cultural heritage. That’s to oversimplify the description of the festival.

Visit Davao on August and see what it really means to celebrate the Kadayawan. And if you do, go back to this blog and post your comment to share your experiences.

In the meantime here are some nice shots of the previous Kadayawan Festivals grabbed from Flickr.

[Read more…] about Kadayawan Festival in Davao

Filed Under: About Davao, Pictures and Videos Tagged With: About Davao, Kadayawan, Kadayawan Festival

Shrine Hills in Davao

July 28, 2007 by Davao Traveler Admin

Hi, Davao Traveler! Have been to the Shrine Hills? You should! At Shrine Hills you get a chance to see a panoramic view of downtown Davao, the Davao Gulf, the Samal Island, and the magnificent Mount Apo. It is also the home of many TV and Radio Broadcasting Studios like ABS-CBN, GMA Networks, ABC 5, etc. The popular Jack’s Ridge Restaurant is located in Shrine Hills. If you wanna play gulf on top of the hills, there is Andrew’s Golf.

And if the sound of the name makes you think of something holy, in many ways it is. The Shrine Hills is known for grounding the site of Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague — a church, seminary and meditation center for the devout Catholic Christians in Davao. People go there for various reasons: to pray, to play with the kids, or to unwind with the whole family. You should try to go there especially on Sundays. You will see how fun and loving the Filipino family can be at the Shrine Hills.

Shrine Hills Davao

Filed Under: Pictures and Videos Tagged With: Church, Davao Pictures, Davao Video, Hangout, Jack's Ridge, Shrine Hills

A Place Called Ulas

July 7, 2007 by Davao Traveler Admin

Have you heard of a place in Davao City called Ulas? If you are from Davao or have been here frequently, the answer would be a resounding “Yes.” For those who do not, here are some short descriptions:

[Read more…] about A Place Called Ulas

Filed Under: Pictures and Videos, Streets of Davao Tagged With: About Davao, Davao Street, Ulas

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