“MAIS FESTIVAL” in Claveria, Misamis Oriental
The Municipal Government of Claveria aims to get approval from the Department of Tourism(DoT) of “Mais Festival” to become the 16th Festival that will be acknowledged by the Department as one of the National Festivals in the country.
In her message in front of a big crowd last July 22, 2019 (Monday), Mayor Meraluna S. Abrogar is positive that “Mais Festival” will achieve their goal this year if not next year,maybe in the upcoming years to become one of the major festivals of the country because it promotes the diverse culture of Higaonon tribe and its product “Corn” which is abundant there and has first-class variety among others in the entire country which comprises of 70% of farmers in this landlocked town are planting corn for importation and exportation. The reason behind why Mais Festival was born 7 years ago.
DoT 10 Marketing Officer Carlston B.Maglangit who is also judging the festival is hopeful that the Claveria Local Government Unit will achieve their goal.
In this year’s festival,10 villages competed against each other in a 10-minute maximum showdown for each contingent and the village of Luna emerged as the Champion, Rizal got 2nd place and Ane-i is the third placer. Highlighting the Higaonon tribe theme of the festival is its queen which won, the beauty is from the village of Ane-i.
A street-dancing competition was also showcased wherein the Rizal village emerged as the winner while the Best in Costume went to the village of Luna and the Best in Musicality award went to the village of Lanise. Claveria town is the only landlocked town in Misamis Oriental and has rich culture and biodiversity that offers an “Instagramable” natural paradise and unique landscapes that every tourist or visitor can savor and enjoy. Other main attractions include its gigantic mountains such as; Mount Sumagaya, Balatukan, Kalatungan, and Dulang-dulang which is covered with thick and green forests and serve as the sanctuaries of the vast wildlife like the fauna and flora for example.
This first-class town has a 48,906 population as of 2015 based on the Philippine Statistics Authority(PSA) survey and has the largest land area in the whole province of Misamis Oriental measuring an overall of 579.6 square kilometers. In history, a 31-year-old Mc Donnell Douglas DC 9-32 aircraft by Cebu Pacific, “Flight 387” left a mark in this town since it crashed on the slopes of Mount Sumagaya on February 2, 1998, that killed 104 passengers. Today, there’s a shrine erected at the entrance of the mountain just along the national highway which was flocked by domestic tourists and each year, the Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental commemorates this every February 2 in remembrance of the victims.
“KALIGA FESTIVAL”Gingoog City,Misamis Oriental
Led by Gingoog City Mayor Erick Canosa, Vice Mayor Peter M.Unabia and ABC President Bobit De lara, the 59th Gingoog City Charter Day Celebration was a big success.
The “Kaliga Festival” 2019 featured a street-dancing competition in which the Magsaysay College came out victorious. Magsaysay is the last municipality in the Eastern part of Misamis Oriental after Gingoog City.
Every 23rd of July, Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental Province celebrates its colorful and joyous “Kaliga Festival”.The said festival is celebrated to preserve the culture and traditions of the Higaonons, one of the ethnic groups of the Philippines found in Misamis Oriental and in some parts of Mindanao. “Kaliga” is a thanksgiving celebration, meaning “to thank Magpabaya” or “God” which they praise for all the blessings, bountiful harvest and many more.
Traditionally at 1:00 o’clock in the afternoon, the Kaliga street dancing around the city starts! People gather in the streets to witness the colorful costumes, ethnic dances and listen to the noise of the drum and bugle.
At 3:00 o’clock, the dancers arrived safely at the People’s Grandstand. This year, City Mayor Erick Canosa together with Vice Mayor Peter M.Unabia warmly welcomed the guests and visitors as she gives her welcome address. Everyone was excited about the competition. The dancers of the said event are students coming from different schools.
Kaliga Dance Festival is composed of:
THE MAIN PARTS
1. Panawagan – An opening prayer. It will be recited or sang in a song (limbay)
2. Dasang – A fast chanting. It starts with an adoration to God Almighty, God the Father “Amay Day” and then followed by reciting of the history of the famous people, heroes, and the dwelling place.
3. Offering of Symbols – a bonfire or lighting of torch
DIFFERENT DANCES
1. Inamo dance – The body moves like a clever monkey. It is a graceful dance around a banana tree. This is usually done by the elders and chieftains. (body bent and they move like monkeys, hands down and with tipped toes)
2. Kabakaba dance – A butterfly dance. Dancers wear costumes that resemble a butterfly.
3. Baki dance – Men are dressed like frogs and act like frogs.
4. Inuwang dance – Shrimps hunters and shrimps. Ladies will move like shrimps swimming and jumping to escape from hunters. Men will swim and hunt. They jump from one stone to another stone in the river.
5. Planting and harvest dance – Harvesting of corns, coffee, root crops, and banana.
6. Magical dance – To communicate to the supernatural beings. A dance to drive evil spirits away. Accompanied by drums, gongs, woods, and bamboos.
In 2019 Kaliga Festival, the Championship trophy goes to Contingent Number 6 which is Magsaysay College in the Municipality of Magsaysay in Misamis Oriental the 1st Runner Up was Contingent Number 5 which is the Gingoog Christian College and the 2nd runner up was Contingent Number 1 which is the municipality of Medina.
The Department of Tourism (DoT) Region 10 thru Regional Director Marie Elaine “May” Salvana Unchuan pledged their full support to the festival when she spoke before a huge crowd during the coronation night of Bb. Gingoog 2019 at the Gingoog Gym last July 22, 2019.
ARTICLE CONTRIBUTED BY: ERCEL MAANDIG
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