This internationally acclaimed celebration is a weeklong festivity and thanksgiving for nature’s fruitfull
harvest. Kadayawan Festival is being commemorated every 3rd Week of August. A celebration of the
abundant bounty of fruits and orchids all through the season. Kadayawan hails from the prehistoric
word “madayaw,” a warm as well as friendly greeting also used to describe something which is very
important, superior, attractive, good, or profitable, “Kadayawan” in Mandaya means whatever that
brings in good fortune, a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the bountiful gifts of nature, the rich
culture, the bounties of harvest and also peacefulness of living. Cultural tribes all around Mt. Apo
normally gathered over the harvest period when they had a plentiful harvest to offer gratitude to their
gods specifically the all-powerful Bathala (supreme God). As indicated by legend, the celebration is
noteworthy due to happiness, singing, and dancing, as well as offerings to their heavenly deities.
The festival is commemorated during the month of August with floats of fresh flowers and fruits,
and indak-indak sa kadalanan or street dancing in brightly colored outfits. Numerous tribes flock the
streets tagging along with them are their colorful tribe costumes and accessories. The city of Davao
comes brimming with life each and every year in the month of August when it facilitates its annual
harvest festival. The streets are decorated with local fruit & vegetables while people hold street dances
with abandon for four days. The harbour is the location for native & power boat competitions. Each
and every one battles for seats to enjoy the Horse Fighting wherein stallions fight each other over the
privileges to mate with a mare. The crowd is occasionally tracked by the horses as many get too close.
In the very last day of the festival, the street is adorned with costumed dancers grooving to the local
beat as well as well-decorated floats with extravagant Mindanao girls as eye candy. It’s a a moment of
fun & excitement. The celebration is not absolute devoid of the Bya’Neng ng Kadayawan or the Miss
Kadayawan beauty competition. Additionally there is the horsefight, a tribal animal show much like the
bullfight in Spain.
History
The festival all started due to a government-initiated program also known as “Unlad Proyekto Davao”
in the year 1986, arranged to bring together the Davaoeños following a severe martial law years as well
as to present the city as a quiet as well as amazing destination to visit and conduct business in. During
that time, it was eventually branded “Apo Duwaling,”a concept derived from the symbols Davao was
famed for: Mt. Apo, the nation’s highest peak; durian, the king of fruits; as well as the widely known
waling-waling; the queen of orchids. Davao is also home of the beautiful Philippine eagle, the country’s
national bird. In the year 1988, the festival was redubbed “Kadayawan sa Dabaw” by Mayor Rodrigo
Duterte to commemorate the city’s completely unique abundance in flowers, fruits, along with its rich
ethnic heritage.
Today, Kadayawan has become a festival of all the festivals, the mother of may other festivals in
the region as it honors Davao’s artistic, cultural and historical heritage, its past personified by the
ancestral “lumads”, its people as they celebrate on the streets, and its floral industry as they parade in
full regalia in thanksgiving for the blessings granted on the city.
“Kadayawan sa Dabaw” is a loving experience with an impact becasue it highlights the past, present
and future of the people of Davao, the Mindanaoans, the Filipino people. Its sights and sounds are
nevertheless superior. Join in on the thrilling experience.
Be The First To Comment