MAGUINDANAO, Philippines – Residents of Maguindanao launched in Buluan town Monday the first ever “Sagayan Festival” to highlight the rich cultural and geographic potentials of the province, adversely overshadowed by conflicts and calamities in recent years.
Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu said the week-long festivities are to show that the cultures and traditions of ethnic Maguindanaons are meant to propagate harmony, foster inter-community cooperation, and inculcate subservience to Allah among the natives.
The term Maguindanaons, which refers to the Moro community in the province, literally means “people of the flooded plains,” or those that dwell in the marshlands in the ilod (downstream) and Raya (upper delta) of what are now the first and second districts of Maguindanao, respectively.
Reeling off from pain
A blue-blooded Moro politician, Mangudadatu, who started only as a mayor in Buluan town and, after having served for three consecutive terms lasting from 1998 to 2007, as vice mayor of the same town, was elected provincial governor in 2010.
He got to the helm of the provincial leadership, but painfully lost in the process his wife (Jenalyn), more than a dozen other relatives, and two of his lawyers, who were slaughtered in Ampatuan town on November 23, 2009 while on their way to file on his behalf his candidacy for Maguindanao governor for the May 2010 elections.
The atrocity, now known as the Maguindanao Massacre, also left more than 30 journalists dead, who were with Mangudadatu’s wife to cover the filing of his certificate of candidacy at the provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak municipality.
Mangudadatu said amid the pain that they still feel, they want to show, through the Sagayan Festival, that the province has gradually been reeling from the adverse impact of the incident, dubbed as the country’s worst election-related violence ever.
Through the activity, he said they can show that there is fragile peace now creeping around the 36 towns in Maguindanao.
“We ought to thank President Aquino, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, the new administration in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Armed Forces, and the Philippine National Police for the `winds of peace and development’ now gently sweeping through the four corners of Maguindanao,” Mangudadatu pointed out.
He also expressed deep appreciation of the extensive role of the peace panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, joint GPH-MILF ceasefire committee, and the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team, in the religious implementation of all preliminary security agreements meant to ensure the cordiality of the on-going peace talks.
Sagayan’s background
Sagayan, which is a Maguindanaon word, is a war dance that has always been part of the merry-makings during special occasions and weddings among ethnic Maguindanaons.
It is performed by the Maguindanaons and Maranaws of Lanao del Sur, where dancers depict ferocity of warriors when they defend land, race and religion.
Dancers act as fighters and carry bladed weapons and wear beads that make noise when they dance, as if to distract the attention of enemies.
Contemporary Maguindanaon historians assert that while it is a war dance, it does not depict feudalism, but rather shows the zeal of the Moro people and their leaders to protect their communities from any form of conquest or abuse.
“It is also meant to show the resilience of the Moro communities and their strength to readily rise or bounce back from every fall, or from any devastation,” explained Rep. Sandra Sema of the first district of Maguindanao, chairperson of the Cotabato City Tourism Council from 1998 to 2010.
Luring investors
Mangudadatu said he is optimistic the festival will help convince prospective investors in the country and abroad that the business climate in the province has also been improving dramatically lately.
Records obtained by The Star from the ARMM’s Regional Board of Investments showed that there have been more than P200 million worth of expansions the past 18 months in existing foreign-backed agricultural industries in the second district of Maguindanao, and in Chinese-owned business establishments in Sultan Kudarat and surrounding towns in the first district of the province.
Raquel Magalona, Sagayan Festival’s organizing chairperson, said the weeklong celebration will feature a Grand “Kanduli (thanksgiving rite) and the Buluan exportable Tilapias raised at the majestic Buluan Lake.
The event is also to be capped with a trade fair showcasing indigenous crafts and industries such as cloth weaving and production of brasswares.