BONTOC, Mountain Province – Tourists and locals will be treated to a showcase of cultural life-ways of the different tribes and municipalities of the province during the duration of Lang-ay Festival 2016 specifically on April 7-9, 2016.
In the latest conference of the Municipal Tourism Action Officers and Municipal Coordinators for Lang-ay last February 17, 2016, it was known that contingents of the municipalities will take turns in showcasing their respective olden life-ways on the night of the 7th of April 2016.
It will be during this cultural expositions that the public, visitors, and tourist will witness the culture and traditions of the people in the different communities of the province that are now bygones or altered through times and modern influences.
As in the past Lang-ays, the traditional chants, dances, and gong-playing will take features during the duration of the festival. The public will be given the opportunity to relive, re-experience, or be made aware of the cultures and traditions of the past like the eagle dance of the iBarligs or iBalangaos, the uniqueness of the iBaliwons of the eastern municipalities of Barlig, Natonin and Paracelis that may not be in practice now especially by the young people.
The public may earlier witness the presentations of the western municipalities in their respective festivals which are all staged this month of March 2016, with the Ubaya festival of Besao on the last of February, the Ayyoweng di Lambak in Tadian on March 4-6, the Begnas festival of Bauko on March 10-12 and the Gagayam Festival of Sabangan on the third week of March, 2016.
For those who will not be able to personally go to these municipal festivals, they may catch a glimpse during the Lang-ay Festival on April 1-10, 2016.
The indigenous games will also feature the “fagfagto, the Ag-agto, and the Et-eta”, all practiced vigorously in the past but seldom observed at present time.
The Fagfagto involves the throwing of stones by competing teams composed of males against each other with the belief that more injuries sustained means bigger and more harvests of camote for the participants while the ag-agto involves the carrying of containers/labfa at the head by females in relay scheme and the Et-eta involves the fast picking and clearing of chaffs in rice grains among females.
Meanwhile, among the list of events included in the Lang-ay Festival is the Kataguan Caravan which is on its second time. Last year, the caravan generated more than P700,000.00 for the benefit of the dialysis patients in the province.
This year, on April 6, 2016, the Caravan will start at the Eyeb grounds in the capital town and proceeds to Dawdawan, Sabangan up to Bagnen Bauko then back to Madepdepas, Sabangan to Taccong, Sagada down to Dantay, Bontoc along the new paved “tourism roads” funded through the convergence program of the Department of Tourism and the Department of Public Works and Highways.
The objective of the Caravan is to let the participants especially the members of the Igorot Global Organization (IGO) who will be coming home to attend the Igorot International Conference (IIC) in time for the Lang-ay Festival.
Along the way the participants will appreciate the tourism attractions of Bagnen, Bauko such as the Mt. Polis, the one of the oldest Anglican churches in the province, the scenic sleeping beauty of Kalinga which is better viewed along the way from Madepdepas to Taccong, Sagada.
The Balangagan cave, the Sumaguing cave, the Hanging coffins, the burial cave, the St. Mary Church, and the Kadchog rice terraces are bonuses to the participants.
The Caravan is a fund raising event so that tickets are expected to be sold to the public and to those who will participate in the Caravan which is sponsored by the Office of the Congressman.
Congressman Maximo Dalog is asking the public to support this fund raising event for the benefit of the Kataguan Organization of the dialysis patients in the province.
By Roger Sacyaten
