LUNA, Apayao – The much anticipated Say-am of the Province of Apayao will now be staged in the month of October, aligning with the celebration of Indigenous Peoples (IP) Month.
The decision of changing the date of the celebration came after some discussions and recommendation of Governor Elias C. Bulut Jr.
According to the governor, moving Say-am to October will provide a more meaningful context for the festival because it will gather all the indigenous groups in the province to make a grand celebration of cultural heritage which is what Say-am means.
The festival is usually held in February to go along with the celebration of the founding anniversary of the province.
Bulut, Jr. underlined that the auspiciousness of the rescheduled period for the festivity will enhance its cultural significance matching with the newly institutionalized provincial celebration of the Apayao Indigenous Peoples’ Special Day on October 19.
With only two months away before the festivities, the provincial government started the preparations with the Provincial Tourism Services Office leading the initial planning to begin the fusion of the two biggest cultural celebrations in the province into one enormous extravaganza in October.
“Medyo insapsapa tayo iti planning period tatta tapno iti kasta ket napinpintas iti celebration tayo iti Say-am,” said Provincial Tourism Officer Rebecca T. Mamba.
“If you remember noong February, we only had the Search for Dayag ken Taer ti Apayao as a major activity during the celebration of the 29th Founding Anniversary of Apayao,” she added.
“It is because we are saving the other activities for October, echoing the governor’s vision that the two celebration will match perfectly, in terms of audience, the people involved, and its cultural significance. Dagitoy nga aramiden tayo tatta nga aldaw will be our initial steps to realizing dagitoy nga plano ni governor,” Mamba concluded.
In a meeting on August 7 that gathered all the indigenous people, mandatory representatives and the municipal tourism officers in the province, events and activities as well as competitions to be carried out have been discussed.
The proposed activities include: Search for the Most Outstanding yApayao Elder, original song composition, Panaggaangrad (indigenous games), Mangan Tada (cookfest), vlog contest, street dancing, the commemorative program, and a cultural show to cap it off.
The group likewise plans to invite the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Chairperson Jennifer Pia “Limpayen” Sibug-Las to be the guest of honor during the commemorative program.
Meanwhile, NCIP Provincial Director Genesis Quiblado said that changes are still welcome since this is just the initial phase of planning.
“I challenge everyone to suggest unique activities. Nu adda dagijay napintas nga activities tayo idi kalabes ket ituloy tayo, ngem nu adda something new that we have not done before ket mabalin tayo met padasen. Let us take advantage of the presence of each and everyone here. Ammok nga adu dagijay napipintas nga kapanunutan so we can maximize the community participation,” he stated.
Series of meetings will still be conducted to iron out the final lineup of activities. By Jess Christley Marquez
