BAUKO, Mountain Province – The municipal government has lined up a good number of activities to celebrate the town’s Bengas festival on March 9-11, 2017 primarily to enhance efforts for cultural preservation and protection and the upliftment of the living condition of the people in the countryside.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III will serve as the town’s guest of honor and speaker during the second day of the Begnas festival on March 10 while Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Rafael-Banaag of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) will serve as the town’s guest during the opening day rites of the festival.
Mayor Abraham B. Akilit said this year’s theme of the Begnas festival is ‘Gabay di Esek, Sikan di Talaken, Bikas di Umili Gameng ya Katagtaguan di Lilitaguan.”
The opening day rites will feature the conduct of the cultural presentation of the contingents from the 22 barangays alongside the opening of the agro-industrial featuring the products of participating barangays at the municipal oval in Poblacion.
In the afternoon of the opening day, Akilit said entries from the barangays will be pitted against each other in the ‘bayo’( rice pounding challenge and the ‘sabeng’ (fermented corn) cooking contest which will be capped by the Anap di Bangan or the Search for Miss Bauko in the evening.
The second day will be devoted to the youth wherein there will be contests on folk dance, ballroom dance, musical literary contest that will be capped by the Concert for a Cause of the Singing Priests of Mountain Province.
The third day will be the community day where various indigenous games will be up for grabs by the participants coming from the different barangays who will show their wares in the different contests lined up to provide added entertainment to the residents and visitors.
Begnas is a culture of thanksgiving among the kankanaeys of Bauko. It is celebrated once a year to thank Kabunyan and the spirits of ancestors at the same time to ask favours in relation to the socio-economic and political concerns of the community, a celebration that shall not only serve as merry making but a cord that shall bind the umili into collective action.
Prior to the Begnas celebration the municipality will be celebrating the International Women’s Day on March 8, 2017 with a parade and program at the municipal gymnasium followed by a mass at the municipal oval ground.
Mayor Akilit extended the invitation to residents from the 22 barangays and interested visitors to join the people of Bauko in the said celebration for them to be able to witness the one of a kind activities that will spice up their visit.
“We hope that our people and visitors will enjoy the various activities that were lined up by the local government for the celebration of our Begnas festival so that they will be able to include Bauko in their prospective areas of interest in the future once they plan to visit Mountain Province anytime of the year,”Akilit stressed.
By HENT