MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 8, 2013) – “Palamata Nu Maguindanao” is this year’s highlight for Maguindanao’s second Sagayan Festival and 13 lovely candidates all over the province will vie for talent, wit and beauty of Maguindanao charm in this search for Sagayan Festival Queen.
According to Provincial tourism officer Joy Masukat, the festival – which kicks off February 10 – expected to showcase Sagayan costumes, a colorful native apparels.
The Sagayan dance competition is a crowd drawer and will be attended by a number of competing groups and followed by talent presentation for the search for the festival queen.
Sagayan is an ethnic dance performed by “warriors” clad in three-tiered skirts, brightly-colored headgear and carrying elaborately painted shields and “kampilan,” a double-bladed sword. The dance is believed to drive away evil spirits, heal sick while welcoming good fortune.
On the eve of Valentine’s Day, the Palamata Nu Maguindanao beauty pageant will crown the first Queen of Sagayan Festival.
Traditional games and sports like carabao race, sipa sa manggis where competitors kick a rattan ball and aiming to shoot it in a hanging basket tied to a bamboo pole, and the Kapegkuya 100 meter run.
Cooking competition featuring different and delicious Maguindanaon cuisine is one of the most awaited events in the festival.
The festival will also give due recognition to provincial scholars.
Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu said he is aggressively promoting the province’s tourism program.
Mangudadatu said the festival will culminate on Valentine’s Day, which also coincides with the birthday of his late wife Ginalyn, who had once dreamed of cultivating and displaying the beautiful traditions and culture of the Maguindanaon.
“It is is the fulfillment of my wife’s vision,” Mangudadatu told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner. (Mindanao Examiner. Ferdinandh Cabrera)
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