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| Face of Bountiful Harvest in Kadayawan |
Nikki Minaj said, “Pound the alarm!” Dabawenyos say, “Pound the
gong and
kulintang!”
Kadayawan Saturdays mean one thing—revelry at the streets
of downtown
Davao City. Different contingents from all over Eastern,
Southern, and Central Mindanao bask in the sun and strut their dance
moves to the beat of the drums, kulintang, and agung as
Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan begins mid-morning. The heart of Davao City throbs vibrantly in colors and the beat of street party.
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| Bloom! |
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| Bend over! |
It was the first time I witnessed
Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan, or
simply translated as “Street Dancing.” Instead of just listening to the
throbbing drums just like in Ati-Atihan and Dinagyang, or the
high-pitched bugle of Sinulog, or the Latin beats of MassKara,
Kadayawan’s
Indak-Indak possesses Mindanao musicality—the
kulintang, the agung, the kudyapi, laced with drums and sometimes
trumpets, give it a distinct Mindanao flavor.
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| Celebrations at the streets of downtown Davao City |
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| Reach for the skies! |
The street dancing contingents focus on the ten
Lumad and
Moro peoples that made up Davao City’s cultural tapestry, with emphasis
on spirituality, folklore, bounty of the land, and everyday living.
Their colorful costumes that echo the vibrant Mindanaoan culture has
made this festival a unique showcase to the world. It shows that in
Mindanao, living in unity amidst diversity is possible.
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| Celebration of colours |
 |
| Bending once more. Bambad National High School of Sultan Kudarat, the
open category champion for 2012 Kadayawan Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan
competition |
In Kadayawan Indak-Indak, it is divided into two categories—one is open
category, another term for “out-of-town” contingents; and the other is
Davao City-based category.
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| Golden touch. Jesus Soriano National High School bagged the championship for Davao-based category in Kadayawan 2012 |
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| The fiery emotion of red |
In 2012, the route started at Ateneo de Davao-Marco Polo-Aldevinco
area. Then they proceed to Claveria for the second judging area at Apo
View Hotel in Legazpi Street, then finally, the showdown at San Pedro
Street in front of Rizal Park. The first two judging stations gave two
minutes, while the main performance was at San Pedro Street.
 |
| Lumad! |
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| The sea of people. The Surigao contingent |
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| The street dance area near Ateneo-Aldevinco |
Aside from
artistas and concerts, the
Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan
is one of the largest crowd-drawers in Kadayawan Festival. Tourists,
both local and foreign, flock the durian-scented downtown streets of
Davao and witness this revelry.
 |
| Brothers and sisters in peace |
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| Two different worlds. One city. This is the San Pedro Stage, the main performance area. |
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| Yellow and bright. Notre Dame of Santo Nino of South Cotabato contingent |
The
Indak-Indak didn’t disappoint me, even if I got sunburned.
It was really fun! The kind of stress that you would want. It was really
nice seeing the vibrant costumes, the fun, and the revelry that
reflected the unique diversity of Davao City and the rest of Mindanao.
In Mindanao, it is indeed possible that different peoples can jive in
one vibe—for peace, progress, and respect.
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| Happy |
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| Madayaw! Welcome to Davao! Welcome to Mindanao! |
(This was originally posted at www.habagatcentral.com on 27th of August 2012. In the meantime, Kadayawan Festival 2016's highlights will be held this coming weekend, from 19-21 of August. The festival's Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan will be held on Saturday, 20th of August 2016.
Enjoy the fiesta! Madayaw!)
