The term "Kadayawan" is derived from the Mandaya word “madayaw”, a warm and friendly greeting used to explain a thing that is valuable, superior, beautiful, good, or profitable.
Notes on Kadayawan 2011 |
 Climate change—and its profound impact—was an issue that was palpable all throughout the celebration of the Kadayawan festival over the weekend in Davao City. I was in Davao City for a conference, which luckily for me, coincided with the celebration of what is dubbed as the “king of festivals” (what can I say, even the various festivals in the country have to have their own advertising taglines nowadays). Secretary Lualhati Antonino of the Mindanao Development Authority was asked to speak at the conference about the business outlook for the island and she devoted a considerable amount of time talking about the impact of climate change on a land that is mostly agricultural. She eventually talked about her pet project to save the environment, which I hope to write about in the near future. Of all industries, it is agriculture that is probably affected the most by climate change. Plants suffer the most from prolonged droughts or excessive rainfall. Harvests are likewise affected when the seasons are delayed or come early. The annual Kadayawan festival is supposed to be a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and the serenity of living. The festival is supposed to showcase the best of Mindanao—the whole island, after all, has been blessed with fertile land and weather that’s very conducive for agriculture. In case people don’t know, Mindanao has been practically feeding the rest of the country for many years now. Almost a hundred percent of the high-grade pineapples, papayas and bananas that Filipinos eat come from Mindanao. A sizable percentage of vegetables as well as rice are also produced in Mindanao. Around this time of the year, the streets of Davao normally start to get flooded with the various bounties of nature, the harvest season reaching its peak sometime September. In previous celebrations everyone would have his or her fill of durian, marang, rambutan, mangosteen as these fruits were practically given away because of oversupply. For example, my cousins told me that around the same time last year, the sweet pungent smell of durian enveloped the city—everyone had durian at home because it was being sold dirt cheap at P15 a kilo. And one didn’t have to walk a distance to find a fruit stand as vendors were everywhere. Last week, durian could only be found at certain parts of the city and they were quite expensive—the going rate was around P85 a kilo. Some said that this was because the harvest season had been delayed; others claimed that the harvest this year was not as bountiful. ----------------------------------------------------------- This Kadayawan 2011 is somewhat boring. But there are also events that made the event awesome. The one that usually gets a lot of media attention is the parade of floats that majestically roll down the designated route. This year, the floats were as usual, a sight to behold proving once again that Filipino ingenuity is paralleled. There were also various contingents that participated the indak indak sa Kadalanan. Though this year, have less production of fruits like Durian, Mangosteen and others because of the changes in our environment or climate change, there are still lot of investors and visitors who came to our city to experience the fun. But behind those struggles, Dabanwenyos have proven that climate change is not a barrier for the success of the event and productivity of the show. |
