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| City Mayor Atty. Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi (center) with Cotabato tourism officials. |
Cotabato City, Philippines - The 2016 Shariff Kabunsuan Festival in
Cotabato City is expected to be more reflective of the city’s rich culture and
colorful history with the grand activities that are now being prepared for the
celebration.
The festival will officially kick off on
December 15 with the launching of several activities. First is the Mini
Guinakit Competition to be held at the People’s Palace grounds.
In this
activity, individuals and groups are invited to join and compete for the most
decorative and most relevant guinakit.
The guinakit is the local name for the
boat in which Muslim missionary Shariff Muhammad Kabunsuan was on board when he
docked on the shores of this part of Mindanao.
Next is the launching of the
Bangala:BIMP-EAGA Exhibit.
This is one of the new activities of the festival
and will be showcasing the different traditional dresses of the people of
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Later on the same day, these
costumes will be worn by local models in a fashion fair.
The celebration of the Shariff Kabunsuan
Festival this year will be bigger than the previous years as it will also touch
on the cultures of the ASEAN Region. It will jumpstart the commitment of
Cotabato City to the ASEAN Integration in the coming years.
City Mayor Atty. Frances Cynthia
Guiani-Sayadi said, it is timely that the theme of the festival has expanded to
the culture and tradition of the other ASEAN countries because these nations
are being considered by Cotabato City as its brothers in development.
“The BIMP-EAGA is very important for
Cotabato City because we have already established a relationship with these
countries back in the ancient times. Remember that our forefathers are of Malay
blood and Shariff Kabunsuan himself is also a native of Malaysia”, Mayor
Guiani-Sayadi said.
Not only with the traditional costumes will
the festival include the BIMP-EAGA but the annual culinary competition will
also feature the diverse flavors from these countries using local products that
can be found in the markets in Cotabato City.
Another exhibit is the Heritage: Fabric Art
and Culture Forum that will showcase the amazing and colorful textile of local
Muslims.
Also for the first time, a festival bazaar
will be conducted for the duration of the celebration which will feature
products from local entrepreneurs. These products range from ready-to-wear
items, fashion accessories, skin care products, pastries, and many more.
This year’s celebration will also feature a
Business Forum that will not only concentrate on the actually products and
industries that Cotabato city has to offer but will also emphasize the great
potential of the city to become Mindanao’s next tourist destination. As
discussed by City Administrator Dr. Danda N. Juanday during one of the meetings
of the city’s department heads, Cotabato city has the potential to become a
Tourism Ecozone.
City Tourism Officer Norianne Lou Frondoza
also said that the Department of Tourism Region XII is very supportive of the
tourism programs and projects of the city government. One of the most feasible
projects that are seen by the department is the declaration of the Timaco Hill
as an Eco-Tourism Destination where visitors and tourists can trek and explore
the wildlife in this untouched forest by the bay.
Meanwhile, regular activities during the
Shariff Kabunsuan Festival like the Kuyog Streetdancing and Showdown, the Grand
Parade, Guinakit Fluvial Parade, and the Pagana will all be conducted this
year.
The Shariff Kabunsuan Festival is one of
the most celebrated occasions of Cotabato City. It is being conducted in honor
of Shariff Muhammad Kabunsuan, a missionary springing from the native lands of
Malaysia, who landed on the shores of this part of the country and propagated
the religion of Islam to its native settlers.
Brothers Rajah Tabunaway and Rajah Mamalu,
who were the reigning Datus during that time, were the ones who welcomed
Shariff Kabunsuan to the land that is now Cotabato City. His arrival may have
caused the separation of the brothers, it was later on discovered that they
(the brothers) and Shariff Kabunsuan are of the same blood.
Today, the descendants of Rajah Tabunaway
have already spread to different parts of Mindanao but most of them are still
in Cotabato City and its nearby towns. The descendants of Rajah Mamalu are now
the Indigenous Peoples or the “ Lumad”.
The celebration of Shariff Kabunsuan
Festival is also one of the times where we see all of them together and united.
Cotabato City, despite being a melting pot
of diverse cultures, religions, and tribes, is still flourishing because of the
harmonious relationship that the Cotabateños continue to have with one another.
The Shariff Kabunsuan Festival will be
commemorated on December 15-19, 2016.(PR/posted by Becky D. de Asis-The Redline News)
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