My Bukidnon experience

The Kaamulan festival is held annually in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon from the second half of February to the first week of March. It is held to celebrate the culture and tradition of the seven ethnic tribal groups – Bukidnon, Higaonon, Talaandig, Manobo, Matigsalug, Tigwahanon and Umayamnon – that originally inhabit the province. But this year the festival was moved to the last week of August in celebration of Bukidnon’s Centennial celebration. Kaamulan comes from the Binukid word “amul” meaning to gather. Kaamulan means a gathering – a datuship ritual, a wedding ceremony, a thanksgiving festival during harvest time, or all of these together.

We left Gen. Santos City on Thursday morning, passed by Davao City and had lunch with my Dominican confreres. At about 2:00 pm, we started a five hour land trip to Malaybalay City via the Buda Road, short for Bukidnon-Davao Road. With our driver as my only companion, we passed by magnificent views of mountain ranges from Davao to Bukidnon. The roads were generally very good, with just a few rough portions, and about two one lane parts that were under construction. There were occasional pockets of water falling from the mountain side along the road. The air was cool and there was fog along some parts of our trip. We finally reached Malaybalay City at about 7:00 p.m. We were met by a friend of mine at Roy’s Bistro, just in front of Gaisano Mall, where we had dinner. Afterwards we were provided accommodation at my friend’s place about two blocks away from the mall, where we stayed for two nights.

The following morning, right after breakfast, we headed north, for a two hour drive to Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. We wanted to see and experience the Dahilayan Adventure Park, which claims to be Asia’s longest dual zip line at 840 meters. Barangay Dahilayan is located at the 4,500 feet level of Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park. We passed by Camp Phillips, where the pineapple plantation of Del Monte is located. From the ticket booth of Zip Zone, we were taken to the launch tower which was a 5 minutes’ drive. The actual flight on the zip line was about 1 minute from end to end, which really provided an extreme adrenaline experience. There were two other zip lines, a little shorter than the longest one, which we got to experience as well. On the way back to Malaybalay City, we had lunch at the clubhouse of Del Monte Country Club, where they serve the best steak in town.

Upon reaching Malaybalay City at about 4:30 in the afternoon, my friend took us to the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Barangay San Jose. It was my fourth visit to the monastery of the Benedictine Monks since I was assigned in Mindanao. At the pyramid shaped church of the monastery, we met Fr. Savio Siccuan, OSB, the prior of the monastery. Incidentally, Fr. Savio was my classmate when were Postulants at the Dominican seminary in Calamba, Laguna, before he decided to pursue a college course in San Beda College and eventually joined the Benedictines. After the visit to the monastery, we had a tour of the Kaamulan grounds after dinner. It was located near the provincial capitol building. There were bazaars showcasing the various products of Bukidnon. It is also the venue of the street dancing competition the following day, participated by the various municipalities of the province.

The following morning, the float parade and street dancing by the various tribal groups started at about 8:00 a.m. The floats were elaborately decorated with indigenous materials, including fruits, crops and vegetables. On each float rode the drumbeaters of the street dancers, representing the various tribes of Bukidnon. Dressed in their colourful traditional tribal garbs – men, women and children, which numbered about one or two hundred per municipality, danced on the main street of the city. Making occasional stops along the way to do their dance routines, the street dancers performed to the delight of the crowd which packed both sides of the street. The street dancing competition culminates with each group’s performance number at the Kaamulan grounds.