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 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.
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 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 since the theme of
the festival has expanded to the cultures and traditions of 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 the traditional costumes will include those in 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 of 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 actual 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 XII is very supportive of the
tourism programs and projects of the city government. One of the most feasible
projects seen by the department is the declaration of Timaco Hill as an
Eco-Tourism Destination where visitors and tourists can trek and explore the
wildlife in this untouched forest by the bay.
The
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 in 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 but 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 people or the “Lumads.”
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 cherish.
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