The much-awaited Kaamulan Festival 2009 in Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines is set to begin on February 18 and I myself cannot wait to join in the festivities! The Kaamulan Festival is the largest festival in Bukidnon and is largely renowned as the only remaining authentic ethnic festival in the Philipines. Kaamulan is an indigenous Bukidnon term for “gathering” for any purpose. It can also mean a datuship ritual, a wedding ceremony, a thanksgiving festival during harvest time, a peace pact, or all of these together.
I was furnished a tentative schedule of activities for this year’s Kaamulan Festival celebration in the Province of Bukidnon by the Bukidnon Tourism Office and although I can say that there aren’t that many changes from previous celebrations, there are still a lot of things to look forward to.
This year’s celebration will kickoff by February 18 and will end by March 10, the very day when Bukidnon is set to celebrate its 92nd Foundation Day.
The Kaamulan Festival, which began in the year 1977, is an ethnic festivall featuring the province of Bukidnon’s seven (7) hill tribes namely Tala-andig, Higaonon, Umayamnon, Manobo, Tigwahanon, Matigsalug and Bukidnon.
Activities during the Kaamulan Festival usually include a bazaar, garden show, food fest, agri-fair, rodeo, motorcross, concerts, pamuhat (traditional exercise), ethnic songwriting workshop, ethnic dance clinic, piniliyapan (Bukidnon Dances), a much-awaited ethnic street dancing competition (Sayaw Sayaw Ta Dalan), barn dance and various other rituals which showcase the rich culture and beliefs of tribal Bukidnons. There will also be a battle of the bands this year, a concert to be produced by a large telecoms company, another concert to be sponsored by the Provincial Government of Bukidnon and Bukidnon’s very own Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, an airsoft tournament, a mountain bike tournament and a basketball tournament.
Rest assured that Mindanaoan will publish the official schedule of activities for this year’s Kaamulan Festival! Stay tuned 
Better yet, SUBSCRIBE to Mindanaoan so that you can easily be updated via email! Just key in your email address in the box below this post.
Now, if you’re interested to travel to Bukidnon and witness the Kaamulan Festival, check out this page for details on how to get to the Province of Bukidnon.
Meanwhile, for those who miss singing the Bukidnon Hymn, here are the lyrics of this beautiful song:
BUKIDNON MY HOME
Wherever I may roam
the distant land to see
I long to go back soon
to sweet Bukidnon home.
Her lovely mountains high
her forest old and grand
bring memories to me
the home I long to see.
There my heart, yearns to be
in far away, Bukidnon land
under its blue starry skies
where love and joy never die
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Sen. Chiz Escudero urges Malacanang to diverte imported rice to Mindanao refugees
July 9, 2009
Commentary, Cotabato, Food, Government, Headline, Mindanaoan Update, News, Personalities, iligan city
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At least someone’s thinking about Mindanao and Mindanao refugees! Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday said that the government should act immediately to divert shipments of imported rice to central Mindanao so that the 380,000 refugees in evacuation centers won’t go hungry after a UN agency halted its food relief operations in the region.
“We are faced with a humanitarian crisis that could become a disaster if this administration fails to act quickly to fill in the gap left by the UN World Food Program,” Escudero said.
“Part of the rice we have been shipping in from abroad can be diverted to the ports of General Santos and Cotabato City. This will not make a dent in the NFA’s 82-day buffer stock,” he said.
He also called on the government to ensure the safety of the staff of the UN agency which suspended its program on Wednesday after a series of bombings in Cotabato and Iligan cities that killed six and wounded dozens of other people.
At the same time, Escudero reiterated his call for the resumption of talks between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) even as he condemned the brutal terrorist attacks which have mostly killed civilians.
“We are now reaping the results of a failed peace policy. The old ways of thinking have not worked. Perhaps it is time for the people to find novel ways to stop the bloodletting,” he said.