In the Philippines September starts the Ber season. That is because the all the month’s end in Ber and that is what marks the coming Holiday season of Christmas. The stores are already displaying and selling Christmas decorations and you will hear the holiday music.

Soon the houses will be lit up with Christmas lights, Christmas trees will be set up and their decorations will be everywhere. But this is not the only signs of the upcoming holiday season.

There is something else that becomes noticeable that the holiday system is coming and that is the increased presence of the Lumad beggars. Lumad is the Cebuano or Bisaya word for the indigenous peoples of the southern Philippines. There is always a presence of these people, but the amount magnifies this time of year. Many of these people live in the mountains and highlands of Mindanao. During the holiday season many come into Davao by busses and trucks.

These people, the most noticeable are the females. They are in long loose skirts and T-shirts, darker completion and by all places there is a business or shopping. Many carry young children or babies in their arms and come up to you, tap you on the arm if you are not looking towards them and then put their hand out or they are carrying a plastic cup. They will motion to their mouths to say “I am hungry” or some know the word hungry. They will be at intersections and go from ca to car, tapping on the window and then motioning to their mouths or put their hand out. Some small boys will tape a few metal cans together and come up to your car and play the cans like Bongos and then put their hands out.

If you try to ignore them, many will continue to tap on your car window or your arm. No matter if you shake your head no, or say no or “wala kwarta” which means “no Money” many will continue to stand there.

It is especially bad when they see a foreigner; our lighter skin is like a beacon on a dark night. They will ignore all others and come up to you and start the routine. Many have no shame and will walk around with a baby in their arms, with their blouse raised and breast feeding the babies.

I can understand the poverty here in the Philippines and the lack of government support for the poor and unemployed, but this bussing in of the Lumad for the Christmas season to beg, and then bring them back to the mountains for the rest of the year has to be hard on these people and also on the City. The sidewalks and markets get full and so many in the streets with the heavy traffic makes a difficult situation and a danger for all.

There are many festivals and fiestas in Davao. From the neighborhood or barangay to the larger citywide festivals. The biggest festival is the Kadayawan (Ka-da-ya-wan) Festival. This is the 24^th year of this celebration. Officially it is runs from August 18 through the 24^th but there are activities all week.

Kadayawan history:

KADAYAWAN is a festival of thanksgiving for bountiful harvest and tribute to its colorful tribes in Exotic Mindanao.

A celebration that interfaces the three aspects; tribal, industrial and arts and entertainment. The festivities will be highlighted by the floral float, street-dancing competitions and exhibits showcasing the island’s tourism products and services.

Madayaw! – is the warm and friendly greeting derived from the Dabawenyo word “dayaw” that means good. It is also used to describe anything that is valuable, superior or beautiful. Such is “Kadayawan,” 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 thanksgiving festival was institutionalized in 1986 to unite the Dabawenyos after the turbulent Martial Law years. It was then called Apo Duwaling, a contraction of the famous icons of the city, the Mt. Apo, durian and waling-waling. Two years later, it was renamed Kadayawan to better reflect the merry spirit and indigenous theme of the celebration.

However, today, Kadayawan has metamorphosed into a festival, the mother of many other festivals in the region as it honors Davao’s heritage, its past personified by the ancestral lumads as they celebration on the streets, and its floral industry as they parade in full regalia in thanksgiving for the blessings bestowed.

Through 18 Kadayawan years, Davao City has nurtured a culture of peace in harmony with nature and with great respect to indigenous traditions. It has become the gateway to the arts and culture of Mindanao. All these are found in Kadayawan. Sun.Star Davao

The Festival consists of many activities. Some of the cultural exhibits show the different Lumad (indigenous people) in their native dress and dances. There is also a two parades, one where there are many dance teams in their bright costumes. The next day there is a parade of floats sponsored my businesses and clubs. Last year, after the parade, many of the floats go on display in the parking lot of SM Mall in Ecoland.

For a full schedule of events and more information,visit the Official Kadayawan Website.

]]> http://americanindavao.com/blog/2009/08/it%e2%80%99s-kadayawan-festival-time-again/feed/ 12 http://americanindavao.com/blog/2007/12/christmas-in-davao/ http://americanindavao.com/blog/2007/12/christmas-in-davao/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:55:00 +0000 Bruce http://americanindavao.com/blog/?p=25 Christmas in Davao has a lot of similarities and differences from America and I would guess the rest of the world.

Here in Davao as elsewhere a lot of homes and businesses have lights and decorations on display and you hear a lot of Christmas songs playing. You see salespeople wearing Santa hats and most people say to you “Merry Christmas”

One of the differences that is hard for me to get used to is the beggars. Most are Lumads. Lumads are indigenous peoples mainly from the provinces.

Around the beginning of December they start showing up in the neighborhood going house to house. They stop in front of your gate (thankfully most if not all homes have walls and or metal fences and locking gates) and sing Christmas Carols. They are in groups as few as 2 or more. Sometimes they are kids, some are so old, so you run the gambit. Some even have tambourines or native string instruments. They will continue to sing until you go out and give them 2 pesos ( about 5 cents US)

Once I a while is fine, but some days you will have many. If I am outside on the patio, I think their eyes light up and their brain says “Foreigner, he must have money” hahaha
When our niece from out of town visited, she had great responses. One was “Shhhh there is a baby sleeping” and another was “Sorry but the owner is not home at the moment”

An interesting sales pitch to bring in Christmas shopping is at the mall we most frequent. Gaisano Mall has a prize giveaway.

First of all, I need to explain, the mall owns the department store and the super market.

They have a deal, for every 400 pesos spent at the dept. store or 800 at the market, you get one play. You have your receipts checked and they give you slips for all the games you can play. Then you go up to the computers where cute girls in MS Santa outfits log into the computer and set the amount of plays you have.
Then you enter a 3 digit number for each play. After you’re done a printout comes out with your prizes. You then go to the next counter to redeem them.
The prizes can be as big as a motor cycle, washing machine, furniture. Then there are dish sets, rice cookers, bicycles, electric grills. But most are small rolls of wrapping paper, wash cloth, 1 pair of socks, scarf’s, balloons, badminton sets, ping pong sets and others too many to list.
2 times when we were playing the computer came up with “Special Prize” and you had to enter your name, address and phone number. The first time I was so excited. I was hoping for the motorcycle. I filled in my info and what did I win? I got a 5×7 picture frame. The next time it was a set of 2 small canisters with waterproof lids.

To All that read this, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too all.