COTABATO CITY COMMEMORATES A HISTORIC ARRIVAL
Cotabato City’s festival commemorates the coming of Shariff Kabunsuan, who introduced Islam to mainland Mindanao in the early 16th century
It was a momentous 2022 celebration of Cotabato City’s Shariff Kabunsuan Festival because it marked the first time that the city government of Cotabato and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao government collaborated.
Cotabato only became officially part of BARMM in 2019. However, the festival was not held in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic; and during the 2021 celebration, friction between the local and regional governments reportedly led to two sets of events.
The 2022 celebration, held from 15 to 19 December, became a partnership of the city government, headed by mayor Mohammad Ali “Bruce” D. Matabalao, with the Cotabato
City Tourism Council, chaired by Bai Sandra S.A. Sema, and BARMM, headed by its chief minister Ahod B. Ebrahim, with the BARMM Ministry of Trade, Investments and Tourism, led by its minister Abu Amri Taddik and director general Rosslaini Alonto-Sinarimbo.
The festival commemorates the arrival and life of the Arab-Malay Shariff Kabunsuan or Kabungsuwan, who is credited for bringing Islam to mainland Mindanao in early 16th century, as well as showcases the heritage and cultures of Cotabato City and the Bangsamoro region. An interesting lineup of events included the Culture and Heritage Booths Competition; a bazaar at CityMall Cotabato; the Agri-Trade Fair at the city plaza, where you can buy traditional products and foods such as sweets putri mandi, bulua, tinagtag and tipas; and the Virtual Forum on the life and works of Shariff Kabunsuan, organized by Bangsamoro Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage.
The Qur’an Reading Exhibition was an avenue to show the skills of qari’s or reciters including Suleman Abdulaziz, Noman Pembayabaya, Muhamidin Umpong, Daud Abdulgani, Qamaruddin Zaid, Saudi Gandisa, Sabila Alim, Mohammad Nazir Asgar, Abdulwadud Esmail, Yusop Pandit, Mohammad Siddik
Guiwan, Lahmudin Makaduat, Musa Panday, Abdul Jalil Amirol, and Abdulatip Daud. On the other hand, the “Colors of Cotabato” was a three-day series of shows, which presented traditional
and folk dances of the peoples of Cotabato, particularly the indigenous Maguindanao, Iranun and Teduray peoples and the settlers, most which are Christians, and featured the Salamindanao Dance Troupe.
The Culinary Showcase featured demos of Moro dishes, while the “Inaul Fashion Show” showcased the creations of local designers using the Maguindanao hand-woven textile, the inaul at the Cotabato State University Gym.
Oral and musical traditions, particularly the Maguindanao and Meranaw chanting, and a modern creative expression were highlighted in the Spoken Poetry, Bayok and Kulintang Appreciation Workshop with resource persons Garret Dayaday (“The Spoken Poetry: Speaking the Unspoken Words”), Alas M. Panarigan (“The Art of Bayok: The Mirror of the Past, Present, and the Future”), and Musalik Kabunto (“Kulintang: Sounds, Heritage, and History”).
Stories retold
The most important events were the opening program and the culminating event.
The opening program, on 15 December at the Cotabato State University Grandstand, included a reenactment of the arrival of Shariff Kabunsuan, called “The Coming (History of Shariff Kabunsuan)” directed by Omar Patadon and written by Karen Pitoy and Gilmar Lao.
Shariff Kabunsuan arrived at the mouth of Masla Pulangi, now Rio Grande de Mindanao, from Johore in presentday Malaysia. According to tarsilas or Maguindanao genealogy records and oral stories, Shariff Kabunsuan met Tabunaway and his elder brother Mamalu. Tabunaway embraced Islam but Mamalu did not, deciding to go the mountains and reside there. Tabunaway’s descendants are said to be the Maguindanao people while Mamalu’s are the Teduray, the traditionally animistic indigenous group of south and central Mindanao. Shariff Kabunsuan is also said to have founded the sultanate of Maguindanao.
The highlight of the day was the Kuyog Showcase Competition, in which five contingents presented their festival dances.
The contingent from Tulunan, North Cotabato, composed of students of the Sibsib National High School Performing Arts Ensemble, emerged as the first place winner. They presented the love story of Iranun warrior Kanakan A Sansawi and Putri Maindan, daughter of a sultan whom Kanakan killed.
The second place winner, the contingent from the Maguindanao community of Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, told the tragedy brought by the storm Nalgae, locally known as Paeng, in October 2022,
and how the community rose up and endured. They considered the celebration of the Shariff Kabunsuan Festival as a thanksgiving.
The contingent from the town of Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao del Norte, told the story of the arrival of Shariff Kabunsuan in dance-drama, winning third place.
The rest of the contestants were the contingents from Malabang, Lanao del Sur; and Matanog, Maguindanao del Norte. Malabang’s presentation incorporated Meranaw dances, attire and motifs, and told an episode in the Shariff Kabunsuan story when he arrived in the town, then called T’buk, and married a local princess, extending his influence.
Fluvial parade
The Shariff Kabunsuan Festival culminated with the Guinakit Fluvial Parade on 19 December, which also reenacted the arrival of Shariff Kabunsuan, but through the years it has served as a spectacle.
The guinakit refers to local boats, decorated with traditional Maguindanao flags, such as the pandala, in bright yellow, red, and green.
“More than the display of these colorful bancas, ang paggunita sa pagdating ni
Shariff Kabunsuan ngayon ay isang makabuluhang okasyon dahil ito ay sumisimbolo sa hindi natitinag na pangako ng mga tao na itaguyod ang kanilang mga paniniwala sa relihiyong
Islam habangiginagalangangpagkakaibaiba ng iba pang kultura, relihiyon, wika, at tradisyon (the commemoration of the arrival of Shariff Kabunsuan now is a meaningful occasion because it symbolizes the unwavering promise of the people to uphold their belief in the religion of Islam while respecting the differences of other cultures, religions, languages, and traditions),” said Matabalao in his
message during the program. “Sa lungsod ng Cotabato at rehiyon ng Bangsamoro, mga lugar kung saan lumago at umunlad ang parehong mga binhi ng Islam, Kristiyanismo, at iba’t iba pang relihiyon (In the city of Cotabato and the region of Bangsamoro, places where the seeds of Islam, Christianity and other religions together thrived), may we be reminded that other than faith, it is the message of peace and unity among those who shared the same that this festival wants us to share and remember. And that Cotabato City, being the crown jewel of BARMM, is truly para sa lahat (for all).”
About 200 vibrantly embellished boats of different sizes sailed on the Tamontaka River towards Illana Bay. Near the mouth, in the area of the barangay of Kalanganan II, the boats put on a show, dancing in circles. Some of the big boats carried groups of musicians. They were accompanied by fleets of small boats owned by local fishermen.
Celebratory feast
The festival aptly ended with feastings. Near the river, a grand
pagana was prepared for participants and attendees. In the afternoon, the city government hosted a grand kanduli at the city hall. The kanduli,a banquet that involves a ritual as thanksgiving for blessings received as well as to ensure more blessings, is an important practice among the Maguindanao people. The name is Maguindanao for “offering.”
The kanduli featured the
dulang, a tray richly laden with food and delicacies, evocative of how the Shariff Kabunsuan Festival was a cultural feast, poised to be the biggest festival of the Bangsamoro region.