In the country where I am at, we are known for being the happiest people in the world. And guess what? Even in the middle of a strong typhoon, people will still smile. Just like this..
It is called the Naliyagan Festival.
This is one of the songs we have for the Naliyagan Festival. And, one of the things that I am proud of this one is because, the lady in a light blue soft denim top is my classmate during college :) She's just so good!
The word "Naliyagan" comes from the Manobo elders in our province which means "the chosen one and the most loved". The first Naliyagan Festival was celebrated last 1993 and that was 25 years ago. And since then, the Naliyagan Festival has been the biggest event that everyone in our province is really looking forward to every year.
Naliyagan Festival is celebrated in the Naliyagan Plaza. It is mostly like your traditional plaza where Rizal's monument is there and flowers around. Before, the Naliyagan Plaza is not yet cemented and when it rains, it would really get so muddy but still, a lot of people wants to join the fun. As of now, the Naliyagan Plaza is already fully cemented as if it is like you're in America. (Well, as far as I thought of it.)
Most of the festivals here in the Philippines are commonly to give glory to the saints or kind of like a Catholic - themed festivals but, Naliyagan Festival is not that kind of a Festival because the Naliyagan Festival is celebrated to give commemoration of the founding anniversary of Agusan del Sur and pays tribute to everything indigenous and local in the province. This is also to highlight the Manobo tribe of the province. Also, not like any other festivals who have "ukay-ukay" or "tiange", we have more! During Naliyagan festivals, there is a contest of booth making representing the 13 municipalities of the province and the indigenous materials they have and as well as indigenous handicrafts and also, the food that are famous in each municipalities. It is so fun to see each municipalities' creativeness in making their booths and you can really feel so proud of being an "Agusanon"
This is a photo that I took on one of the booths during the Naliyagan Festival. I got really astonished with this one and I couldn't help but take a picture. The picture is kind'a dark because it was during night time when I took this photo but when you take a look at it. The mannequin is wearing a dress with indigenous materials used on it and also, flowers that are popular in their municipality.
The Naliyagan Festival usually starts by June 12 (which is coincidentally the Indepence Day) and it will end by June 17. This is a long week festival. To officially start the festival, a high priest will offer sacrifices of pigs or chickens to summon the good spirits of the forest.
There is also street dancing representing the ethnic dances of the Manobo. :)
Photo from: greedypeg.org
During Naliyagan Festival, there is also what we call the "Bai Naliyagan" contest which is a beauty pageant like the usual pageant we know and the there are 13 lovely contestants representing the 13 municipalities of the province.
We also have The Agri-lympics which are different games like mudfish relay. Mudfish relay is like egg and spoon relay but, this is live mudfish on a plate! This game is really a fun game to watch.
We also have games like boat rowing and this is fun, too. There are even some who would fall off the boat. LOL! :D
And, also, there is moto-cross racing as well which, my papa really love to watch. Every year, I guess, this is what my papa's favorite thing to watch during Naliyagan.
And of course, the highlight of every night is the Fireworks display! It is approximately 10 - 15 minutes show and people would really stay in the Naliyagan Plaza just to watch it. Fireworks are just so fun to watch and even if it is already late, people would sacrifice their sleep just to watch the fireworks. :)
We do have a lot of things that we do during the Naliyagan Festival but, I guess my post would be too long if I put all of them in here. So, that is our culture in our Province in Agusan del Sur. I hope you like it! :)
I just also want to give special thanks to 
You can also check out some of my posts :)
Post # 1 : Introducing Me (This is my introduction post)
Post # 2 : A Daydream (A poem that I wrote)
Post # 3: Scene at Corpus Christi Beach (A photography)
Post # 4: Meet Fluffy (A picture of my boyfriend's cat and she's so cute!)
Happy steeming everyone! If you like my post, please don't forget to upvote, leave a comment, and reblog :) :)
