The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly greeting “Madayaw”, from the Dabawenyo word “dayaw”, meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living.
It was said that, long time ago, Davao’s ethnic tribes residing at the foot of Mount Apo would converge during a bountiful harvest. This ritual serves as their thanksgiving to the gods particularly to the “Manama” (the Supreme Being).
Today, Kadayawan has transformed into the festival of festivals, with a number of spin-off festivals in the region. The festival honors Davao’s artistic, cultural and historical heritage, its past personified by the ancestral Lumad people, its people as they celebrate on the streets, and its floral industry as its representatives parade in full regalia in thanksgiving for the blessings granted on the city.
For more of Kadayawan Festival, click here!
Two of the festivals highlights that you shouldn’t miss:
INDAK – INDAK SA KADALANAN
- A street dancing competition along Davao’s major thoroughfares will culminate in a grand showdown in the Rizal Park area.
PAMULAK SA KADAYAWAN
- A grand parade of floral floats from competing and non-competing entries will be staged at the city’s major thoroughfares.
For more of Philippine Festivals, click here!
Also visit and like my FB Page: driTHExplorer