La Trinidad strawberry fest /Hungduan’s tunud

TRAILS UP NORTH

Gloria A Tuazon

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Around the world, festivals are happening. Strawberry festivals are not uncommon. In the United States alone, there are numerous. Europe and Canada have their own versions too. All of these festivities would eventually coincide with the season for when the fruits are most abundant or at their production peak.

Attractions are numerous to include local entertainment from the community in the form of beauty pageants, crafts of all sorts, competitions in sorts and such and all dishes imaginable made from the berry. The local strawberry festival of La Trinidad, Benguet has all of these too. All except the that last year it excelled, the fact that the community made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for having produced and made the largest strawberry cake in history.

No other place or entity has yet disputed or challenged that. Aside from this, some of the traditional cultures of the Benguet tribes are often shown here too during their cultural presentations, this making the big difference. We have to consider that the Benguet cultures are unique,as unique and different as the culture of the other tribes next to it.

This year's Strawberry Festival lasts 10 days. It includes a strawberry market, booths of assorted products, music, art shows, sports competition, a pageant, a gospel concert, berry picking activities, job fair, farm tours, and a forum for strawberry farmers too.
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In Ifugao, the Save the Ifugao Terraces Movement and PGO-Ifugao has embarked on a task that most others would have thought once impossible. With just their will and determination, the movement was started in 2000 with the aim to save the deteriorating terraces in Ifugao. Funded primarily by dreams, they slowly made their campaigns and, networks and avenues to advance their task.

This province is sustained by agriculture and tourism, both directly linked to the teraces. It is what makes it so unique and alive in the first place. In 1995, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list and soon after in 2001 was considered endangered along with that of other countries. ***

What makes these terraces special is the fact that they are ancient, painstakingly carved out of the mountains for lack of flatlands, fueled by indigenous strength and minds. Imagine the sights of marvelously g-string clad, betel nut chewing people of old, planning and constructing these giant steps in their minds. Like the Thinking Man, pondering what comes next to what and how to do this after that.

And out of the blue, ideas formed. What is beautiful here is the fact that ideas are nothing without the hands that put it in order, to put into being the concepts of the mind. So literally, it started with one single "step" until the steps stopped at the top of the stairs and going nowhere from there. Others did it as well and came came a bout a land of terraced mountains. Everywhere in Ifugao, these terraces are seen but they mostly cluster in four major areas.
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In Banaue, the Bangaan and Batad clusters are ranked the favorites. They span the whole view until you ose sight of the boundary beyond the horizon. There is also the Hungduan cluster of terraces, where the recently SITMo organized activity was held and concluded, the Tunod Ad Hungduan. There is also the Mayoyao Central Terraces though a bit farther off. And then, the terraces of Kiangan in Barangay Nagacadan.
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Why so much the effort to protect and rehabilitate the terraces? There is the fear that in the modern times, the people are now losing interest of their culture and traditions. That with hard times coming the agricultural lands are going to residential purposes, with no other recourse the provincial government has to take measures to help the owners come up with other alternative livelihoods, enough for sustenance that the terraces may be continued and left alone to what they were – as remembrances to a colorful and ingenius way of life by the forefathers.

So in Hungduan the tunod went as planned, with the paddies prepared and watered, to receive the new seedlings and nurture it. The SITMo after all is on track, the once upon a time dream is alive.