Educator graces Barlig Fortan Festival

BARLIG, Mountain Province -- The recent the 50^th Foundation Day and 12^th Fortan Festival of this town had Dionie Chungalan, retired Education Division supervisor and eco-tourism proponent in eastern Mountain Province as guest speaker.

          He was the president of the province’s newly organized Homestay Program in 1996 when the Department of Tourism in the Cordillera introduced the project.

The theme was “Kultura  yaman ng Bayan, dapat nating pangalagaan.”

As guest speaker, he opened his message by defining “culture” as a way of life. It is a cultural heritage composing of material and non-material and stock of wisdom of forefathers that are transmitted from generation to another. Before tackling his topic on why Fortan Festival is celebrated, Chungalan clarified terms like cultural area, diffusion, acculturation and assimilation.

“Fortan” is a dialect of the place that deals on inheritance or something past as legacy, he said, adding, it is usually given by ancestors to be enjoyed or benefited from by the present generation. Chungalan said ‘Fortan Festival’ highlighted environmental awareness in hand with environmental stewardship.

“What are our legacies handed down to us? We have two great rivers, the Tanudan and Siffu rivers, thick forests, time-hallowed rice terraces, places of interest like waterfalls, mountain lake, stone burial cave, hot springs, hunting grounds and the only municipality that has three distinct cluster feasts – Menaliyam Festival in Kadaclan, Changsayan in Lias unified by the town Fortan Festival,” he s   aid.

He said these inspired Reo. Maximo B. Dalog to author House Bill 2192, “An act declaring Barlig as tourism area and appropriating funds thereof.”

Education, he added, was key to solving underdevelopment.

         Other speakers were Mayor Clark Ngaya, Vice Mayor Genesis Changilan, lawyer . Cyprene Dalog who represented her father Congressman Dalog. Rev. Mario Awilan who rendered invocation while Kathy Kunayon introduced the guest speaker.

Eleven barangays, municipal and barangay officials, visitors and hundreds of crowd viewers who participated applauded colorful ethnic dances, songs, beauty pageant flavored by booths of various local agri-ethnic products for sale. -- Corazon F. Pulagan