TRAILS UP NORTH

GLORIA TUAZON

City of Life

TABUK CITY, Kalinga – City of Life – that is what they call Tabuk these days which recently celebrated its first founding anniversary as a city and made it a point to coincide it with the annual Matagoan Festival. Matagoan means life. With "life" as the center theme, Mayor Camilo Lammawin expressed his thoughts along with every Tabuk resident to translate this event into a showcase of "life-giving" and "life-preserving" customs. Along the course of it all was the parade of products proudly made in Tabuk and all over Kalinga.

Tabuk is also the melting pot of all the sub-tribes in the province of many different clans and tribes having their own distinct codes and mores – sometimes warring against each other and eventually accepting peace.

As I went around asking people what they thought of the olden practice of tribal wars, most if not all agreed that peace was what they wanted -- what they have all prayed for in a long time. People they said they were tired of the violence that once haunted their lives and the existing bohongs or peace pacts were welcome reprieves to these happenings.

It was for these reason that dornat was included in the festival -- some kind of peace pact renewal among subtribes to strengthen ties and renew friendship. An overall leader, one of the pangats initiated the rite. All other pangats sat in behalf of their people. They danced, ate and again there was peace.
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Other highlights of the festival was the attempt to make the longest linudag line – a span of seven kilometers along the streets of Barangay Dagupan. Being the first time though proved more difficult than when it was first being planned.

They were able to cook and line up about 2,950 bamboo flasks of linudag that +stretched about 3.5 km. Having tried and failed to reach the 7-km goal didn’t mean a total flop because later during the day, the people feasted on the delicacy. Linudag by the way is a Kalinga delicacy of glutinous rice. It is pounded or ground into powder and cooked with coconut oil and sugar in a tube of cut bamboo flask. With that many flasks, imagine how many platters it filled up.
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The dances of the Kalinga people never fail to amuse and entertain. If I were to have my pick, they come first on my list. With their colorful costumes in bright hues of reds and yellows and accentuated by beads and feathers, they are like birds cavorting in a courtship show of affections. They have reasons to dance indeed, for they made it to their first anniversary as a city. Tabuk was granted this privilege, only the second city in the Cordillera, Baguio being the first.
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Part of the festival saw 164 runners ambling to the starting grounds, the men clad in g-strings as the rule required with the women, five of them in tapis and shirts. It was an open category run, men and women following one rule, one route. The seemingly easy run that spanned 9 km in this case proved difficult.

This early, the heat was starting to consume the skin and in a while the temperature rose along with the bodies. The signal went and off they ran down the capitol grounds to the main thoroughfare. The agility of these people made them born-runners. Lithe and light in body structure, they could outrun other heavier and bigger-boned adversaries.
Of the 164 competitors,152 made it to the finish line. Twelve gave up along the way due to exhaustion, muscle cramping and dehydration because of the unbearable heat. Besting everybody to take the lead was Caloy Amoya of Bulanao, taking home the prize money of P5,000 and a cell phone.
Last year’s champ Rex Cawilan of Naneng made it second and was given P4000 and a cell phone too. Andres Binuluan of Nambucayan, Recher Basyagan of Bulanao and Ryan Gunday of Naneng was 2nd, 3rd and fourth runner up respectively, each with a cel lphone and P3000, P2000 and P1000 prize money.

All others who made it to the finish line were given P200. The four lady runners, Marites Guinnap, Melody Guinnap both of Dupag, Perlita Baliyang of Bado Dangwa and Glaiza of Bulanao, who finished were given incentives of P1000 each courtesy of Mayor Lammawin, a T-shirt and SIM card courtesy of Touch Mobile. The youngest runner, Basha Manna, only 14 years old of Barangay New Tanglag was endorsed by his barangay captain to join. The kid had joined other marathons and was potential sports asset of the municipality.

Potential runners now look forward to the event with hope of being the next champ next year. This year’s marathon was chaired and coordinated by councilor Raul Albert with the local government unit sponsoring all cash incentives.
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Looking back as we drove off, I had this perception to take it all in because the next time may not be the same anymore. In a few years, a lot more Jollibees and things and names usual in the cities may soon emerge.