Kalinga slates Bodong fest with beating of 1,000 gongs

CITY OF TABUK, Kalinga -- Kalinga plans is set stage again the spectacular “Awong Chi Gangsa” (A call for a thousand gongs) for the   time during its 25^th founding anniversary and 4th Bodong Festival  in February next year.

This time, it will not only  be the  men  who will showcase Kalinga’s rich cultural heritage but    women will  get  to  participate  in the  “Dancing Thousand Pots” .

Bishop Prudencio Andaya Jr., the brain of Awong Chi Gangsa, said people longed for it after four years of rest.

“Awong Chi Gangsa should be shown again to remind us of its fruitful result when Kalinga sub-tribes enjoyed peaceful relationship when tribal conflicts disappeared from the deafening peace call of the thousand gongs,” he said.
               In previous staging of the Awong Chi Gangsa brought the different sub-tribes of Kalinga in one day to dance side-side aimed to forget animosities between them. Organizers during their assessment were very happy that misunderstandings were discarded since that time.

Law enforcers attributed the decrease in crime volume in the province to the absence of tribal conflicts. This also resulted to high rate of crime solution efficiency when tribes come together to settle their differences amicably.
Andaya said “The Dancing Thousand Pots” symbolizes the hospitality of iKalingas. A pot (banga) is a common kitchenware among the iKalingas and Kalinga women up to this time are also making pots as a livelihood.

Awong Chi Gangsa was first staged in 2014 participated by 1,430 gong players and in 2015 with 1,819 dancers.
Gov. Ferdinand Tubban committed the provincial government’s full support to this planned activity. (JDP/PAB-PIA CAR, Kalinga)