Bontoc’s Am-among fest winners get cash prizes

By Alpine L. Killa-Malwagay

BONTOC, Mountain Province - A contingent from the ALBAGO Zone represented by Barangays Alab Oriente and Alab Proper of this capital town bagged the P50, 000 cash prize after it won as champion in the street dancing and cultural presentation of this year's 19th Am-among Festival.
    The ALBAGO Zone wowed the audience and the panel of judges with their entry titled "Sedey/Balawang,” 
    Their entry was inspired by the theme "Sinangad-um ay ugali, ma-angangen, mengawisan adi malipatan."
    Accordingly, Sedey is performed in the village to ward off an epidemic that gravely affected the people and their animals.
    The locals perform such ritual twice a year but if there is no epidemic, it is done once to protect the community as a whole. 
    Coming in second place in the Central Zone represented by Barangay Samoki, which received a cash prize worth P40,000. 
    The contingent highlighted the best practice of the Bontoc community known as "Ug-ugfu". Per the contingent’s write-up, Ug-ugfo is a coping strategy developed in the older days to reduce labor stress.
    Members of  Bontoc households cannot provide their own labor needs, especially during the peak phase of the agricultural cycle.
If labor were drawn only from household members, many rice fields would be left undone before the next seasonal activity.
    As such, the practice of "Ug-ugfu" was developed and members of the neighboring households formed a labor exchange group.
    This reciprocal work group worked together for each labor requirement of a household until all members were served.
    Children follow this in their routine activities like fetching water.
    The Upland Zone represented by Barangay Mainit bagged third place with a cash prize of P30,000 with their performance of “Saknit/     Faliwes”- the traditional sugarcane processing in the said village. Accordingly, it is an agricultural practice but a certain ritual which is ‘te-er si saknit” (rest day) is being observed for a day more to determine the start of the saknit. 
    Landing in fourth place was Riverside Zone represented by Barangay Caneo, with their presentation known as “Ayag si Uchan” with
cash prize of P20,000.
    Accordingly, the “Ayag si Uchan” is being practiced by the village when there is “tikag” or drought season. 
    The cash prizes of the contingents were sourced from the Am-among Fund of the Bontoc Local Government Unit.  
    Meanwhile, Mountain Province Rep. Maximo Dalog, Jr., pledged to give P15, 000 each as additional cash incentive per zone. 
    The panel of judges were Dr. Elizabeth Macliing-Solang,  also the guest of honor and speaker during the Bontoc Foundation Day Program on Sept. 15, Tyronne Glenn Lawey of the Provincial Tourism Office and Caren Laurice Chugyawi from the Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School.