Kalilang Festival
The Municipality of Nunungan,Lanao del Norte in its attempts to propagate
the indigenous culture of the Maranaws of Lanao symbolized the Maranaw
Kalilang as their highlights of their Founding Anniversary on every 30th of June.
Kalilang is a Maranaw term for feast, where the concituents of the twenty
five ( 25) barangays celebrate such feast by preparing their own native foods
and delicacies, putting colorful bunting and flag lets on the street and the
most and highly anticipated one is the showdown playing of kolintang, rituals
and entertainment dances performed and participated by the 25 barangays.
Kolintang is a Mararaw instrument composed of eight small gongs with different
sizes which usually played by women showing her skills in playing Kolintang
artistically, accompanies by a pair of agong (gongs), Debakan (drum) and the
Babendir (small gongs) for synchronizations of Kolintang orchestra. The
municipality of Nunungan organized their own cultural troupe to entertain
guests and visitors to the place and the entire province as a whole to promote
and show how they preserve their indigenous and colorful culture of the place.
It would be difficult to match the color, excitement, and
variety of activities in a Maranao kalilang (carnival, festival)
held on special merrymaking occasions such as welcoming
pilgrims home from the hajj, coronation of a new sultan, and
the like. The kalilang—a rare event now—can last a whole
day from dawn until well into evening or it can go on for
days. The festivities often begin with a procession of
dignitaries and their retinue, dressed in the finest traditional
clothes. Members of the royalty are accompanied by their
parasol bearers, the sequined and bejeweled parasols—
called payong-m diyakatan—being tokens of their rank.
The whole parade moves to the syncopated, swi beat of
drums and gongs. Fireworks are set off here and there,
adding to the festive din J the procession. Then follow
outdoor games and competitions, supported by hundreds!
excited spectators.
The festivities of the kalilang are capped by an evening of
instrumental musi featuring the beating of war drums
(kagandang), and exhibition performances on thj kulintang (a set
of brass gongs set out in xylophone fashion). There are also
ceremonii dances and kambaoika. Kambaoika is a sort of contest
among singers, chanters, or recites of improvised poetic
compositions, at which the Maranaos seem especially adept.