Kadayawan 2008 Festival

Kadayawan Festival

The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly greeting "Madayaw", from the Dabawenyo word "dayaw", meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living.

Today, Kadayawan has transformed into a festival of festivals, with a number of spin-off festivals in the region. The festival honors Davao’s artistic, cultural and historical heritage, its past personified by the ancestral “lumads”, its people as they celebrate on the streets, and its floral industry as its representatives parade in full regalia in thanksgiving for the blessings granted on the city. A celebration that interfaces the three aspects; tribal, industrial and arts and entertainment. The festivities are be highlighted by floral floats, street-dancing competitions and exhibits showcasing the island's tourism products and services.

This year’s celebration has two main components:

Lumadnong Kasaulogan (Indigenous Peoples Festival) - the core of the Kadayawan Festival showcasing our indigenous peoples’ culture and arts.

Subay sa Lumadnong Kagikan (Contemporary Indigenous-motivated Celebrations) - showcases the impact of the indigenous culture and traditions to contemporary artists and communities.

This year is theme: "Musanay Lumadnong Kagikan, Yutang Kabilin Panalipdan!" (“Flourishing Indigenous Heritage, Protecting Ancestral Nations”)