Dayaw Features Buklog, the Grandest Festival of the Subanens

Senator Loren Legarda invites everyone to watch the third episode of Dayaw Season 5: Pagdiwang at Pasasalamat on Thursday, July 04, 6:30 pm, on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), with livestreaming on abs-cbnnews.com/live and on ANC’s Facebook page.

The third episode, “Buklog”, looks into the grandest and most complex ritual of the Subanens of Mindanao that reaffirms their profound gratitude for the blessings that they received, healing from an illness, reception for a new home, burial rites, greeting an honored guest, recognition of a new timuay (leader), and even rites for a dead infant.^[1]

“In this episode, we will tackle Buklog, a rarely performed communal ritual of the Subanens in the Zamboanga Peninsula, which is anchored in indigenous traditions and animistic expression of thanks and prayer.  The date of the observance of Buklog varies, depending on important milestones on the community’s life,” said Legarda.

“Buklog demonstrates the intricate rites and exemplifies the deep faith of the Subanens in their religious and spiritual beliefs. The entire process – from the construction of the platform to the gathering of the community to perform the dance ritual – holds a deeper meaning for the Subanens. Episode 3 will let us explore how a community’s efforts were rooted in their own mythology, in their beliefs in the deities their ancestors had communed with,” Legarda added.

Dayaw, conceptualized and hosted by Legarda, and produced by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and ANC, is a six-part, 30-minute weekly documentary series that focuses on the preservation of the country’s culture and heritage.

It is shown every Thursday, at 6:30 pm on ANC, with live streaming on news.abs-cbn.com/live and on ANC’s Facebook page, and aired simultaneously on The Filipino Channel (TFC). Replays are on Friday 1:30am and 2:30pm, Saturday 3:00am and 8:30am, Sunday 11:30am, and Monday 1:30pm.***

^[1] Buklog Rites. International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO. http://www.ichcap.org/eng/ek/sub3/pdf_file/domain3/082_Buklog_Rites.pdf