Despite terror fears, Indak-Indakan sa Kadalanan fills the streets of Davao City

Looking at this year’s Kadayawan celebration, you wouldn’t think that Mindanao was plagued with almost weekly bombings for the past two months. Despite the increased visibility of police and military, plus the random bag inspections, Dabawenyos as well as tourists from all over flocked to the streets to witness the highlight of the festival, the Indak-Indakan sa Kadalanan.

Indak-Indakan sa Kadalanan, which translates to “stomping on the streets,” is more than just a dance competition. It’s a dazzling, vibrant display of Mindanao culture set to the heart-pounding rhythms of the indigenous instruments. Each performance is based on traditions, myths, narratives, and folklore unique to the region.




The weather also seemed to go out of its way to make sure that the Kadayawan festivities would push through. For most of the weekend it was warm with just enough clouds to make sightseeing, and dancing in the streets, a little more comfortable.

According to a report on Sunstar.com, more than 20,000 Davao residents and tourists gathered in the streets to watch the 23 groups from all over Mindanao performing at Kadayawan. The contigents performed in two areas, along C.M. Recto Avenue and on the stage in San Pedro, where the judging was held.

Most of the schools and performing groups for Indak-Indakan prepared as early as a year in advance, doing research, conceptualizing the choreography and the costumes, getting the performers, and doing rehearsals.

In a lot of ways, the performers are like athletes. They trained rigorously to gain the endurance and strength to dance in the streets for hours, sometimes barefoot, in hot, heavy costumes. They were also trained to focus on their own percussion section and tune out the background noise from other performers and the people around it. There’s a lot of prestige attached to winning the Indak-Indakan, not to mention cash prizes of P300,000 for the grand prize winners.

This year, the grand winner of the Davao-based category was Holy Cross of Calinan for their performance, “The Legend of the Eagles”. The Panay National High School Hamugaway Performing Arts was the grand prize winner of the open category for their performance of a Maguindanao folk narrative, “Antig”.

The Indak-Indakan was a colorful tribute to culture and tradition, and a joyous celebration of courage in the face of terror. Definitely more than just a dance competition. — BM, GMA News