In Davao City, August is not just a month—it’s a memory, a movement, and a mirror. The Kadayawan Festival, now etched into the city’s cultural DNA, returns each year not merely as a celebration, but as a reckoning. It is Davao’s way of saying: “We remember where we came from. We honor who we are.”
This year, the festival sheds its ordinal label—no 40th, no fanfare of numbers. Instead, it embraces a deeper truth: that Kadayawan is not bound by chronology, but by continuity. As the city awaits the findings of a historical study tracing the festival’s true origins, it chooses to celebrate not a milestone, but a meaning.
A Ritual Reborn
Kadayawan’s roots run deeper than any parade. Long before the city lights and camera crews, there were rituals—quiet, sacred, and communal. The Lumad and Moro tribes of Davao gathered to thank the divine for the harvest, for the rivers that fed their crops, and for the mountains that guarded their homes.
Mayor Elias B. Lopez, a Bagobo by blood and a visionary by heart, saw the value in these rituals. He elevated them from the margins to the mainstream, giving birth to a festival that would one day become the city’s cultural crown jewel.
Eleven Tribes, One City
The soul of Kadayawan lies in its people—specifically, the eleven ethnolinguistic tribes who have long called Davao home. Ata, Matigsalug, Ovu-Manuvu, Tagabawa, Klata, Bagobo, Tausug, Maguindanao, Maranao, Iranun, and Sama. Each tribe carries a story. Each story carries a song. And each song is sung in the language of resilience.
At the Kadayawan Tribal Village in Magsaysay Park, these stories come alive. Not as museum pieces, but as living heritage. Plans are underway to make the village a permanent cultural hub—a year-round destination where tradition is not just displayed, but sustained.
The Pulse of the Streets
Kadayawan’s energy spills into the streets with Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan, where dancers move not just to music, but to memory. Their choreography is a chronicle—of creation myths, of ancestral journeys, of battles fought and peace forged.
Then comes Pamulak sa Kadayawan, the floral float parade. Here, artistry meets agriculture. The floats bloom with durian, mangosteen, orchids, and banana—symbols of the land’s generosity and the people’s ingenuity.
Crowning Cultural Ambassadors
One of the festival’s most anticipated events unfolded Thursday night at the University of Southeastern Philippines Gymnasium and Cultural Center, where Sittie Norhanna Sangcaan of Bangsa Maranao was crowned Hiyas sa Kadayawan 2025. Her grace, eloquence, and cultural pride earned her the title among 11 candidates representing Davao City’s ethnolinguistic tribes.
Completing Sangcaan’s court were Catherine Kate Oda of the Bagobo-Tagabawa tribe, crowned Hiyas sa Panaghiusa, and Jovie Otahi of the Ata tribe, chosen as Hiyas sa Kalambuan.
In a post-coronation interview, Sangcaan shared the depth of her advocacy:
“Representing my tribe is an honor, and I was happy and overwhelmed. This is my dream—to be an advocate of my Bangsa Maranao, and I am here to be the voice and the catalyst for change.”
Her win was not just a personal triumph, but a powerful statement of representation, reminding the city that cultural awareness begins with visibility and voice.
More Than Merriment
Beyond the fanfare, Kadayawan is a civic statement. It is Davao’s way of saying that culture is not seasonal. That identity is not ornamental. That gratitude is not performative.
As Deputy Mayor Gabriel Nakan of the Bangsa Maguindanaon said during the opening ceremony: “We honor each of you. We thank you for preserving the sacred traditions that make Kadayawan not just a festival but a thanksgiving for life, for land, and for legacy.”
A Festival That Grows With Its People
Kadayawan is evolving. It is shedding its skin, not to forget its past, but to better embrace its future. With ongoing efforts to institutionalize its cultural assets and document its true beginnings, the festival is becoming more than an event—it is becoming an institution.
In Davao City, abundance is not just what the land gives. It is what the people preserve. And Kadayawan, year after year, reminds us that the richest harvest is heritage.
