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This is my Home Town Blog

Bonok-Bonok Festival Surigao City

The Bonok-Bonok Festival features a ritual dance that originated from the early settlers of Surigao, the Mamanwas. Usually, the dance’s rhythm begins with a slow beat that gradually gets faster, which causes the performers to work at the music’s pace. One of the main attraction of the dance is the colorful raiment used, which includes the tubaw or a beaded headdress, bracelets and anklets. The ceremonial dress for men and women is ornate in design with various colors.

The Bonok-Bonok Maradjaw Karadjaw Festival is an annual event held in Surigao City to honor Señor San Nicholas de Tolentino, the city's patron saint. It is a day-long event marked by street dancing festivities. It's a Surigaonon's way of thanksgiving for the bountiful blessings.

The dance ritual has been passed on from generation to generation and is still being practiced today of what is known as the Bonok-Bonok Festival. It is also celebrated in reverence to the Patron Saint San Nicolas de Tolentino and to reflect the city’s rich cultural heritage.

An award-winning cultural-religious festival highlighted by a street dance parade depicting the legends and lifestyle of the indigenous Mamanwa Tribes. The festival is also a tribute to St. Nicholas, city's Patron Saint, whose feast is observed on September 10

Every country, cities, and barangay, have different ways of living, practices, laws and unique beliefs. As we can see, in every places like Cebu, Davao, and Bulacan, there is what we call Festivals, that is celebrated every year. These festivals have different histories and ways of celebration. Surigao del Norte is a province of the Philippines located in the Caraga region in Mindanao. Its capital is Surigao City. The province consists of two major islands Siargao Island and Bucas Grande Island in the Philippine Sea, and a small region at the northern most tip of the island of Mindanao. This mainland portion borders Agusan del Norte, and Surigao del Sur to the south.

                   Surigao City was known before as “Banahao”, according to the writings of Fray San Juan Francisco de San Antonio written on 1738. He portray Banahao as located at the northern head of Mindanao within there is a good port for ships called Bilan-bilan. Some local historians said that, there are many versions regarding the meaning of Surigao and how this was drived. Like “Sulo”, which means sulog or current, the name Surigao may have been originally coined from the Spanish word “Surgir” meaning swift current.

                   It is the center of marketplace and trade, education and politics in Surigao del Norte and to its closer provinces such as Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Norte. Located at the north easternmost tip of Mindanao Island, Surigao City is considered to be one of the most competitive small-sized Cities in the Philippines according to the Asian Institute of Management in the year 2012.

                   Surigao City, the provincial capital is dubbed as the “Gateway to Mindanao”. The ferry landing terminal in Lipata links Mindanao to Luzon through Eastern Visayas. It annually showcases in full regalia its distinct cultural heritage through the Bonok-Bonok Maradjaw Karadjaw” Festival. It is a provincial city that offers a respite from the busting metropolitan life.

                  This city is also known for having various ethnic cultures that is still being practiced until now. The Pasayan Festival (September 10-11). Pasayan is the local word for shrimp, which is ample in the area. The city celebrates this festival through cook-off. This culinary cook fest uses large quantities of shrimp prepared in a variety of recipes. Other highlights of this festival include shrimp eating contest,senior citizen backward marathon, palm wine (tuba) drinking contest and threading-the-needle contest. Kinilaw Festival (October 2) this festival showcases different styles in preparing kinilaw, a dish consisting of raw fish marinated in citrus, vinegar or coconut milk mixed with spices and served as an appetizer, similar to the South American ceviche. It also features other marine products abundant in the city and the Bonok-Bonok Marajaw KaradjawFestival (September 9) this is a day-long festival marked by street dancing and festivities featuring the ethnic Mamanwa tribal dance, Bonok-bonok commemorating thanksgiving after a plenty harvest, worship of gods and tribal wedding. One of their famous ethnic cultures that are still being practiced is the “Bonok-bonok Marajaw Karajaw Festival”.

Silop Cave

Silop Caves – Surigao City

Silop Caving activity has one of the most organized caving trips that you will find in Mindanao.  Here’s how it goes.  First, you need to go to the barangay center in order to register and be outfitted with proper spelunking or caving gears like a helmet, gloves, and a headlamp.  Second, guests will be very confident to undertake activities as the barangay center will provide a tour guide who is trained by the Department of Tourism to conduct such activity.  

The caving activity begins with a 15 minute walk from the barangay center and climb at 110 concrete steps to enter Cave 1. There are 6 caves to exlore in Silop Caves.  Cave 1 is a bat colony is deemed to be unsafe for tourists.  Cave 2 has plenty of headroom and has a very wide expanse and with generous caverns; thus, tourists won’t feel claustrophobic.  Cave 3 is for more experienced spelunkers.  Cave 6 remains unexplored.

The Silop Underwater Cave System (SUCS) is a contiguous ecosystem joining the underwater cave and the terrestrial area that are unique and a home to a wealth of unexplored biodiversity. Concerned stakeholders now fear that the gaining popularity of the site will result in the degradation of the critically fragile ecosystem and will result to the loss of the still undocumented biodiversity treasure.

The main threats that can be reduced are the siltation and brown water effect that unfortunately are diffusing to nearby Barangay Silop. The other major threat that this project wants to address is the lack of site-specific policy and mechanisms to safeguard this fragile ecosystem. There is also lack of framework in which development and utilization of the area can follow on

6 Caves Of Silop

Silop Cave is actually a massive cave system - 6 caves to be exact. The 6th cave has not even been explored. Cave 1 is not for tourists - it's heavy on bat dung, deep with low oxygen levels and there is a healthy snake population. However, for advance cavers, arrangements can be made in advance. We ventured into Cave 2. It's the tourist-offering with plenty of headroom and cathedral-like expanse. It's actually an ideal cave for beginnners - nothing claustrophobic, you won't wade neck-deep in water and you won't have to squeeze yourself like toothpaste coming out of a tube. The caverns are generous, the ceilings rich in statactite formation, you see connecting columns and a myriad of interesting passageways. Yes, there are bats! After Cave 2, everyone except me and 4 other guides left. With just us, we took on the more technical sections of Cave 3.

First-Time Exploration

To my surprise, not all the passageways of Cave 3 have been explored by the guides. They have their own established route where they take the guests. But there was a gung-ho feeling in the air. We are all fit and curious. We started looking out for promising holes that haven't been penetrated even by the guides themselves. This took us to tight caverns with interesting textures and unique rock formation. There was no milestone discovery, but it was a rush knowing that this section is perhaps the very first time anyone has seen it.

Ending Thoughts

The thing that continues to excite me about Silop Cave are the possibilities of exploring new and never-before seen sections within the cave system. I'd like to crawl down into tight spaces only to come out to what might seem like a different world. I don't mind getting smelly, muddy and wet if need be. Like the famous line in the movie Casablanca, what's between me and Silop Cave is the "start of a beautiful friendship