• ANDREW ALTAREJOS
The city government of Bayawan in Negros Oriental recently celebrated its annual Tawo-Tawo Festival, with several activities lined-up.
The Tawo-Tawo Festival is a communal spiritual gathering and an expression of thanksgiving and a celebration of the bountiful harvest of rice and other agricultural crops. It portrays the anthropological, historical, and cultural roots of Bayawan City. This year’s festival anchors on the theme, “Kita ang Bayawan: Live with Spark”.
The Tawo-TawoFestival street dancing and presentation depicting the Seven Sacred Steps was witnessed by thousands of spectators along the 2-kilometer parade route from Bayawan City boulevard which ended at the newly constructed Bayawan City-NORSU sports stadium.
Showcasing the creative and innovative imagination of the main character of the festival, about five entries for the Higanteng Tawo-Tawo joined the parade and about 10 barangays also joined with their Tawo-Tawo Festival floats. Both the entries were also judged during Tawo-Tawo street dance and Higanteng Tawo-Tawo parade.
The participating floats were barangays Villareal, Kalumboyan, Tinago, Nangka, Banga, Minaba, Tayawan, Banay-Banay, Dawis, and Bugay. While the Higanteng Tawo-Tawo entries were NORSU-Bayawan, DC Electro Pot, and barangays and Tayawan.
Winners received P20,000 in cash prize and a trophy for the Higanteng Tawo-Tawo, and P30,000 in cash prize and trophy for the Tawo-Tawo Festival float. Second and third places also received a cash prize and trophy in both categories.
The seven contingent-schools that participated in the street dance with their corresponding event scenes were Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) – Ang mga Bukidnon, Kalamtukan National High School – Ang Paghanduraw, Cansumalig HS – Ang Pagsuyod, Tabuan Polytechnic Comprehensive NHS – Ang Pagtanum, Banay-Banay NHS – Ang Pag Amuma, Dawis NHS – Ang Pag-Ani, and Bugay NHS – Pag Pasalamat.
The symbolic breaking of bamboo or “sag-ob” was led by Bayawan City Mayor John “Jack” Raymond Jr. and Negros Oriental Governor Manuel “Chaco” Sagarbarria, prior to the commencement of the Tawo-Tawo Festival 2025 Seven Sacred Steps presentation at Bayawan City-NORSU sports stadium on February 16.
The traditional “Palihi” dance just before the festivities started, was performed by the Habagatang Negros (HANEG) Cultural Troupe. The dance ritual is performed by a babaylan who is known among Filipinos as someone with the flair to reconcile the struggles of the body and the spirit. The ritual is done for good harvest and blessings. Such tradition is still practiced and performed in most Filipino festivities and is most common especially in the eastern part of the Negros Island.
The breaking of the bamboo or the “sag-ob” is being done to usher in prosperity and successful conduct of the festival.
The Tawo-Tawo street dance and showdown is not a competition but the organizing committee gave seven special awards to the participating contingent-schools during its awarding ceremony on February 28. These special awards will include Most Disciplined Contingent, Most Creative and Innovative Contingent, Most Entertaining Contingent (Wow factor), Best in Content Interpretation Contingent, Best in Festival Arc, Best in Choreography, and Best in Musicality. The winners for these special awards took home P5,000 in cash prize for each category.
The search for Tawo-Tawo Festival King, Queen and LGBTQ Pride were also judged in two segments through a simultaneous festival dance and introduction of the candidate and contingent representation.
An Inter-school Marching Band Competition was also held on February 17 at the Bayawan City NHS. Saint Augustine Academy was adjudged champion in the high school category and received P20,000 in cash prize. It also took home the minor awards as Best in Uniform and Best Band Majorette. Dawis NHS and Andres V. Fortugaleza NHS were second and third places, respectively.
On the other hand, Bayawan City East Central School was declared champion in the elementary category and received P20,000 in cash prize. They also won the Best in Uniform award. Villareal Elementary School and Nagsulay ES were second and third place, respectively. Villareal ES also took home the Best Band Majorette award.*
