Theater in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato

I like Lake Sebu, not only because I have friends there and the people are truly friendly, but also, I love the culture. Communing with the T’bolis opens one’s heart to the quaint chants of old women and to the rhythmic beat of the tinonggong as men display the dynamic flexes of their hands as they pour out their souls either in a song or in a dance.

I was in Lake Sebu last November 10 and 11, 2005 to celebrate with the people the recent Helobong Festival 2005. A travel to Lake Sebu is a trip to South Cotabato’s tourist destination that has no gasoline station. Of course, one can refuel for there are stores selling gasoline in plastic containers or in “litros.” Illegally-sourced out? Maybe. “Skylab” (motorbike with modified backseat to accommodate at least three passengers) is the king of the road, climbing up and down the hilly parts of this exotic town whose mayor and “kagawads” rode on decorated horses in their grand regalias like town monarchs during the festival parade.

I enjoyed the intramurals of native games participated by school children and I bought two tickets (I was with my T’boli performer who is a good tinonggong player) at PhP10 each for a “T’boli Cultural Show.” I stuffed the tickets in my pocket without reading them and waited for the three o’clock matinee show. I was praying for old women and men to be in the show to showcase rituals and fill up the unfinished gymnasium with chants.

Riding on a “skylab”, we went up a hilly part of the town towards the vibrantly-painted municipal hall that one may mistake for a commercial center, and where the gymnasium was located. We were greeted with colorful flaglets. The sides of the gymnasium were covered with wide rolls of plastic sheets, the kind that is commonly used by Mindanao war refugees in evacuation centers to build their tents with. The flaglets planted around the entrance of the gym were just like the pamanays of the Maguindanaons. Ah, I thought, aside from the use of the kulintang (obviously a Maguindanaon influence) the locals were beginning to use pamanays to create a festive atmosphere.

We were too early for the matinee show of Liwa Theater’s twin plays entitled Sla-i (early marriage) and Kesedewey (polygamy). A rehearsal was going on when we entered the place. It was conducted professionally as if it was done in one of the theaters of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), and the whole place gave an impression that the production had staff/crew who had ample technical theater skills. This observation was affirmed when I saw a lady walk down the right aisle of the gym to converse with the light & sound crew—Marili Fernandez-Ilagan, a sexy friend from Davao City.

Read all of Romeo F. Narvaez’s excellent article at MindaNews