TABUK CITY, Kalinga (PIA) – “Digdiga Di Kalinga,” one of the highlights of the upcoming 30th Kalinga Founding Anniversary and 6th Bodong Festival, will feature various Kalinga dances, chants and instruments, including those that are nearly forgotten.
The event scheduled for Feb. 12 is an expanded version of “Digdiga Di Tuppaya” which focused solely on one Kalinga dance being competed by the eight municipalities of the province during past Bodong festivals.
“Digdiga means a big gathering, so ti meaning ti Digdiga Di Kalinga ket a big gathering of yKalinga. So, sakupin tayu amin nga dances, chants or songs ti Kalinga, haan lang nga naka-concentrate iti maymaysa nga dance, ” event committee chair Lorraine Alunday Ngao-i said.
The event aims to preserve all other Kalinga dances, chants and instruments by giving them a chance to be presented or performed during the crowd-drawing event, according to . Ngao-i.
Among identified Kalinga dances are laga, ilaud, pakidom, salip, torayan, and funong. It also features festive chants such as uggayam, ullalim and sosogna, and traditional instruments such as patunggok, tungatong, balengbing, and tungali.
The event will be conducted in both stage and community forms, with no required maximum participants.
This time, the digdiga will not be held as a competition but as a festive gathering of yKalinga, Ngao-i said.
The 30th Kalinga Founding Anniversary and 6th Bodong Festival with the theme, “Rooted in Culture, United in Progress: Lumin-awa Kalinga!” will be celebrated from February 3 to 20, 2025. **JDP/RGA-PIA CAR, Kalinga
