Bonok Bonok "Maradjaw Karadjaw Festival" of Surigao City

Time check: 2:00pm of September 09, 2012. Crowded streets of Surigao City. My ever reliable P and S camera. with Ding of thepinoyexplorer, Dennis of Lovemindanao and Nathalie of wanderingsoles. What’s happening? Already heard the word Maradjaw/Karadjaw? Or Bonok-Bonok? Sounds interesting? 


There are excessively more reasons why you should visit Surigao del Norte- pristine white- sand beaches, virgin islands, and amazing rock formations.Of course not just the places of interest, Surigao City's annual celebration of  bountiful harvest, good health, and peace shared equal fame. Bonok-Bonok Festival is an annual fiesta in Surigao City in honor of Saint Nicholas de Tolentino. Local "Mardi Gras" - street dancing and contingents' final presentations at the Grandstand of the City are the highlights of the celebration.



“Bonok-Bonok Maradjaw Karadjaw” means “Rain Showers, All the very best!” The Festival is reflection of Surigaonons rich cultural heritage and strong faith in God thru the intercession of Saint Nicholas de Tolentino- the city’s patron saint.



 Aside from the colourful costumes, the dance steps’ called "Bonok-bonok" being performed by contingents adds interest. 


Bonok-Bonok dance traces its origin from Mamanwas- the natives of Surigao. During ancient times and until now the dance steps are performed by this tribal group during their wedding ceremonies, thanksgiving, worship, and celebrations. Similar to Negritoes in physical looks, Mamanwas living in Surigao del Norte are one of the oldest and still existing tribes in the Philippines.


Watching authentic tribal dance in music created by native instruments and performed by the members of Mamanwa tribe mesmerized me, truly marvelous! . “Ano kaya kung may Festival na Native Tribes from all over the Philippines lang ang participants?”- naisingit ko lang (may konek ba? Love Mindanao?:) jejeje.



PHOTOWALK
We started our walk from Plaza Luneta going to the boulevard area forwarding straight to Surigao City Sports Complex/Grandstand. Do photowalk and not waste my first time to watch and feel the spirit of Bonok Bonok Festival. There are 12 contingents in this year’s festival. Sa sobrang excitement ko hindi ako nakapag note:)












 



My heartfelt thanks to fellow travel blogger Nathalie Penados (OMG! She’s the most accommodating and hospitable person I've ever meet here in Surigao!), Mr. Ricky Amores- The Chairperson of the Festival (for giving us the passes in the Grandstand), the local government, all the contingents and the people of Surigao del Norte - What a momentous opportunity for me to witness one of the BEST Festivals in the Country. 
Maradjaw Karadjaw! Viva San Nicolas de Tolentino! Viva!

Visit the following links to read more about 2012's Bonok-bonok Festival


70 comments:

  1. very colorful indeed, ito tlga ngpapatingkad sa isang festival!

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  2. panalo to Jeffrey! ...buti p kayo may shot nung night performance ... di na kinaya ng camera na gamit ko (thanks Ding)

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  3. it looks like an interesting and fun festival, similar to mardi gras and the brazilian festival.

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  4. thanks for the link, Jeffrey! It was indeed fun! yeah methinks, the IPs shiould be given more "air time" in this festival

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  5. weeeh pinaka accommodating talaga..hehehe nahiya nman ako! ganyan talaga mga taga Surigao.

    Next year uli sana mka punta kayo, this time paghandaan nyo na yung mga attire nyo for our grand homecoming which our batch will be hosting. hehehe

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  6. tumapak Kulapitot:) kahit first time to watch Bonokbonok- I am declaring this as one of the country's best festivals!

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  7. @ Dennis- nakatsamba lanbg jejeje. out of 30 shots yan lang napakinabangan:0 Tama si Sir Ding:)

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  8. @fifileigh-indeed! Philippines is home of the best festivals of the world:)

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  9. @Michy- ty for dropping here:) you should also visit Surigao next year and must watch the Bonok bonok:)

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  10. @DIng- na imagine ko lang yun:) db sarap manood kung talagang authentic tribal members ang performers? cant express my feelings while I am watching the group of Mamanwas dancing en doing the rituals:)

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  11. @ Nath- hahaha naalala ko na naman ang blue gown with crystals:) sana andito pa rin ako next year! thanks again Nath for accommodating us, en say my regards to ur friends we've meet- they are cool and truly hospitable!

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  12. @ANciro- thanks bro for dropping here:)

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  13. good festival photos bro, it's usually a challenge to shoot festivals, nakakapagud!

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  14. @christian-tumpak bro;) pero sulit kapag nakita na ang photos;) tnx for dropping here, ala pa rin panama shots q sa mga kuha mo jejeje;)

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  15. Parang maganda nga yung festival ng mga native tribes in the Philippines is magkakaroon. That would be such a unifying event for the different tribes. The Bonok Bonok festival look real festive.

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  16. I truly love the vibrant colors in your photos! Great shots!

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  17. @wrey en Robbie..yap I have been here, sayang nga walk akong dala cam nun...Ganda ng view ng mainit lake. Good to know that u stayed here, beautiful place!

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  18. @hahaha db ang Ganda nun bro franc.? Sana maisip ng DOT parang Aliwan ba sa Pasay pero authentic tribal groups tlaga ang ksali:)

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  19. Kahit hindi man nag ka pagnote, maganda na man ang mga shots mo jeff. Oks lang. On the other side, you are right, how about if the festival be performed by geniune IPs or as Ding said, be given more air time and exposure. Or maybe, may Festival sana na puro mga IPs coming from all over the Philippines ang mag perform in one venue.

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  20. This event is so colorful and festive. It would be nice to see this one of these days.

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  21. Very bright travel recipes. Only here we can taste it...nice pics

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  22. A very colorful festival i hope nakapunta ako sa ganyan festival pero wala nasa manila lang ako lagi :(

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  23. Dapat nga mapriotize ng DOT yung festival ng authentic tribes. I'm sure it's gonna be the grandest of all festivals.

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  24. Very colorful! How do you go to Surigao City from Manila? Is there direct flight? How do you think will be the experience without grandstand passes? Will hotels be a problem during this festival for people without friends or relatives there?

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  25. @fyhmd- yap direct flight from manila to Surigao. May direct flight daily ang airphil at cebupac. There are Hotels and pension houses in surigao, no need to worry if you dont have relatives here. If you want to take good shots/photographs mas maganda may media pass para mas closer at free ka makalapit sa mga contengents unlike kung audience lang . Thanks for dropping here;)

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  26. I am from Mindanao but never had that chance to witness this kind of feast. Those vivid photos are more than enough to describe how colorful the event is.

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  27. NIce job Surigao! You're giving CEBU a run for its money. These images are so festive. More please.

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  28. wow! what a colorful festival! love your shots! everything looks so vibrant and fun! :) Wish i could personally experience this festival too :)

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  29. I like the beautiful colorful costumes and presentation in this Bonok bonok festival.

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  30. Great shots! must have been a thrill to watch them perform up close

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  31. looks like a fun festival.. I wish i could visit and experience this soon :)

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  32. This is such a colorful festival! Makes me miss my province and our festive events ;)

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  33. its my first time also to hear Bonok Bonok Festival, thanks for sharing this colorful fiesta

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  34. thanks guys for dropping here:) visit nyo Surigao City en timing dpat na Bonok Bonok to experience this colorful festival:)

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  35. I love and enjoy watching native cultural dances. I long to see how Bonok-Bonok is being performed. As I see the pictures, this particular dance is very thrilling and entertaining. Isn't it?

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  36. Interesting all the different cultures around the world. Life's too short I want to see as much as I can while I still can. Thank you for this piece!

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  37. very beautiful pictures you've got, i like it

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  38. Our country is so rich when it comes to festivals because we celebrate and honor a lot from our glorious past.

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  39. Surely in time, ito naman crowd grabber sa tourism ng Mindanao. Hope to experience it too someday.

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  40. It was indeed one of the most colorful festival ever. I wish I can witness such event/festivity sometime soon.

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  41. i so miss the festivities back home... and they are so colourful.. surely more delightful to watch in person...

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  42. Took me a while to pronounce the festival name correctly. Haha. Anyway, this totally looks fun. Might experience this soon! ;)

    Stunning shots by the way!

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  43. This is my first time to hear this festival. Glad you posted something about it. The festival is really very colorful... :D

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  44. Parang Kadayawan lang din. Nice festival. Sarap bumisita dito.

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  45. nice shots, well I have seen a parade like this once here in Manila - Aliwan festival. I would really like to see our indigenous cultural communities doing the presentations themselves. Not so much of the fanfare and extravaganza that is totally not their culture anymore - I believe they would be so amazed themselves how lowlanders or people not their tribes have exploited and commercialized their culture...

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  46. I think I have to schedule my trip in Surigao in time of the festival so that I can witness it also =)

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  47. Sad to say that I've never witnessed a single Philippine festival yet.. I know that that's one of the things that I've been missing ever since I started traveling.. Surigao's Festival will be duly noted on my must-see places.. but for now, I'm eyeing Davao's Kadayawan first. By the way, you have very vibrant photos. What's your P&S cam brand, Sir Jeffrey? :)

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  48. Sarap mag shoot pag festival Mai:) u should! hehehe thats GE x5:)

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  49. Those photos only tell one thing... What a colorful festival. Sarap siguro na first-hand mapanood ito.

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  50. Never been to Surigao but your pictures make a fair argument to :)

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  51. The Bonok Bonok Maradjaw Karadjaw Festival is indeed one of a kind. I hope I could experience it someday

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  52. I wanted to experience other festivals across the country but
    I haven't even fully covered our very own Kadayawan. Hahaha. There's always next year. :-)

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  53. It looks like you really enjoyed the festival. I like the way you captured the events.

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  54. Nice shots!! Filipinos have really come a long way in terms of celebrating our thanksgiving in different ways.

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  55. Festivals in the Philippines are still well celebrated especially in provinces like Surigao. You captured the color and beauty of the festival.

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  56. Learned alot form your yet another festival post :) I always admire you with your colorful shots and concise article. More more fun really in our country!

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  57. Such a fun and colorful festival. I would love to experience it myself.

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  58. Surigao is on my wish list...I should schedule a visit during festival time

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