DAVAO CITY—Newly-crowned Hiyas sa Kadayawan 2024 Shane Marie B. Awe of the Bagobo-Tagabawa indigenous community wants to revive the tribe’s traditional clothing design process which she fears will fade into obscurity.
“My advocacy when I joined the Hiyas sa Kadayawan 2024 as the representative from the Bagobo-Tagabawa tribe is to revive and relive the traditional and natural way of creating clothing design which is the binadbad (binudbud) process or in our language Sinayan na Pagbatak,” the 28-year old Awe said.
In her advocacy, she is targeting the binudbud artisans in the barangays of Ata-Awe, Sibulan and Baracatan.
“Binuduad is the process na ginabuhat namo before na hinay-hinay nang nagkawala (which we were doing before that is slowly disappearing),” Awe said.
She said there is already binudbud center in Binugao Toril district and she wants to benchmark it in the three mentioned barangays.
“Akong paningkamotan na maintroduce to siya na process sa upland areas sa three barangays (I will try to introduce the process in the upland areas in the three barangays),” Awe describes her immediate plans after winning Hiyas sa Kadayawan.
In the process of binudbud, the abaca or cotton fabrics are tied with knots to create a design which is followed by the dyeing process.
Awe was crowned as the Hiyas sa Kadayawan 2024 last Friday (August 16).
The Hiyas sa Kadayawan is an annual search among the maidens representing the 11 ethno-linguistic groups of Davao City namely; Bagobo-Tagabawa, Klata, Obu Manuvu, Ata, Matigsalog, Kagan, Sama, Iranun, Tausug, Maranao and Maguindanaon.
More than just a beauty pageant, the Hiyas sa Kadayawan serves as a platform to showcase the tribe’s unique culture and advocate for its preservation.
Awe currently works as a business outsourcing specialist and audit team leader for Aboitiz Power.
Comprising Awe’s court are; Muslima D. Limpao from the Maranao community is Hiyas sa Panaghiusa 2024, while Jane Rose G. Miones of Bagobo-Klata was named as the Hiyas sa Kalambuan 2024.
The rest of the candidates named as Hiyas sa Kaliwatan are; Rosabel P. Bayugan (Matigsalug), Nobe T. Mandahay (Obu-Manuvu), Rania A. Guiaman (Maguindanaon), Melody M. Omo (Ata), Rufaida C. Pawai (Sama), Ciara Nicole M. Galos (Kagan), Sittie Sarah M. Liman (Iranun), and Erika Mae A. Alpad (Tausug).
Awe says aside from reviving binudbud, she also wants to work with the other 10 Hiyas candidates by partnering their activities with the Davao City local government unit though the City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO).
The Hiyas sa Kadayawan is one of the major events under the annual Kadayawan Festival in Davao City. (PIA/RG Alama)
