Rituals marked the end of harvests in Hungduan in the hope for a year of success.
To celebrate the Punnuk Festival, in a display of color and tradition, residents from barangays Hapao, Baang and Nungulunan traversed the rice terraces, forming a line, towards the Hapao River while reciting local chants for the bountiful harvest.
Marking the end of the harvest season, the “Punnuk,” festival is celebrated to highlight a season of thanksgiving and cleansing rites after a bountiful harvest.
During the festival, traditional games are played amidst the strong current of the river where the youth in the community enjoy the Bultong (wrestling), Ginuyod (Tag-of-War) and Upuhan (underwater breathing competition), after the Munggopah (leader) of each group recites a verse imploring the gods for blessing for a successful cultural rite.
As the games come to a close, the Kina-ag, a hand-crafted human figure made of bundled Goyami or rice stalks and embellished with leaves of the Dong-a plant is tossed to the river as a sign that a successful “Punnuk.”
A “Dupag” is performed by Mumbaki (High Priest) with chants and prayers seeking divine blessings after a bountiful harvest while rice wine (Bayah) is blessed and shared among the community and guests, an event that marks the official celebration of the “Punnuk” According to traditional beliefs the thanksgiving during the Punnuk will also signal the start of the trading for the community members.
Food is prepared and shared for the community and visitors. The local government unit of Hungduan has proposed the institutionalization of the “Punnuk” as an annual festival for thanksgiving and cleansing after a bountiful harvest. in the barangays of Hapao, Baang and Nangonungan.
In 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the post-harvest ritual as anIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. By Dave Leprozo for the CordilleraTourism Press Corps
