The Buklog Festival: Sounding the Subanen's sacred lumber

By Iris Sheila G. Crisostomo, The Manila Times, 20 November 2000

A visit to Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur for the Buklog Festival of the Subanen cultural community is certainly a rewarding (and trying!) experience.

For a cultural worker so much immersed in the bustle of city life, the trip becomes both a breather and a test of physical endurance. For the rough roads along the periphery of the lake give one a fantastic view of the waterline and lush greenery.

Yet one has to endure a one-hour drive aboard a habal-habal (a single-motor vehicle) and bear a four-hour hike up the slopes of Mt. Kulabog to reach the tranquil village of Lanayan—this year's host of the Buklog Festival.

The buklog, which also stands for ceremonial platform, is a thanksgiving festival of the Subanen, a group that derives its name from suba (river) because of a preference to settle near rivers and mountain streams.

For centuries, the Subanen have held staunchly to this ancient ritual to honor the spirits, particularly the malengma (spirit of the waters), mamanwa (spirit of the forest), and manising palingkitan (spirits of the mountain), on which they rely for an abundant harvest and protection from misfortune.

This year, with the support from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Buklog Festival again reaffirmed the community's profound gratitude for the continuous blessings. Moreover, the festival was held in response to various land and natural resource management projects implemented in the area with the help of various agencies and organizations.[more]