Helobung Festival Celebrates Tboli Culture of Never Ending Joy

HELOBUNG FESTIVAL

Photo from: https://www.choosephilippines.com/do/festivals/3778/lake-sebu-helobung-festival-2015

Helobung Festival is held to celebrate the Tboli culture. It is also celebrated to commemorate the founding of the scenic town settled more than 700 meters above sea level in the mountains of South Cotabato in Mindanao. It is said to be the liveliest time of the year in the town.

The festival allows its streets to be adorned with geometric ethnic designs with striking red and deep black colors, hues that represent the indigenous Tboli culture. Red represents the bravery and love and black is for the soil, the source of life. Read More: http://www.nomadperspectives.com/2015/11/helobung-festival-celebration-of.html#.XWVdBXt7laQ

Photo from: http://laruylaruysinta.blogspot.com/2012/11/helobung-festival-2012.html

Every November, the T’boli tribe showcases their arts, culture, and sports. On the day of the celebration, a traditional horse fight is held. Helubong is a T’boli word meaning never-ending joy.

Beadworks, baskets, and other woven crafts made from the abaca handicraft known as T’nalak are displayed during the festival. One can even see the T’nalak cloth being woven and worn by the T’boli men and women as they gather for the festival.

Some dance to traditional music accompanied by the tribe’s musical instruments– one of the many highlights during the celebration. Witnessing the Helubong Festival is one way of reconnecting with our heritage. Read More: https://www.choosephilippines.com/do/festivals/3778/lake-sebu-helobung-festival-2015

Photo from: http://www.nomadperspectives.com/2015/11/helobung-festival-celebration-of.html#.Xa7kgmZ7laQ

Lake Sebu is blessed with vast bodies of water, thereby providing the locals with bountiful harvests of tilapia, to name a few fishes. The Helobung (“never-ending joy” in T’boli) Festival is a celebration of thanksgiving for overflowing blessings. This rich-in-culture festivity highlights the T’boli fabric, T’nalak abaca handicraft, traditional music and instruments, and the many delicacies that include different ways of serving the local’s fresh produce of tilapia.. Read More: https://www.tataydigong.info/family-holiday/