Hotel staffer Mary Inesola watched two of her three daughters play sungka, a traditional board game, during a traditional games workshop held at the basement of the West Gorordo Hotel, Cebu City yesterday.
The 29-year-old Inesola said she brought her children to the workshop, one of several held during the second “Kabilin Fest”, to expose them to the games that she played in her childhood.
“Mas lingaw jud toh sa una kay more on mag-kuyog-kuyog ug mga laing bata. Pero karon, panagsa naman lang mu duwa (It was more fun before because you got to play with other children. But now, it’s very rare to play these games),” Inesola said.
Raising awareness on traditional games and other aspects of Filipino culture is the primary goal of the Kabilin Fest, a cultural stewardship program of the Paulina Constancia Museum of Naïve Art (MoNA) and West Gorordo Hotel.
“People should be enlightened, empowered and engaged. Our culture is dying, we have to resuscitate it,” said Maria Edna Carolina Lee, West Gorordo Hotel’s chief stewarding officer and co-founder of Psychology Volunteers on Bikes.
The Kabilin Fest kicked off with 150 people joining a 6:30 a.m. bike tour of heritage public spaces and buildings that carried the theme “Suroy sa Care Services for Aged, Women & Children.”
The afternoon featured workshops ranging from traditional games, food, arts and crafts, traditional healing and martial arts and music to issues like human rights, cultural and heritage conservation and folklore held in various areas of the hotel.
“The greatest gift you can give to the next generation is the gift of roots. Ang kahoy nga walay roots, unsang mahitabo? Mamatay. (What happens to a tree without roots? It dies),” said Lee, quoting Philippine Folklore specialist Prof. Madrilena de la Cerna, her former teacher. Launched in May 18 last year in time for International Museum Day, the Kabilin Fest also saw the opening of the Paulina Constancia Museum of Naïve Art (MoNA) named after the Cebu City artist based in Canada./ by Gerriane Faith B. Rizon, UP Cebu Intern
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