By: Manuel Ferdinand Ramirez de Erio

It's July! Experience the celebration of culture and heritage truly unique to Bohol . The Sandugo Festival commemorates the historical event that bridge two opposite cultures. The blood compact between the local chief Datu Sikatuna and the Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in March 16, 1565. Legazpi who set foot in the shores of Loay bridge the cross-cultural differences and brought the pagan natives to glory of Christianity. Sikatuna swore for and in behalf of his kingdom, the allgiance to the Spanish crown.

The blood compact was a significant historic ritual where the two leaders believed to have made a cut on their left arms (while other historians believe that the cut was on the chest) with a dagger and sprinkled their blood into a cup filled with wine, which both drunk to symbolically establish the friendship and brotherhood. The yearly celebration of the Sandugo Festivital begins in March highlighted by the Streetdancing have been moved to July to offer an activity that is attractive to tourists! Several years after the TBTK (Tigum Bol-anon Tibuok Kalibutan) which means “a gathering of Boholanos from around the world” in English was set on the same month in time for the vacation in the United States .

Today, Sandugo which is celebrated yearly and the TBTK which is celebrated once in every three months, are celebrated in the month of July. Every three years, Sandugo and TBTK as well as the celebration of the Charter Day of Tagbilaran City are all celebrated in July. On these years, hundreds of Boholanos with local and international tourist flock the island of Bohol . The cultural celebration of the Sandugo and the grand Homecoming of Boholano expats and those residing outside the province gather for these special events which usually features the colorful costumes and loud drum beats, street parades, church services, fireworks, beauty pageants, cockfighting tournaments and sport tournaments.

This year, a unique Sandugo Festival is set to welcome and entertain both local and international visitors. Please check the print ad somewhere in the main page of this paper for the Sandugo Festival celebration schedule and visit the website for the TBTK 2006 at www.bohol-tbtk.com. For the TBTK youth gathering concerns you may call the Sangguniang Kabataan Provincial Federation office at (038) 411-5914 and look for John Torralba.

l