Armm hosts ‘Food Festival’

COTABATO CITY — Traditional food and delicacies that distinguish the tribal groups in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Minda-nao were featured in a festival here over the weekend.

Dubbed “Food Festival,” the seven Moro tribes showcased their culinary delights in an event at the Cultural Village inside the Armm compound.

Visitors, mostly local officials and ordinary villagers visited, shared, and tasted food at the Iranun village, which presented the traditional “pagana”.

Visitors were treated like special guests regardless of their status in life.

“Foods are everywhere, fruits too, how lovely to spend time here,” said one of the visitors from Manila on a business trip who dropped by the replica villages.

“Only here in Armm food festival,” he said of the food from Iranun village that included Muslim delicacies “Pyurs,” “Amik,” “Piaparan” and many more.

As the guests partook of food, local artists performed a “kulintang” musical together with a Muslim dance troupe.

Nearby a Tausug village offered fruits and sea foods. It featured in traditional food from Sulu known as “TiyulaItum,” “Daral”, “PutliMandi,” “Pasong” among others.

Visitors were also treated with traditional Tausug dance and music.

There were Maguin-danao, Maranao, Sama, Teduday, and Yakan villages too that showed replicas of traditional houses.

One can tour and visit the Armm through miniature villages where customs, traditions and traditional food are put forward.

“Through these miniature villages one can identify a tribe because of the food, color, traditional dress and delicacies. We treat visitors like sultans,” Mayor Kits Guro of Matanog, Maguin-danao said as he pointed to the Iranun village.

Mims Ayupan, a food chef judge, said visiting the replica villages was like visiting the entire Armm.

The cultural village was the brainchild of Armm Gov. MujivHataman to show to the world the rich culture of the tribal groups in the region. (MindaNews)