DEKALB, Illinois – “Culture is a treasure that we, the people of Mayoyao, hope to preserve with [a] festival.”

Joan Sheelah Nalliw, president of the Pochon group, said this as she extended an invitation to the 29 participants of the one-month North-South Dialogue on cultural citizens program.

Said program is funded by the US Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Office of the Citizens Exchanges and sponsored by the International Training Office and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies of the Northern Illinois University.

Nalliw said that the “Pfoto’ Ad Majawjaw” or the Rice Harvest Festival of Mayoyao is an annual activity. The three-day event will showcase the practices of the Mayoyao people during rice harvest, wherein cultural activities innate in the community will be shown to allow participants to experience and remember the traditions that have lived through the inhabitants of the town.

She added that Mayoyao dances, an ethnic ensemble, as well as a native house construction demonstration will be part of the experience they hope to extend to those who will join the festivity and, more importantly, take part in a cultural practice of the Mayoyao people. Also part of the experience is a trek down the Mayoyao proper rice terraces,
which up to now remains unexplored and unharmed by development.

Pochon and MaanicharCentennial Batch Association or ‘Pochon’ is a non-profit organization composed of young people from Mayoyao who advocate the preservation of the Mayoyao rice terraces and its cultural heritage.

Nalliw, who is a provincial jail officer in Ifugao said, “We once again invite you to join the Pfoto’ Ad Majawjaw festival on July 18 – 20 and be able to experience the exhilarating adventure that is distinct in the Pfoto’ Ad Majawjaw.”

She added that the advocacy is primarily aimed to allow the young generation to know about the culture and the tradition pertaining to rice harvest, which is their way of preserving the heritage of the E-majawjaws.

“It is the advocacy of the Pochon group to help maintain and preserve the richness of the cultural heritage of this town to allow the generations to come to appreciate the cultural practices of the ancestors who tried their best to hand the rich culture to the present generation for the next to learn about it,” she said.

A portion of the tour’s proceeds will go to the heritage trust fund that will be used to help promote the indigenous culture of the Mayoyao people to its young generation and people who wish to have an extraordinary experience in the beautiful town where unexplored nature still abound.