Budbod Kabog Festival 2010

February 10, 2010 - Catmon Cebu celebrates its 175th fiesta anniversary in honor of the patron San Guillermo de Aquitania. One of the big highlights of the celebration is the town famous festival, "Budbod Kabog Festival". Budbod Kabog is one of the specialty products that can only be taste in Catmon Cebu.

"Kabog” is a small-seeded cereal plant known as millet and grew wild in abundance Catmon’s mountains, especially in Barangay Agsuwao. Other specialty products that describing the grain “kabog” are bibingkang kabog, bikong kabog, kabog valenciana, bibingka, coconut balls, peanut brittle, empanadita and many more.

The Budbod Kabog Festival is a festival showcasing the whole process of producing the delicious specialty. The dancers are dressed in a cultural/ethnic attire and show eight basic bodbud dance steps created by Mrs. Arlene Menchavez, Mr. Dioso Branzuela and Mr. Nelson Ares.

Step 1. "Kabhig" Bending of the trunk with the right arm extending to the floor simulating planting of the kabog seeds.
Step 2. "Bugaw" Extended arms wave the hands upward to distract the birds, shooing them before they consume the ready-to-harvest seeds.
Step 3. "Kayog" or "Hakot" Shows the harvest of the seeds by cutting the plant stalks with a sickle.
Step 4. "Gi-ok" With feet in parallel tortillier, the movement demonstrates the actual separation of the grain from its stalk.
Step 5. "Asod" Is the pounding of a large wooden pestle on a large wooden mortar. The alternate pounding of two pestles that break the shell off from the grain is the basis of the Budbod Kabog beat. (The rest would be support percussion from the kalatong or other percussive instruments).
Step 6. "Alig-ig" Final separation of the grain from the shell through the use of a "hapag", an oblong indigenous container.
Step 7. "Pasiko" Circular rotations of the "luwag", large cooking spoon with an elongated handle.
Step 8. "Kilikiti" Wrapping of the Budbod Kabog in banana leaves. The process is concluded with "paibog" or enticing the onlookers to "tilaw" or taste the delicious delicacy.

The Street dancing was start at 1pm in Catmon School Grounds to main streets of the poblacion and ends at the Mayor P.J Monsanto Sports and Cultural Center for the ritual showdown. Colorful costume from different contingents from elementary and high schools was made spectators and tourist decide to come back every year at Catmon Cebu.