Kabu - Tugaya’s King of Brass
The town of Tugaya in Lanao Del Sur province is known as the center of Maranao craftsmanship. Majority of the people in the town are engaged in arts and craft industry, particularly creating intricate wood carvings such as baul and debakan drums that are sold in the markets of Davao, Manila, and overseas. However, aside from wood, Tugaynons have another specialty—they are also metal benders—creating intricate works of art with the use of fire and earth—brass works! Kabu, kanyon, and kris are the things Tugaynons are known for.
Kabu on display at home
The community of Bubong is known for brass-making, with the large intricate brass jars called kabu and canons as its main products. The kabu is well known all throughout Mindanao as a decoration of royalty. These large brass jars varies size—from size of plant pots to human sized behemoths. Since these are made entirely of metal, it is considered as a collector’s luxury item. One kabu may reach as expensive as several thousand pesos or even a million—exported to big cities such as Manila and Davao, and even overseas. All of these were craftily made in this sleepy town beside the lake.
Nov
18
2011
Alhamdulillah and Congratulations Marawi! City of Banners
by Berniemack Arellano
November 18, 2011
Greetings from the City of Banners and Streamers - Marawi
From Iligan to Marawi, it usually takes an hour by van or FX (Asian utility vehicle). Passing by the towns of Balo-i, Pantar and Saguiran, you can’t help but notice banners everywhere. Politicians for early campaigning? Nope. Mostly congratulatory coming from the families of the achievers. Yes folks, banners and steamers are not an election campaign exclusive in Marawi and the rest of Lanao del Sur. It’s an everyday part of life, just like urbanites in Manila see the billboards at SLEX and EDSA. Manila-based outdoor and billboard advertisers may think of setting up a branch here, market demand here is high!
“Alhamdulillah (It’s the Arab equivalent of “Hallelujah!”) and Congratulations!” everywhere—from board passers, bar passers, Hajj delegates, weddings, birthdays, and even to coronation of the sultans-you name it and Marawi has a multitude of these banners and streamers. Before the advent of those giant billboards at EDSA, Marawi has all of these fill up Iligan-Marawi Road and most especially every nook within the city. They may even compete with Guinness Record as “The city with most number of congratulatory streamers and banners per square kilometer!” Unlike EDSA though, they are not monstrous in size, but the number of banners can easily overwhelm people who are not used to these.
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Tags: advertising, billboards, city, culture, greetings, Lanao del Sur, Maranao, Marawi, Mindanao, outdoor ads, Philippines, tarpaulins