Tupay ritual, fish release mark Kalinga IP Month, Season of Creation launch

Elders and local and provincial officials shared traditional rice wine as part of the customary gathering. The event also featured the symbolic release of fish fingerlings into the Tanudan River, underscoring need to protect waterways, sustain aquatic resources.

TANUDAN, Kalinga — A traditional Tupay ritual, where elders and government officials shared basi, marked the provincial launch of Indigenous Peoples’ Month and the Season of Creation on October 10 at the Tanudan River in Barangay Taloctoc.

Led by Provincial Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative Michael Karrel Sugguiyao, the ritual brought Indigenous tradition to the center of the celebration, highlighting the connection between Kalinga’s cultural identity and the natural resources that sustain its communities.

The gathering carried the theme “Living Water,” emphasizing the importance of rivers and other natural resources to Indigenous traditions, community life and the well-being of future generations.

Provincial Board Member Chris Donaal and Sugguiyao led the launch of Indigenous Peoples’ Month, with the Tupay ritual serving as one of the event’s key cultural activities.

Through the ritual, elders and local and provincial officials shared basi, a traditional rice wine, as part of the customary gathering.

The event also featured the symbolic release of fish fingerlings into the Tanudan River, underscoring the need to protect waterways and sustain aquatic resources.

Organizers said the activity reflected the close relationship between environmental protection and Indigenous identity, as rivers, forests and ancestral lands are not only sources of livelihood but also repositories of traditional knowledge, practices and cultural memory.

Culture, environment linked

The event was organized by the Green Luzon Project of the Apostolic Vicariate of Tabuk Social Action Commission, in partnership with the Provincial Government of Kalinga, Municipal Government of Tanudan, barangay governments of Upper and Lower Taloctoc, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

The Season of Creation, an annual Christian observance from September 1 to October 4, calls communities to prayer, reflection and action for environmental protection.

Its 2026 theme, “Living Water,” draws from the biblical vision in Ezekiel 47:1–12, which depicts life-giving water restoring barren land, reviving waterways and sustaining ecosystems.

In Kalinga, the observance was institutionalized through Provincial Ordinance No. 2025-027, authored and sponsored by Provincial Board Member Camilo T. Lammawin Jr., chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Energy.

The ordinance, approved by the provincial board in December 2025 and signed by Governor James S. Edduba, institutionalizes the annual observance and promotes ecological awareness and the protection of endangered species and their habitats.

Lammawin has also proposed the creation of a Provincial Watershed Management Council and a Provincial Integrated Watershed Management Plan to guide the protection, rehabilitation and sustainable management of watersheds, forests and water sources.

The proposal remains under deliberation by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Indigenous heritage at the heart of celebration

October is observed as National Indigenous Peoples’ Month under Proclamation No. 1906, issued on October 5, 2009, recognizing the culture, contributions and rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples.

The observance also highlights Republic Act No. 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, which recognizes and protects Indigenous peoples’ rights, including those relating to ancestral domains and cultural integrity.

In Kalinga, the launch emphasized that protecting the environment also helps preserve the cultural practices and traditional knowledge rooted in ancestral lands and natural resources.

Among those present were Governor Edduba; Tanudan Vice Mayor Antonio Basungit Jr., representing Mayor Jaedicke Rhoss P. Dagadag; Atty. Sofia Munda, representing Congresswoman Caroline B. Agyao; Catherine Gayagay-Apaling, NCIP Region II regional director; and Ruben Ullibac Wacas, assistant regional director of the Civil Service Commission-Cordillera Administrative Region.

The launch brought together Indigenous tradition, environmental stewardship and faith, with organizers urging communities to carry the message beyond the celebration by protecting Kalinga’s rivers, forests, cultural practices and Indigenous heritage for future generations.