Brightly colored ancient Moro boats called ginakit are paraded at Sarangani Bay in Malapatan as part of the 13th Pakaradyan Festival and the town’s 49th founding anniversary, celebrated from June 19-21. The ginakit was a main mode of transportation for Muslim royals and tribal chieftains around the inland waters of Mindanao during the pre-colonial and Spanish periods. Malapatan is known for the inaul hand-woven Maguindanaoan fiber and home of Bai Estelita Bantilan, a Blaan mat weaver, who was proclaimed a National Living Treasure last year. The town’s name comes from the ethnic Blaan words Malah and fatan, which means a place where pepper is abundant.
