Guinakit Fluvial Parade

Ornament-clad boats dressed with heaps of tribal weaves flock to the country’s second longest river, the Rio Grande de Mindanao, as part of the festival reenacting the bankside arrival of Shariff Kabunsuan, an Arab missionary who introduced Islamic faith on the island group of Mindanao. Celebrated every 19th day of December, the parade gets its name from the word guinakit, meaning ‘a convoy of boats’ which are often embellished with muslim textiles and goods.