Last December 6, we watched the musicale entitled Antigong Agong. The story is written by Arnel Mardoqiou, who is as well the director of the play. Its musical director is Davao’s very own, Popong Landero.
The musical play is a centennial tribute to the Bundok Dahu (Bud Dahu) massacre in Jolo, Sulu 100 years ago. The story of the musicale is about a group of Tausug youths who goes through a rough time after they have graduated from college. Samsullah or Sam, who plays the central character, confronts his problem on how to come up with the amount of money, which the father of his fiancée (Amrayda) expects him to give as dowry, as imposed by the Muslim culture. His friends, Faidal, Fatima, and Nadzme express their sympathy to Sam and Amrayda as well. They encourage Samsullah to go and work with them abroad since they heard that there are higher-paying jobs waiting for them particularly in America.
Before Sam and his friends leave the town, Amrayda’s grandmother tells her that Samsullah could as well seek for the ‘antigong agong’ as substitute for the dowry. Amrayda stops Sam from leaving. Their supportive friends as well decide not to continue their journey overseas.
Their search for the ‘antigong agong’ starts, with the belief that it is going to be an easy quest. But they realize that it is not that simple to look for the’ antigong agong’. Along the way, they find out that their quest is not simply just about that ‘agong’, rather, they’re on their quest to uncovering the shocking history of their community, how Americans mistreated their ancestors and their land as a whole.
