Yum yum yum!

       “Palagsing” is a local delicacy popularly made in Banza, one of the old poblacion of Butuan City.  The popularity of making delicious “Palagsing” in Banza is attributed to the abundance of Nipa or Asiatic palm tree (Nipa fruticans) where “Unaw”(nipa starch) is harvested from the Palm Tree. Another popular ingredient is young coconut meat taken from coconut trees. The mixture of “unaw”, young coconut , and brown sugar make “palagsing” moist and chewy. They are delicately wrapped by banana leaves and are boiled for 30 minutes to create the soft consistency of “palagsing”.

Palagsing during the celebration of Adlaw Hong Butuan, Accessed on Septemer 10, 2010 at http://aboutph.com/2010/08/palagsing-festival-butuan-city/.

      Palagsing is a thin dark brown suman dessert very closely similar to Suman. Celebrated in conjunction with Adlaw Hong Butuan. I am personally a fan of this palagsing. Whenever I got the chance to go home to Butuan, I always look for this and eat a lot. :)

The Golden Tara

The Golden Tara, Accessed on October 03, 2010 at http://layrayski.blogspot.com/2009/06/golden-tara.html.  

            This image is famously associated with Butuan. Butuan as you may probably know is rich in history. 

         This photo of the golden tara was taken at Balanghai Hotel, the real image which weighs approximately 4 pounds, and is a 21 carat gold figurine, is now located at Chicago museum (if my memory serves me right). 

       If you visit Butuan, you can also view the replica at Butuan regional museum. This artifact was found in 1917, southeast of Butuan at an Agusan river tributuary. It is as the experts say, an evidence of the early indian influence, as it was dated as early as 850-950 AD.

        A source also says that In 1917 after a storm and flood, a 21-carat golden figurine of a female deity of Hindu was found by a Manobo woman on a muddy bank of Wawa River, a tributary of the large Agusan River. This ancient figure seated in lotus position weighs nearly 4 pounds which is the earliest known image identified to be an Indian in origin. The image corroborates a single cultural sphere that developed in the archipelagic regions of Southeast Asia during the height of trade between Butuan and the rest of the Sri Vijaya Empire.

        The Golden Tara of Butuan is a metaphor of the City's Glorious history and its journey to a progresive future. I even had my classmates painted with a gold paint and they wore a gold suit. They portrayed the Golden Tara and they danced in Baguio City representing Butuan City.