24/08/2026
๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐ข ๐ก๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐ก๐
Before the river. Before the tugging. Before the kina-ag is thrown into the rushing waters, there is a journey.
On Punnuk day, the people of Hapao, Baang, and Nungulunan leave their communities and make their way to Nunhipukana - the meeting point of the Hapao River and its tributary.
๐ฝ๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง.
The three communities approach from different directions: Hapao from the east, Baang from the southwest, and Nungulunan from the west. They pass through rice terraces and narrow paths, dressed in their traditional attire, carrying the pakid and kina-ag decorated with dong-a leaves.
๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ข๐ค๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐ค๐จ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐.
There is chanting. There is cheering. There is playful taunting between communities. The kina-ag is swayed, the pakid is raised, and dong-a leaves are waved in the air. The voices grow louder as the groups draw closer to the Nunhipukana.
It is almost as if the journey itself is announcing: the harvest is over. Punnuk has begun.
Among the traditional chants heard along the way is โ๐๐ช๐ ๐ก๐ช๐ ๐๐ช๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ช๐ , ๐ก๐ช๐ ๐ก๐ช๐ ๐๐ช๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ช๐ ,โ a boastful call of the villagers marking the beginning of the rite.
From three different directions, three communities converge at one river.
And that is perhaps one of the most beautiful things about Punnuk: before they compete against one another in the river, they first come together as one community of people, carrying with them the harvest, the traditions, the stories, and the spirit of generations before them.
๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐จ.
But the Punnuk story begins much earlier - on the paths, through the terraces, in the chants, and in the footsteps of the people making their way homeward to the river.
Three communities. Three paths. One river. One tradition.
