From the southern island of Mindanao to the Sulu archipelago and Zamboanga peninsula, Filipino Muslim communities observed the holiday with dawn prayers followed by the ritual sacrifice of goats and cattle, distributing meat among relatives, neighbors and poorer households in keeping with Islamic tradition.

For many families, the celebrations also served as a reaffirmation of ethnic and cultural heritage among the country’s Muslim minority population, which comprises about 6% of the Philippines’ more than 110 million people.“We celebrate it as a feast where everyone is welcome.

Anyone who wants to visit the house and eat is invited,” Tahir Malikol, a chef and educator from Cotabato City known for promoting Bangsamoro culinary traditions, told Arab News.Malikol said the Eid gatherings reflected the Filipino value of “bayanihan,” or communal unity and cooperation, with families and neighbors contributing ingredients, labor and food preparation for large shared meals.

Traditional dishes associated with Muslim communities in the south took center stage during the celebrations. Among Maguindanaon and Iranun households, families prepared sinina, a slow-cooked coconut-based beef or goat stew known for its smoky flavor.Maranao families served riyandang, a regional variation of rendang stew influenced by broader Southeast Asian Muslim culinary traditions.

Unlike Indonesian or Malaysian rendang, the Maranao version relies less on spices and more on ingredients such as toasted coconut, ground rice and sakurab, an aromatic plant native to parts of Mindanao.In Tausug, Sama-Bajau and Yakan communities, celebratory tables featured kulma, a rich curry dish, and tiyula itum, a dark meat soup made using charred coconut meat that gives the broth its black color.

“These dishes are traditionally served only during special celebrations,” Malikol said, noting that some recipes were historically associated with royalty, datus and sultans in Muslim Mindanao.Another ceremonial dish, linigil, is prepared by simmering meat slowly in coconut milk until the sauce thickens and coats the meat.

One variation using chicken requires the bird to be boiled and then hung upside down for a full day to drain moisture before final cooking, a technique still preserved in some households.Desserts also played a central role in the Eid celebrations. Families prepared dudol, a sticky confection made from rice flour and coconut milk that requires continuous stirring for up to eight hours, often by several family members working in shifts.

Beyond the food, many Filipino Muslims described Eid as an occasion closely tied to memory, kinship and continuity across generations.Aliyya Samir, who is from Sulu, said the serving of tiyula itum during Eid reminded her of her late mother, who traditionally prepared the dish for family gatherings.“Eating it now brings back so many memories of her warmth and the way she looked after everyone,” she said.

For Maher Usman from Zamboanga del Sur, the holiday represented both spiritual devotion and cultural preservation.“With every bite of kyuning or sinina, we are reminded of our ancestors and our identity as Maguindanaons,” he said. “Sharing meals together is our way of thanking Allah.”

Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is expected to begin on May 25 this year in the holy city of Makkah. For many Muslims in the Philippines, where they make up around 10 percent of the country’s predominantly Catholic population of 110 million, the pilgrimage requires years of preparation due to high travel and accommodation costs.

Rasmia Paniorotan, 59, from Marawi, said she had nearly given up hope of performing Hajj after losing her home and business during the 2017 siege that devastated the southern Philippine city.“When ground zero happened, everything was destroyed. We lost everything our home, our business,” Paniorotan said, adding that her daughter had been supporting the family since.

Earlier this year, her daughter surprised her by arranging the pilgrimage for both parents.“One day, she told us to prepare our passports. We asked why, and when she said it was for Hajj, we wondered where we would get the money,” Paniorotan said. “She only said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.’

She said leaving for Saudi Arabia on Friday was an emotional moment.“I thought we would never be able to go. I lost hope,” she said. “No matter what happens, I am going to Makkah.”According to Zainoden Usudan, head of the pilgrimage bureau at the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, financial readiness remains the biggest barrier for many applicants.

The cost of performing Hajj can reach 350,000 Philippine pesos, or about $5,700, a significant amount for many households, particularly in Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, where most Filipino Muslims reside.“Some save for years for this once-in-a-lifetime journey,” Usudan said. “Before qualifying for Hajj, you must be physically, mentally and financially prepared.

Among these, financial readiness is the most difficult.”Soraya Marandacan, a school nurse from Marawi, said she spent nearly a decade saving small amounts from her monthly salary and bonuses to fund her pilgrimage.

“I would set aside 5,000 or 10,000 pesos every month until I was able to save enough,” she said.Her plans were delayed by the prolonged illness of her husband, who died in December 2024 after battling colon cancer. Medical expenses, she said, consumed much of her savings.