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.”