According to local legends the festival originated in the 13th century when people from Borneo arrived on Panay Island and bartered for land with the Atis (the island’s indigenous inhabitants). The Bornean emigrants celebrated and gave thanks to the local Atis, thus instituting the holiday. Christianity was introduced to Panay Island in the mid-16th century through the Spanish conquest of the Philippines. As part of colonial efforts to convert the local population to Catholicism, the Santo Niño (the infant Jesus) image was integrated into the extant festival’s processions and rituals.
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