Ati-Atihan Festival

Ati-Atihan Festival, festival in the Philippines that blends local traditions with Christian themes. It is most prominently held every January in Kalibo, the capital of the Aklan province on Panay Island. The Ati-Atihan Festival honors the Santo Niño (the infant Jesus; Spanish: “Holy Child”) and also commemorates the island’s original inhabitants, the Atis. Ati-Atihan is Tagalog for “to be or act like Atis.” The festival comprises several days of events, which include religious processions, street parades with vibrantly colored costumes and floats, marching drummers, and street dancing. The festival culminates with an extravaganza held on the third Sunday of January.

Origins

The Ati-Atihan Festival’s mythical origins date to the early 13th century. According to legends recorded in the Maragtas—a collection of local oral epics compiled in the early 20th century—in 1212 a group of Bornean datus (chieftains), along with their families and other members of society, fled Borneo to escape the tyranny of Sultan Makatunaw (according to scholars, possibly a ruler of the Srivijaya empire). The Bornean emigrants landed on the island of Panay and purchased land from the Ati inhabitants, who are described as having darker-hued skin. Once the purchase was complete, the Borneans painted their faces black and celebrated with a feast to show respect and give thanks to the local Atis. According to local legend, the celebration of this mythical event then became an annual festival.

Christianity was introduced to the island in the mid-16th century with the Spanish conquest of the Philippines. The Maragtas and other historical records place the date of the Spanish arrival on Panay Island in 1565. The Spanish colonial government integrated the Santo Niño image into religious processions, music, and dance fiestas as part of efforts to convert the island’s population to Catholicism. The celebration became known as the Fiesta of the Santo Niño.

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The Kalibo Ati-Atihan Festival is often considered the “mother of all Philippine festivals,” and it is regarded as the predecessor of other related festivals in the region. Ati-Atihan and Santo Niño celebrations are observed across the Aklan province in towns such as Ibajay, Boracay Island, Lezo, Makato, and Batan. The Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo, held on the fourth Sunday of January, similarly commemorates a pact between Malay settlers and indigenous Ati inhabitants, combined with a Catholic celebration of Santo Niño. The Sinulog Festival of Cebu features a parade of Santo Niño images and focuses on the introduction of Catholicism in Cebu.

Reinvention for tourism

In the 1970s Kalibo mayor Federico O. Icamina’s office revamped the celebration to attract foreign tourists. Branded as the Ati-Atihan Festival, it began featuring parades, street parties, bazaars, and food and beverage stalls. Its reinvention included elaborate costumes similar to those worn at Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Carnival in Brazil. The event has since been billed as the “Filipino Mardi Gras” to entice tourists.

The festival soon grew in stature as a signature event in the Philippines. In 1975 Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and first lady Imelda Marcos visited Kalibo to experience the festival. In 1989 Pres. Corazon Aquino declared the month of January Ati-Atihan Month in the province of Aklan to acknowledge the festival’s cultural heritage and its contributions to the province’s tourism industry.

Festival elements

The Ati-Atihan festivities commence with a formal opening Catholic mass. The second day features various neighborhood groups (barangays) competing in costume and dance events during a parade that commemorates the region’s original Ati inhabitants. A dramatic component of the festival, held on the Thursday prior to the main event, is a dance-drama called “The Barter of Panay” (Maragtas it Panay) that reenacts the exchange between the Borneans and the local Atis.

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On the day before the festival’s finale, the Kalibo government hosts a street dancing competition, one of the most anticipated events of the festival. This parade of festive dancers is called sadsad, which is also the name of an improvised dance style during the event that involves momentarily dragging or shuffling one’s feet in time to the beat of drummers. The final day of the festival, on the third Sunday of January, begins with a community mass and includes parades, dancing, and an awards ceremony. The festival concludes with a procession of thousands of people carrying torches and images of the Santo Niño.