TheKalibo Santo Niño—Ati-Atihan Festival,[1]also simply calledAti-Atihan Festival,is a Philippine festival held annually in January in honor of theSanto Niño(Holy ChildorInfant Jesus) in several towns of the province ofAklan,Panay Island.The biggest celebration is held during the third Sunday of January in the town ofKalibo,the province's capital. The nameAti-Atihanmeans "to imitate theAti people".[2]
| Ati-Atihan Festival | |
|---|---|
 An Ati-Atihan participant | |
| Official name | Kalibo Santo Niño—Ati-Atihan Festival |
| Also called | Ati-Atihan |
| Observed by | Kalibo,Aklan |
| Liturgical color | White and Gold |
| Type | Religious / Cultural |
| Date | Third Sunday in January |
| 2023 date | January 15 |
| 2024 date | January 21 |
| 2025 date | January 19 |
| 2026 date | January 18 |
| Frequency | Annual |
| First time | 1212 |
The festival consists of religious processions and street-parades, showcasing themed floats, dancing groups wearing colorful costumes,marching bands,and people sporting face and body paints. The street parade is known asSadsad,which is also what the locals call their way of dancing where the foot is momentarily dragged along the ground in tune to thebeatplayed by themarching bands.
Being believed to be the oldest festival in the Philippines and having inspired other popular Philippine festivals such asDinagyangofIloiloandSinulogofCebu,it is thus known as the "Mother of All Philippine Festivals."[3]
History
edit
The origins of the Ati-Atihan celebration date back to 1212 AD, after a group of 10 Malay chieftains called ‘Datus’ fleeing from the island of Borneo settled on the island ofPanayin the Philippines and were granted settlement by the Ati people.[4]The celebration with a relation toSanto Niñoknown as theFiesta de Santo Niño,dates back to at least the 17th century. It was part of the Catholic "fiesta system" employed by the Spanish colonial government to reinforce thereduccionespolicy that aimed to resettle natives on planned settlements built around a local church. In the 1950s, the festival, along with similar fiestas around the country celebrating theSanto Niño(like theSinulogandDinagyang) increasingly began to resemble theBrazilian Carnivaland theNew Orleans Mardi Gras,incorporating music, street dancing, and body painting. By the 1960s, the festival became even more commercialized as the PhilippineDepartment of Tourismheavily promoted local festivals to national prominence. The festival now included elaborate exotic costumes (inspired by tribal attire fromPapua New Guinea,Africa, and India). It culminated in 1972, when the festival's name was officially changed toAti-Atihan.[5]
The festivity is claimed to be originally a nativeanimistcelebration of theanito(ancestor spirits), to which Spanish missionaries gradually added a Christian meaning. The festival is also linked to the epicMaragtas.The epic claims that a group of 10Malaychieftains, led by Datu Puti, fled the island ofBorneoin the 13th century and landed on the island ofPanay.Datu Puti made a trade with theAti peopleand purchased the lowlands for a goldensalakot,brass basins and bales of cloth. They gave a very long necklace to the wife of the Ati chieftain. Feasting and festivities followed soon after. Some time later, the Ati people were struggling with famine as the result of a bad harvest. They were forced to descend from their mountain village into the settlement below, to seek the generosity of the people who now lived there. Thedatuobliged and gave them food. In return, the Ati danced and sang for them, grateful for the gifts they had been given.[6]
However, the historicity of theMaragtasepic is now questioned by modern historians, despite being once widely included in school textbooks and associated with the Ati-Atihan Festival. The claim of its origins from theMaragtasor theAti peopleis a modern addition, like its name.[7][6]
In 2012, theNational Commission for Culture and the Arts(NCCA) and the ICHCAP ofUNESCOpublishedPinagmulan: Enumeration from the Philippine Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.The first edition of theUNESCO-backed book included theAti-atihan Festival,signifying its great importance to Philippine intangible cultural heritage. The local government of Aklan, in cooperation with the NCCA, is given the right to nominate the Ati-atihan Festival in theUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.[8]
Events
edit
The formal opening mass during the first day of the celebration emphasizes the festival's religious event. The mass is followed by a procession accompanied byrhythmic drumbeatsanddance paradesalong the street. The second day begins at dawn with a rosary procession and ends with a community mass and another dance parade. The highlight of the festival occurs on the last day, the third Sunday of January, when groups representing different tribes compete for tourists' attention and prizes. The festival ends with a procession of thousands of people carrying different kinds of images of the Santo Niño.
Celebrations in other places
editOther towns in Aklan that celebrate the Ati-Atihan festival areIbajay,Lezo,Malinao,Makato,Batan,Altavas,andMalay (Boracay Island).Several nearby towns of Antique and Capiz also hold the Ati-Atihan festival.
Other festivals held in the region with similar themes include theDinagyangof Iloilo, theHalaranof Capiz, and theBinirayanof Antique.[citation needed]
Controversies
editThe initial Ati-Atihan is believed to not originally include theAti people(commonly misidentified with theAeta peopleofLuzon) in the dances as the dancers were traditionally non-Ati natives who danced to give their gratitude towards the Ati people after the Ati welcomed them to the Ati homelands. In later years, Ati people also participated in the dance. The festival is viewed by some people living outside the Philippines, notably Filipino-Americans who call themselves "Filipinx", as "controversial", allegedly for the use ofblackface.[5][9]This has been disproved, as the coloring of the face and body of non-natives is an Ati-atihan tradition that predates the blackface phenomenon in the West. In fact, the coloring, by tradition, is meant to honor, not slander, the Ati people for their compassion towards non-Ati natives as recorded in the indigenous people's local history.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Kalibo Sto. Niño Ati-atihan Festival 2023 | The Official Website of the Municipality of Kalibo".RetrievedJanuary 19,2023.
- ^"ATI – ATIHAN FESTIVAL".Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).
- ^Garcia, Patrick (January 13, 2019)."The Ati-Atihan: Of Devotion and Free-Flowing Drinks in Kalibo".Manila Bulletin.RetrievedMay 24,2020.
- ^Peterson, William (2011)."The Ati-Atihan Festival: Dancing with the Santo Nino at the" Filipino Mardi Gras ".Asian Theatre Journal.28(2). University of Hawaii Press: 505.RetrievedJanuary 3,2024.
- ^abPeterson, William (2011). "The Ati-Atihan Festival: Dancing with the Santo Niño at the" Filipino Mardi Gras "".Asian Theatre Journal.28(2): 505–528.doi:10.1353/atj.2011.0042.JSTOR41306513.S2CID162938707.
- ^abDuka, Cecilio D. (2008).Struggle for Freedom: A Textbook on Philippine History.Manila: Rex Book Store. pp. 21–23.ISBN978-971-23-5045-0.
- ^Scott, William Henry (1968).Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History.Manila: University of Santo Tomas Press.
- ^Peralta, Jesus T. (ed.)."Pinagmulan: Enumeration from the Philippine Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage".e-Knowledge Center.ICHCAP. Archived fromthe originalon February 1, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 21,2018.
- ^Asbury, Robin (December 6, 2020)."Where are the Ati in the Ati-Atihan?".Mangal Media.RetrievedApril 16,2022.
- ^Madarang, Catalina Ricci (November 4, 2020)."Filipinos raise importance of Ati-Atihan fest after being accused of cultural appropriation".Interaksyon.RetrievedJanuary 14,2023.
External links
edit