Ati-Atihan Festival of Aklan - Aklan’s Festivals of Festivals
October 15, 2008 by admin
Filed under Aklan Festival, Boracay Festival, Kalibo Festival, Panay Festival, traditional festival
Ati-Atihan, Aklan’s Festival of Festivals
The Festival
Having known as the festival of festivals, celebrated in the Province of Aklan is a week-long highlight of events in the month of January is the Ati-atihan (dressing up like Atis). Throughout the world, Ati-atihan is the considered the wildest, intoxicating, sometimes having the nickname ìthe local Mardi Grasî, most colorful festival in the history of the Philippines. Adorned with headdresses made of variety of ethnic materials such as abaca fibers, shells, feathers, bamboo, plant leaves, cogon, sugar cane flowers, beads, trinkets, and a lot more including pieces of glass, metals, and plastics joined together, everyone participates, dances to the beat of the drums in tribal groups throwing all the inhibitions away in this gigantic masked ball.
Ati-atihan is a traditional fiesta in celebration of the Feast of the Santo NiNo, or the Holy infant Jesus.
The Origin
From the island of Borneo in Indonesia arrived light-skinned colonists to Panay sometime in the 13th century, even before the Spaniards came to Philippines. The short, dark-skinned and kinky haired locals, the Atis, sold a piece of the lowlands and permitted them to settle. Up in the mountains settled the Atis. Came a time when strong rains wiped out the crops in the hillside, the locals came down to the lands of the Maraynon, the Malay people, to ask for food. Having a bountiful harvest, the lowlanders shared the blessings, and every year, with the kinky-haired, black people forming a friendship pact and danced and sang the Atis in gratefulness. Maraynons painted their faces and took part in the celebration, in honor of the Atis.
The History
The annual celebration of peace of reconciliation between the Malays of Borneo and the local resident Atis continued until the Spanish came and introduce Catholicism thus now the celebration is held in honor of the infant Holy Jesus, or in Spanish, Santo NiÒo. A harvest thanksgiving celebrated yearly, residents of Aklan, and the rest of the Catholic Filipino has gone to love the Santo NiÒo, parade in the streets in merriment, dance to the hypnotic beating of drums, with faces painted and costumed as Atis.
The Scoop
In the 13th century, some land in Panay was sold to 10 datus of Borneo who were oppresively against Datu Makatunaw by the son of the chief, Ati Marikudo. A gold hat and basin has been the payment, though the chiefís wife wanted an ankle necklace. For this the natives offer mass of live crabs, boar, and long-antlered deer. Datu Puti left Datu Sumkwel to take his place as he makes agreement on the settlement while he goes further northern Luzon leaving Datu Balensuela and Datu Dumagsil settling in Taal. All these were written in a book from Maragtas base on a ancient manuscript written by Pedro Monteclaro in 1907, which is believed nobody has ever seen.
In The Succession
Santo NiNo captivated the hearts of most Filipino men and devotion has been intense since the commemoration of being presented to Juana, Queen of Cebu in 1521. Having carried away by hypnotic and continous rhytmic beating of drums, residents and visitors alike carry Santo NiÒos of different images, parading as old timers do, in costumes of heavily adorned ethnic materials and painted faces, dancing in the streets in exhaustion.
Truly a celebration of wondeful historical event, Ati-atihan is held every 3rd Sunday of January in Kalibo, Province of Aklan, Island of Panay. The celebration now extends over several days after the Epiphany, Catholic observance include processions, parades, and worldly known dancing in the streets. These rituals start on the 2nd day at dawn with the community mass.
The highlight of this magnificent festival are the colorful costumes and masks, and native dances which competitors prepared weeks before the festival A number of people of young and aged alike reaching to 40-50 aim for prestige and cash.
Less than an hour away is the beach of Boracay, a great tourist destination, is where visitors would love to spend the rest of vacation and at dawn, after youíve drank and danced until you drop, the time is just right to enjoy the beautiful sunset.
