ATI – ATIHAN FESTIVAL

ATI-ATIHAN FESTIVAL
The Ati-Atihan Festival is a feast
held annually in January in honor
of the Sto. Niño(Infant Jesus),
Held on the 3rd Sunday, in the
town of Kalibo,Philippines in the
island of Panay, originally came
from Batan,Aklan, then adopted
later some neighboring towns.
The name Ati-Atihan means ‘’to
 HISTORY
 A 1200 A.D. Event explains the origins of the festival. A
group of 10 Malay chieftains called Datus, fleeing from
the island of Borneo settled in the Philippines, and were
granted settlement by Ati people, the tribes of the Panay
island. Datu Puti made a trade with the natives and
bought the plains for a golden salakot, 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. The Datus obliged and gave
them food. In return, the Ati danced and sang for them,
grateful for the gifts they had been given.
 EVENT
S
When the spaniards colonized the
Philippines, the festival was given Catholic
Significance and it was turned into a feast
to honor the Sto. Niño (a statue of the
Child Jesus). This is why today, while
people still darken their skin and don
Aeta-inspired costumes, holy mass is also
celebrated as part of the festival.
LEGEND OF THE ATI-ATIHAN FEST IN
AKLAN
 In 1975, Catholic priests Msrgs. Jose Iturralde wrote the
history of the Ati-Atihan could be traced to the old
fisherman couple in Barangay Naile in the western part of
the province. Iturralde said that in the early-1700s, an
unnamed fisherman went into the river to catch the fish.
But along the way, he considered it unfortunate he
caught a piece of wood, instead of fish. He tried to throw
the wood away, but it repeatedly returned to his net.
Dismayed, he decided to bring the wood home and threw
it in a pile to use a fuel to cook their meal. The fisherman
with his wife sleeps for a while and later they heard a
beating sound nearby. When they look where the sound
beatings where, they found the piece of wood has
carving of a child. The fisherman decided to put it in their
altar. From there on, the family received blessings,
including good fish harvests.
MORE ABOUT ATI-ATIHAN FESTIVAL
 The Festivity was originally a Pagan
Festival from this tribe practicing
Animism, and their worshipping their
anito god. Spanish missionaries
gradually added a Christian meaning.
So, Ati-Atihan is celebrated as religious
festival.
 ATI-ATIHAN FESTIVAL
 The festival consists of tribal dance,
music, accompanied by indigenous
costumes and weapons, and parade
along the street. Christians and Non-
Christians observe this day with
religious processions. It has inspired
many other Philippine Festivals
including the sinulog festival of cebu
and Dinagyang of Iloilo city, both
adaptations, of the Kalibo’s Ati-Atihan
Festival, and legally holds the title
‘’The Mother of All Philippine Festivals’’
 HISTOR
Y
 In 2012, the National Commission For Culture and the
Arts(NCCA) and the ICHCAP of UNESCO published
Pinagmulan: Enumeration from the Philippine
Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The first
edition of the UNESCO –backed book included the
Ati-Atihan Festival, signifying its great importance to
Philippine Intangible Cultural Heritage. The local
government of Aklan, the coopration of NCCA ,is
given the right to nominate the Ati-Atihan Festival in
the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.
 EVENTS
 The people attend masses for the Sto. Nino, and
benefits dances sponsored by government
organizations. The formal opening mass emphasizes the
festival’s religious event. The procession begins with a
rhythmic drumbeats, and dances parading along the
street. The second day begins at dawn with a rossary
procession, which ends with community mass, and
procession.
 EVENT
S
 The phrase ‘’Hala Bira! Pwera Pasma!’’ is
originally associated with the Sto. Niño Ati-
Atihan Festival as the revelers and devotees
keep on going with the Festivities all over the
town from morning to the wee hours of the
next morning, rain or shine, for one week or
even more. They believe that the miraculous
Child Jesus will protect them from harm and
illness. The highlight of the festival occurs on
the last day, the 3rd Sunday of January, when
groups representing different tribes compete
for tourists’ attention and prizes.