A Festivity of Faith and History
Called “The Mother of Philippine Festivals,” the Ati-Atihan of Aklan honors the island’s indigenous people and the Child Jesus.
words by Vic Sevilla photos courtesy of Ati-Atihan Foundation
Called “The Mother of Philippine Festivals,” the Ati-Atihan of Aklan honors the island’s indigenous people and the Child Jesus.
words by Vic Sevilla photos courtesy of Ati-Atihan Foundation
Almost invariably, the image of the Sto. Niño in various permutations of sizes and costumes, move with the crowd, carried by hand or cradled in the arms. In unison, they shout: “Hala bira! Puera Pasma!” Loosely translated, it means “Give it your all! Without the sickness!” and mouthed like a chant addressed to the Child Jesus.
Indeed, the festival isn’t just about letting one’s hair down or getting inebriated in the streets; it’s also a religious celebration that gives an exuberant paean to the Sto. Niño, or the Child Jesus. It is said that in 1750, when Fray Andres de Aguirre came upon a thriving settlement west of the Aklan River, he promptly christened 1,000 inhabitants in one day.
Aklanon historian Beato dela Cruz writes: “To celebrate the eventful day the drums of Aklan were sounded once more for this beneficial event. Thus, the present Ati-Atihan is tinged with religious fervor and is now associated with miracles. Devotees nowadays participate in the street dancing, novena masses or fall in line inside the century-old Kalibo Cathedral just to let their bodies be massaged or rubbed with the image of the Sto. Niño.”
While the Ati-Atihan Festival reflects the Filipinos’ profound Catholicism, it also celebrates a widely-acknowledged and important episode in Philippine history: the momentous bartering of Panay between the indigenous Ati king and the fleeing Bornean datus.
The account, contained in Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro’s work The Maragtas (c. 1907), tells the story of 10 Bornean chieftains who escaped the tyrannical rule of Borneo’s Datu Makatunaw after the fall of the Srivijayan Empire. This splinter group landed at sunrise in the island of Panay in 1212.
The group is said to have sought Ati chieftain Marikudo with an offer to buy the island with a golden sarok, brass basins, bales of cloth along with a trinket for Queen Maningwangtiwang. Upon coming to an agreement, a great celebration ensued. The Malays painted their faces and bodies to mimic the Atis as a symbolic gesture to mark the culmination of a peaceful agreement between two peoples of different races. Thus, the first Ati-Atihan Festival was held, a celebration unique in its acknowledgement of the indigenous peoples of Panay Island.
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