asianTraveler Magazine

The Revelry begins with the pounding of drums. Rhythmic and incessant, it could persuade even the most unwilling feet to stomp the beat. Soon, the streets are choked with dancing people dressed as a dizzying array of colorful characters, from pop icons and historical figures, to cowboys and African warriors. Different groups make their way around town, furiously beating on their drum, their hoarse voices straining to rise above the loud music with shouts of the immortal “Hala bira!”

Here, rosary processions alternate with street dancers, solemn masses with binge drinking. But what may seem to outsiders to be random madness is actually both an event of historical significance and a religious fiesta dedicated to the Santo Niño. Begun on the third Sunday of January, this is the Ati-Atihan festival of Kalibo, Aklan, and it tells the story of Panay Island and how the Catholic faith won its people.

The name “Ati-Atihan” literally translates into “making like the Atis.” Participants at the fiesta blacken their bodies in soot to resemble the native Atis, the dark-skinned original inhabitants of Panay. This practice is believed to go all the way back to the 1200s, although there are varying reasons cited for it, depending on which accounts you read.

Fleeing a despotic sultan, Bornean datus and their families found their way to Panay in the 1200s and bought land from Atis with three golden items – a hat, a basin and a necklace. Some say painting in soot was a way for the Borneans to express oneness in spirit within their new neighbors, and that the dance we see in Ati-Atihan was part of an Ati ceremony welcoming the newcomers. Another version maintains that the trademark dance was originally performed by natives as thanksgiving to the datus for sharing food with them during a time of meager harvest. Singing and dancing were as much trademark of the Atis as dark skin, hence their prevalence in the Ati-Atihan.

When the Spanish came, they found certain practices so ingrained in the people’s way of life that they made do with many of the customs and celebrations they found, merely adding Catholic elements and replacing the Ati idols with images of saints. Over time, the Ati’s dance of thanksgiving became a procession in honor of the Sto. Nino, albeit an unusual one.

When the settlements came under attack from hostile Muslims, the Jesuits persuaded the locals to blacken their skin and pretend to be Atis to scare the Muslims away. With cries of “Hala bira (Hit them)!” artillerymen fired at the invaders, the gunpowder giving their faces the dark, fearsome appearance of the Atis. Once the Muslims were effectively repulsed – and before the victory could be attributed to anyone else – one quick-thinking Jesuit exalted, “Viva Sto. Nino!”

Cries of “Viva Sto. Nino!” resonate throughout the Ati-Atihan. Because of its pagan origins, it is probably the rowdiest tribute to the Christ Child that you will find anywhere. The festival runs for two weeks, with celebrations in the last three days becoming especially feverish. Different tribes, usually formed by clans, schools or organizations, push their way through the town’s narrow streets, complete with their own costumes and brass band. It is impossible to stay a spectator in a fiesta such as this; sooner or later bystanders join the fray, getting their bodies painted and falling into step with the wild dance of the Atis.