SIDE TRIP 32: Ati-ati sa Akean

Trust the Church to attach something religious to an otherwise pagan celebration. The original mardi gras-type festival in the Philippines was in fact an event to celebrate the sale of Panay Island to the Borneans. The original inhabitants of the island, the dark-skinned and kinky-haired Ati, bartered the island sometime in the 13^th century in exchange for a golden salakot.

To celebrate the sale, the fair-skinned Borneans smeared black soot all over their body so they will look like an Ati. Thus the Ati-atihan - meaning “to make like an Ati” – was born. Every year thereafter, the ritual of painting their bodies with black soot is repeated, along with the frenzy of uninhibited drinking and merrymaking. The Borneans eventually settled in the lowlands (of whom I am a descendant) while the naturally nomadic Atis retreated further inland, into the mountains where most of them remain to this day. (Sadly, now-called indigenous peoples, they are the object of shameless discrimination. But that is another story.)

When the Spaniards came, they very cleverly attached the feast of the Child Jesus into the Ati-ati (Akeanons refer to the revelry as Ati-ati, not Ati-atihan) and so today, you hear the lusty cheer of the more pagan “Hala bira! Puera pasma!” along with the more fervent “Viva el Senor Santo Nino! Viva!”

When I was younger, the Ati-ati was the only festival of its kind in the Philippines. Shiploads of tourists (mostly rich Negrenses) and Europeans flocked to Kalibo every third week of January. Pretty soon, every province it seemed has its own version. Iloilo came up with Dinagyang. Cebu followed suit with Sinulog. Capiz had Halaran while Antique had Binirayan. Negros went for Masskara. Baguio had Panagbenga. These days, streetdancing and festivals are a dime a dozen, with many more being born almost every year. The Filipino sure knows how to have fun.

Hala bira!