Festival Ati-Atihan Festival. Panay Island, Philippines January 10-19
Ati-Atihan Festival is the
story of the friendship between the tribes, immigration and the story of the
first successful real estate transaction in the Philippines. In the 13th
century, Malay refugees fleeing from the island of Borneo, was allowed to settle
in what is now the city of Kalibo, Aklan in the Philippines, next to a
generous, more dark-skinned tribe Ati. In honor of his new friends refuge and
land rights, immigrants, Malay tribe Date stained his skin dark pigment, and
began to celebrate this event. And after
a while, after a bad harvest, Ati tribe descended from the mountains, from
their villages, suffering from hunger. Tribe date have not forgotten the past
and took Ati quartered, and Ati tribe expressed their gratitude with songs and
dances.
Several hundred years later,the Spanish Catholics, had a special aversion to pagan rituals, anchored in the
Philippines. And since then, the Holy Child (Santo Niño) plays a central role
in the Ati-Atihan Festival, especially in Patapake, ritual, in which a
churchman illuminates the statue of the Holy Child all parts of the patient's
body. Knowing that all the tribes believe that the sacred objects endowed with
magical healing powers, the missionaries made a special statue of the Santo
Niño, using it to heal members of the tribe of their ailments. After curing,
the natives rejoicing in the streets, the winds sing hymns together.
But above all, Ati-Atihan
Festival is a nine-dance exhibition of costumes - smeared with soot black
faces, hats with feathers and animal bones create a spectacular show.
Within days, the hum drum
explodes the dawn silence and calm down only after the masker, which puts an
end to the dance marathon. Process should be open, along with the sacred way of
the Santo Niño from the cathedral to the Kalibo Pastrana Park.
By noon, even the most
skeptical residents join the general triumph of soot-covered people.
StreetDance called sadsad pyshut and so much fun that a more appropriate title
would certainly be happyhappy. Festival ends with an evening ball-masquerade
and many thousands torchlight procession in honor of the Santo Niño.
Details
Do not miss a masquerade ball.
Creativity and color of traditional costumes can be compared only to that of
the Brazilian carnival and festival Hagen in Papua New Guinea.
Stay on the last day to see a
highlight of the festival, when the group put on their most bizarre costumes
and dancing with all his might, trying to attract the attention of onlookers.
Visit similar Dinagyang
festival on a nearby island. If you bothered to have fun, use Kalibo as the
place of departure of the famous Boracay Island.
Practical advice
Most travelers fly to Kalibo
from Manila. Flights to fly more often before and after the holiday Ati-Atihan
Festival.
Book your hotel in Kalibo in
advance or otherwise think about a tent on the beach. As in many other places
in the peak date, housing is sold quickly.
Before traveling, update
information about the current political situation in the Philippines.
