More than 300 years of Spanish occupation have left these parts predominantly Roman Catholic. The deeply reverential Visayans, as locals are called, have thus named many of its cities, towns, streets, villages and even schools and hospitals after religious figures.
With faith, thanksgiving comes naturally shown in both solemn prayer and cheerful celebration, the latter being most expressed by way of public dancing and merriment. Oftentimes, the internal combustion of faith by deep prayer smolders into an explosive display of excitement that makes for a festival of epic proportions.
Not everything about these festivals is entirely about the Catholic faith, however, as certain elements as old as time have become their hallmarks. Blending with Spanish-inspired themes, ancient practices have helped lend these festivals authenticities entirely of their own.
Ati-Atihan Festival
This festival traces its roots to pre-Spanish colonial times when Malay chieftains fled Borneo and sought refuge in Panay Island. Here, they were accepted and granted a settlement by the native aboriginal people called Ati. In appreciation, the chieftains showed their respect to the Ati folks by painting their faces black and dancing as a way of giving thanks.
Taking off from the legend, Ati-Atihan therefore means “to imitate” the Ati people. And true enough, its festival participants not only chant loudly and dance frenetically, they also paint themselves black and wear colorful Ati native costumes.
But while the festival originated on an entirely different note, it has taken on a more religious character starting in the 17th century when the Spanish colonial government made it into a regular Catholic fiesta in honor of the Santo Nino, a religious image of an infant Jesus Christ introduced into the Philippines during the 1521 expedition of Ferdinand Magellan.
Instead of rebuking the native old practices, Spanish colonial authorities chose to assimilate these into Catholic traditions as a means of accommodating prevailing customs and winning over converts into the fold. The Spaniards then dubbed it as the Fiesta de Santo Nino (Feast of the Holy Child). Over the years, the Catholicized event became part of the Filipino calendar.
After WWII, however, the festival along with others all over the country began to incorporate elements of music and body paint from places like New Orleans and Rio de Janiero. By the 1960s, Philippine tourism authorities started marketing local festivals that incorporated costume designs from Papua New Guinea and Africa. In 1972, Ati-Atihan became the festival’s official name.
Today, the Ati-Atihan is held yearly in January in several towns of the Province of Aklan in Panay Island. Lasting for two weeks, the revelry explodes in the final three days (Friday to Sunday), culminating on the third Sunday of the month when the Sto. Nino image is transferred from the cathedral in the town of Kalibo in the provincial capital to the nearby Pastrana Park where a mass is held.
Featuring blaring rhythmic drums and whistles punctuated by shouts of “Hala Bira (Go Dance),” the festival culminates with a parade and street dancing by colorful tribal groups.
Most anticipated during the day is the dance-ritual called Sadsad (feet stomping), a kind of dancing where the foot is dragged momentarily along the ground in tune to the beat played by a marching band. While colorfully-costumed dancers in official groups rule the day in duly-designated places within the city, willing spectators are more than welcome to dance along.
The merry-making is in fact open for people to take part in, whereas they are simply treated as spectators in other festivals around the country. The spontaneity is what actually strikes Ati-Atihan attendees the most, as people of all ages and walks of life are free to dance with just about anyone in a vibrant street party like no other.
Sans any formality, young and old freely romp along in the celebration which is now known as the “Mother of All Philippine Festivals.” In rhythm with the roaring drum beat, Filipino and foreign visitors often dance the Sadsad arm-to-arm in Kalibo’s streets, often with the help of a bit of alcohol that naturally comes with a fiesta.
As the country’s oldest street-dancing festival, the Ati-Atihan has become the precursor and inspiration of many other festivals all over the archipelago.
Dinagyang Festival
An offspring of Ati-Atihan, this festival dates back to 1968 when a Catholic parish priest, Fr. Sulpicio Enderez brought a replica of the original image of the Santo Nino de Cebu to Iloilo as a gift to the San Jose Parish.
Members of the Confradia del Santo Nino de Cebu – Iloilo Chapter organized an elaborate welcome celebration fitting for the Santo Nino image which was accompanied by a delegation of devotees from Cebu, starting from the airport and parading down the streets of Iloilo City all the way to the San Jose Parish.
That warm reception marked the beginning of the Dinagyang as a festival, carried out during the feast of the Santo Nino every fourth Sunday of January. Initially, the merrymaking consisted merely of simple activities within the parish. Its organizers, the Confradia organized an event similar to the Ati-Atihan where soot-covered natives in indigenous costumes dance to celebrate the grant of settlement by the Ati people to the Malay chieftains who migrated to Panay from Borneo.
The tribal theme of the festival was thus set. With only four participating tribes in 1969, the Ati-Atihan contest became a part of the cultural aspect of the festival. But in just a few years, the humble observance grew into a more colorful and vibrant event with the entry of additional tribes and groups into the contest.
In 1977, President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. ordered the different regions of the country to organize festivals and public celebrations designed to boost the tourism industry. Iloilo City responded to the call by identifying the Iloilo Ati-Atihan as its project since the Confradia which could no longer handle the challenges of the growing festival had confined itself only on its religious aspect.
To differentiate the festivities from the original Ati-Atihan of Kalibo in Aklan however, a local journalist suggested the term “Dinagyang” as the name for Iloilo’s festival. Derived from the Hiligaynon word “Dagyang” which means “to make merry,” the name was adapted as an appropriate identity for the event that captures the fun-loving spirit of Ilonggos.
From then on, the humble parish-centered celebration blossomed into what is now referred to as the “Queen of All Philippine Festivals,” attracting a million visitors every year.
The Dinagyang season kicks off with the Pamukaw (awakening) a month earlier in December. On the second Friday of January, an opening salvo proclaims the start of the celebration that also serves as a prelude to the three major events during the festival weekend: the wordplay-inspired ILOmination and Floats Parade of Lights scheduled on Friday, the Kasadyahan (happiness) Festival that takes place on Saturday and the grandiose Ati Tribes Competition held on Sunday.
The most awaited among the three is the Ati Tribes Competition that features performing groups dressed in indigenous warrior costumes. While chanting and dancing to the loud rhythmic beat of drums and improvised percussion instruments, they present traditional choreographed formations that portray different aspects of the history of Panay.
Kasadyahan, on the other hand, is where different cultural festivals from all over Western Visayas come together to compete while the ILOmination and Floats Parade of Lights compliments the weekend as an added attraction to side events like fluvial and motorcade parades, musical presentations and the Miss Iloilo beauty pageant.
Mouth-watering food has also become a special highlight of the Dinagyang season in light of Iloilo City’s recent declaration as a Creative City of Gastronomy by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the first Philippine city to be so proclaimed.
Sinulog Festival
Sinulog comes from sulog or water current imitated by the forward-backward prayer-dance popularized by candle vendors at the Santo Niño minor basilica in Cebu City. When lighting a candle for a customer’s supplication, a vendor performs the Sinulog dance while chanting Pit Senyor (a call for the Holy Child’s intercession).
The practice comes from an ancient ritual of Cebuano natives after miracles were attributed to a Santo Niño image gifted by Magellan to local royals in 1521. The image was discovered in a burned house by Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi during a subsequent expedition in 1565. The widely-venerated Santo Niño de Cebu has since been housed in an old stone church and honored with a feast every third Sunday of January, also the main Sinulog Festival day.
But it was not until 1980 when the prayer-dance became the centerpiece of a festival organized by David Odilao who headed the then Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. Known as the “Father of the Sinulog Festival,” Odilao says he created it to reinvigorate the religious practice that has led to Cebu’s growth the Cradle of Christianity in Asia.
The first Sinulog was confined to the basilica surroundings in downtown Cebu City. With the help of local universities, Odilao mobilized students as dancers who already performed a year earlier in the Bahug-Bahug Sa (melee in) Mactan, another festival that he organized to commemorate the 1521 victory of Datu Lapulapu over Ferdinand Magellan. Costumes were also recycled from the previous year’s event.
The success of the first Sinulog led to its promotion as a grand cultural event by the Sinulog Foundation, formally established in 1984 to spearhead the festival which was to become a major activity in Cebu’s tourism calendar. Since then, Sinulog has grown into one of the Philippine’s most well-known festivals, attracting up to 1.5 million visitors yearly.
As early as December, annual event preparations begin. And when the new year sets in, things fall right into place, with the Cebu City Government and the Sinulog Foundation organizing various cultural shows, photo and video contests, talent competitions, beauty pageants, trade fairs and parades to compliment the religious observance of the Feast of the Sto. Nino de Cebu.
To discourage over-consumption of alcohol that have led to brawls in past years, authorities have strictly regulated street parties. A highly-anticipated party, however, is the one welcoming balikbayans (Filipinos returning from abroad) and tourists. Organized by the Balik-Cebu Committee, the event is highlighted by a host of performers including award-winning street dancers strutting their stuff to the delight of party-goers.
Leading up to the Sinulog weekend, the famous street dancers hog the limelight in two competitions: the Sinulog-Based Category depicting traditional Filipino culture and the Free Interpretation Category reflective of either indigenous native or foreign influence. All throughout, relevant artistry is kept in step with the Sinulog drum beat which differentiates the festival from all the others, as huge colorful props make performances more staggering and impressive.
Meanwhile, as contingents in elaborate costumes and energized performances wow the crowds from morning till dusk, movie stars on flower-bedecked floats also grace the occasion, drawing shrieks from adoring fans. In between, giant puppets and musical numbers by local talents entertain spectators during parade breaks. Occasionally, dance groups from other countries participate as non-competing guest performers.
The day ends in elaborate fireworks displays after dancers perform their best in a final showdown at the culminating stage of the festival.
Conclusion
With year-long planning involving a host of agencies and organizations, the Philippine Department of Tourism as well as the local government units of Panay, Iloilo and Cebu pull out all stops to ensure that locals and visitors from other parts of the Philippines and abroad are satisfied with everything about their annual festivals which have tremendously boosted the country’s creative industry.
To augment public funds for the events, private sector-led groups such as the organizing foundations raise funds through sponsorships and other income-generating activities. Apart from the usual logistical expenses, cash prizes for competition winners often run up to tens of millions of pesos.
Providentially, as Santo Nino devotees put it, financial support has not been harshly deficient despite hard economic times. For one, the festivals have never failed to gain windfalls for businesses, with the airlines, hotels, restaurants and other tourism-oriented establishments ending up as the perennial top-earners. As goods and services haul in record highs during the festivals’ season, taxes also jolt significantly. Even nano enterpreneurs like street vendors and owners of small eateries, bars and convenience stores earn much during season.
For their part, dancing contingents continue to participate in the festivals as a panaad (vow), a form of thanksgiving to the Santo Nino. Apart from expressing gratitude, groups representing local government units continuously join the festivals to showcase the beauty of their respective places and attract tourists to visit them.
Deeply rooted in faith, the annual festivals do bring tremendous positive impact to many. Small wonder why the Santo Niño continues to be a focus of grateful exuberance among millions of people nationwide.
