Ati Atihan festival

The Ati Atihan festival is an event that is commemorated throughout the Philippines, particularly in the island paradise that is Boracay, where this fiesta is observed with passion.

The Boracay Ati Atihan festival takes on the third week of every January, and in three main locations: at White Beach, in Kalibo and in Ibajay. Each of these fiestas is unique so you might want to check each one out. If you want to see the White Beach version, wherein the participants march along the beach, you simply have to go to Boracay and head to the beach itself on the festival date, and you will see them there.

The Ati Atihan festival in Ibajay can be reached from Kalibo. From the Kalibo airport you take a short flight to Ibajay. Go there in January and you will see signs of the festival all around. To see the festivities in Kalibo, from the airport, you can take a cab or jeepney and asked to be taken to the main city proper, where the festivities are being held.

Although there are certain subtle variations, the salient features of all Ati Atihan festivals remain constant: it commences with a procession and culminates in a mass at the opening day. The highlight of course is the contest between the various groups, marked by dancing, and marching to the sound of hypnotic drumbeats.

Clad in tribal attire, complete with beads, flowers, trinkets, metals and other colorful paraphernalia, they march on the streets. As they move about on the streets expect to see the people watching them, local and foreign tourists, and the townsfolk, dancing and marching along.

The climax of the Ati Atihan festival in Boracay involves the procession of the Santo Nino with several bamboo torches surrounding it.

The history of the Boracay Ati Atihan festival marks a fascinating amalgamation of Christianity and the beliefs of native Filipino tribes. The dancing to the drumbeats originated from the ritual of the Ati peoples centuries ago, who were celebrating because they were given land by Datu Puti. Other accounts state that the fiesta came about as a form of thanksgiving by the local tribes to the goddess of harvest and good crops.

When the Spaniards came the missionaries reached an agreement with the local chieftains to incorporate the Santo Nino and other Christian elements into the Ati Atihan festival, resulting in the fusion we see now.

Today there are numerous festivals held throughout Boracay, but in terms of sheer excitement, few come close to the exhilaration and fervor that the Ati Atihan festival can bring.