-ATI-ATIHAN means “to become like Aetas” which is originally a pagan animist festival that the Spaniards adapted in honor of the Sto. Niño
-Ati-atihan Festival is a Religious, Cultural, and a Participative type of festival
-It is held every 3rd Sunday of January (Feast Day of Santo Niño)
Main Highlights:
- Ati-Atihan parade on Saturday (after the dawn procession at 4am & devotee’s mass at 5am.)
- Feast Day religious celebrations of Señor Santo Niño de Kalibo on Sunday
-Kalibo’s Ati-Atihan is the mother of all the big Sto. Niño festivals of Sinulog in Cebu and Dinagyang in Iloilo. It’s the biggest fiesta that is “non-commercialized” and stays true to its Filipino Fiesta vibe. It’s a “participative fiesta” where you dance with the performers vs. a “spectator fiesta” where you just watch in the sidelines. They say you have not experienced a Filipino fiesta unless you’ve been to Ati-Atihan.
Ati-Atihan means “to become like Aetas” or in modern terms an “Ati Cosplay“. It was originally a pagan animist festival that the Spaniards adapted in honor of the Sto. Niño celebrated every third sunday of January.
It started when 10 Bornean Datus escaped from the island of Borneo and migrated to the Island of Panay in the 13th century (c.1200 A.D.). They bought the Panay Island plains from the Ati’s who were the original settlers in Maharlika (former name of the Philippines before the Spaniards) with gifts of golden salakot, brass basins, bales of cloth and a very long necklace for the Ati chieftain.
The Aetas celebrated the occasion with eating, dancing, and merry making that became the inspiration of what we now call as the Filipino Fiesta.
Festival Power Travel Tips:
- This festival is fun when you participate in the actual dancing. There’s no specific route and you can follow different parade groups that goes around the town.
- This is the only festival that allows drinking during the parade because it is part of the fiesta tradition. Most of the people are drunk but there’s zero security incidents during the event.
- Best to create your own Ati-look to fully immerse into the festival.
Festivals in Philippines 