Ati people

Ati

An Ati woman in Kalibo on Panay, Philippines
Total population
(est. 2,000+ (1980: 1,500 speakers of Ati)[1])
Regions with significant populations
 Philippines
Boracay, Negros, Panay
Languages
Ati, Aklanon/Malaynon, Hiligaynon,
Kinaray-a, Filipino, English,
others
Religion
Animism, Christianity (Roman Catholic)
Related ethnic groups
Other Negritos, Visayans, and Filipinos

The Ati are a Negrito ethnic group in the Visayas, the central portion of the Philippine archipelago. Their small numbers are principally concentrated in the islands of Boracay, Panay and Negros. They are genetically related[2] to other Negrito ethnic groups in the Philippines such as the Aeta of Luzon, the Batak of Palawan, and the Mamanwa of Mindanao.

History

In the Philippines the Aetas or Aeta ancestors were the aboriginals or the first inhabitants of this Archipelago. They most probably arrived from Borneo 20-30,000 years ago, through what is thought to be an isthmus (remnants of which today comprise the island of Palawan) that in the prehistoric epoch connected the Philippine archipelago to Borneo via a land bridge.[3] According to some oral traditions, they also predate the Bisaya, who now inhabit most of the Visayas.

Legends, such as those involving the Ten Bornean Datus and the Binirayan Festival, tell tales about how, at the beginning of the 12th century when Indonesia and Philippines were under the rule of Indianized native kingdoms, the ancestors of the Bisaya escaped from Borneo from the persecution of Rajah Makatunaw. Led by Datu Puti and Datu Sumakwel and sailing with boats called balangays, they landed near a river called Suaragan, on the southwest coast of Panay, (the place then known as Aninipay), and bartered the land from an Ati headman named Polpolan and his son Marikudo for the price of a necklace and one golden salakot. The hills were left to the Atis while the plains and rivers to the Malays. This meeting is commemorated through the Ati-atihan festival. This legend, though, is challenged by some historians.[4]

During the Spanish colonization, the tribe made contact with the conquistador Legazpi and were made useful in his colonization of Panay.

Currently, the tribe is threatened due to encroachments into their territory, recently seen in Boracay. Another problem they face is discrimination.

Demographics

Language

An Ati family in Kalibo, Aklan

The Aeta of the north speak Sambalic languages, which are part of the Central Luzon family. The Ati speak a Visayan language known as Inati. As of 1980, the speakers of Inati numbere about 1,500. Visaya and Kinaray-a are also commonly used.[1]

Religion

The Ati practice a form of animism that involves good and evil spirits. These spirits are nature spirits that often guard rivers, the sea, the sky, as well as the mountains. Sometimes, they may cause disease or comfort. The Ati from Negros refer to them as taglugar or tagapuyo, which literally means "inhabiting a place." Christianity has also been adopted due to less isolation and more contact with "outsiders".

Culture

Ati woman in Panay

Clothing

Not too long ago, like other Negritos in the country, their clothing was simple, with women wearing wraparound skirts, sometimes made out of bark cloth, and men wearing loincloths. However today T-shirts, pants, and rubber sandals are common as daily clothes.

Jewelry is simple in nature. Some jewelry objects involve plants such as flowers, while others use animal bones; particularly the teeth of pigs.

Medicine

Ati are known in Panay as practitioners of herbal medicine. Locals often seek their help in removing leeches from a person's body.

Mobility

The Aetas traditionally were nomadic people, with the Aetas (Ati) of Panay being known as the most mobile. Now they live in more permanent settlements like Barotac Vejo, island of Guimaras, Igkaputol (Dao), Tina (Hamtic) and Badiang (San Jose de Buenavista. The famous island of Boracay is still regarded as their ancestral land as the area known as Takbuyan, between the municipalities of Tobias Fournier (Dao) and San Joaquin, on the southwestern coast of Panay. Very few of them are now nomadic (mostly women with small children). Ati men traditionally join 'sacadas' workers on time of harvest of sugar plants in places such as Negros or Batangas.

Festivals

The Ati are the central attraction in the Ati-atihan festival, a festival named in their honor. It is said that the festival is held to commemorate the first appearance of the Roman Catholic Church and the Spaniards in the province of Aklan. According to oral tradition, the Ati helped the Spaniards conquer the native Bisaya and, as a reward, the tribe was given a statue of the Santo Niño.

In the Dinagyang festival of Iloilo City, also on Panay, performers are also painted to look supposedly like Ati and are organized into "tribes", called "tribus", to perform dances with drums, as the Atis are supposed to have done when the Malay arrived and bought Panay from the Ati. Dinagyang is held to celebrate this purchase as well as the arrival in Iloilo of the Santo Niño statue. When the statue first arrived in 1967, a tribe from the Ati-atihan festival was invited to Iloilo to mark the occasion.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ati – A language of Philippines". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  2. ↑ "image from rafonda.com". rafonda.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  3. ↑ Scott, William Henry (1984), Prehispanic Source Materials for the study of Philippine History, New Day Publishers, pp. xix, 3, ISBN 971-10-0226-4, retrieved 2008-08-05.
  4. ↑ "Kalantiao – the hoax". Paul Morrow. Archived from the original on 15 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
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