Ati (tribe)

Ati
Ati woman
Total population
est. 2,000+ (1980: 1,500 speakers of Ati)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Boracay, Negros, Panay
Language(s)
Ati, Aklanon, Malaynon, Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a, Filipino, English, others
Religion(s)
Animism, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Other Negritos, Visayans, other Filipino peoples

The Ati is a Negrito ethnic group in Panay, which is located in the Visayas, the central portion of the Philippine archipelago. They are genetically-related^[2] to other Negrito ethnic groups in the Philipppines such as the Aeta of Luzon, the Batak of Palawan, and the Mamanwa of Mindanao. Currently, their population numbers only a few thousands and they suffer from discrimination due to their non-Austronesian physical appearance.

History

Like other Negritos, the Ati pre-date the Austronesians in settling the country and have been present since 30,000 BCE. According to some oral traditions, they also pre-date 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 the ancestors of the Bisaya escaped from Borneo and then settled in Panay, (then known as Anninipay), by buying the land from an ancient Ati king named Marikudo. This meeting is commemorated through the Ati-atihan festival. This legend, though, is challenged by some historians.^[3] 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

Unlike the Aeta of the north, who speak Sambalic languages, the Ati speak a Visayan language known as Ati. As of 1980, the speakers of Ati number at about 1,500.^[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

Clothing

Like other Negritos in the country, clothing tends to be simple, with women wearing wraparound skirts, sometimes made out of bark cloth, and men wearing loincloths, locally known as "G-strings". These days, T-shirts, pants, and rubber sandals have infiltrated their society. 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 are a traditionally nomadic people, with the Aetas of Panay being known as the most mobile, but are believed to have once lived in more permanent settlements, prior to their becoming nomadic.

Festivals

A group of dancers performing in the 2007 Ati-Atihan Festival

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.

References

External links

• Atis information
• Single-page rendering of the same book
• Ati and Aeta fotos

•  • e Philippine tribes
Aeta | Ati | Bajau | Igorot/Cordillerano | Lumad | Mangyan | Palawan tribes