Visayas Festivals
Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival
(Visayas, Eastern Visayas)
Festival: Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival
Festival Location: City of Passi in Iloilo, Visayas Tacloban City, Leyte, Eastern Visayas
Festivity Season: Western Visayas: Every 3rd week of March; Eastern Visayas: Every 29th of June, the Feast Day of Señor Santo Niño de Leyte.
According to oral tradition, Spanish missionaries brought the first picture of the Child Jesus to the island of Leyte in 1888. The origins of the Pintados Festival can be attributed to the Tacloban community, who in 1986 founded Pintados Foundation, Inc. and started planning religious and cultural events in honor of the Señor Santo Niño. June 29 of the following year saw the inaugural Pintados Festival, which subsequently combined with the Kasadyaan Festival. Given that the Visayan word "kasadya-an" signifies joy or celebration, the celebration highlights Leyte's distinctive and vibrant past.
This event honors not merely the feast of Santo Niño but also the pre-Spanish heritage of warriors, known locally as pintados, getting their tattoos. Friar from Spain, Fr. Ignacio Francisco Alcina S.J. noted in "Historia de las Islas e Indios de Bisayas 1668" that practically every Visayan, with the exception of minors and asug (homosexuals), had tattoos, indicating that the tradition is not exclusive to warriors.
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Festival activities to look out for:
Ritual Dance Presentation of Pintados
The Pagrayhay for the Grand Parade
Salu-salo at every corner
Festive Local Markets
For more information, check out their official website by clicking here.
Ati-atihan Festival
(Aklan, Visayas, Eastern Visayas)
Festival: Ati-atihan Festival
Festival Location: City of Kalibo in Aklan, Visayas Region, Eastern Visayas
Festivity Season: Every 3rd sunday of January.
The Ati-atihan Festival is the mother of all festivals in the Philippines. This festival is significant because it is the oldest and a national celebration that dates back 1200 years. However, what exactly is the Ati-atihan celebration?
"to be like Aetas" is ati-atihan. Aetas was an older resident who lived on Panay Island. It began with one of the Bosses and his family attempting to make due from Malay island to Panay island. After that, they acquired the lowlands from the people of Aetas and exchanged them for brass basins, cloth, and gold.
In other words, this celebration is held to commend the new connection between the two parties.As a gesture of gratitude to the host, people will wear dark makeup.
Festival activities to look out for:
Religious processions
Street dance and parades
Traditional Music
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For more information, click here.