THE DINAGYANG FESTIVAL OF ILOILO

The province of Iloilo in the western part of the Philippines is the home of many colorful festivities mostly religious and cultural, celebrated in most of its 43 municipalities. But the mother of all these festivals is none other than the internationally-known Dinagyang Festival which is held on the fourth week of January.


But the climax of them all is the parade  and performances of the competing tribes clad in elaborately designed costumes. The competing "tribu" are actually performing crew with its own dancers and drummers, with elaborate and colorful costumes who ran, dash and leap with amazing agility and grace in harmony to the beat of those thundering drums.

Some of the requirements imposed by the organizer includes that the performers must paint their skin black to resemble the Atis of the 16th century, and only indigenous materials can be used for the costumes.

The Dinagyang was such a phenomenal cultural success that it was voted as the Best Tourism Event for three succeeding years by the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines. It is also the first festival in the world to get support of the United Nations for the promotion of the Millennium Development Goals.

The Dinagyang which is held both to honor the Santo Nino and to celebrate the arrival on Panay of Malay settlers led by Datu Puti, and the subsequent selling of the island to them by the Atis led by Marikudo. While the Dinagyang was patterned after the Ati-Atihan of Ibajay, Aklan, and the Sinulog of Cebu, its extravagant costumes, the wildly energetic dances, and some of its merry-making events like the Kasadyahan street dancing and Miss Dinagyang, have contributed all to make the Dinagyang easily eclipsing the other festivities in the land. The Dinagyang welcomes visitors not only locally but from other countries too, treating them not as strangers but as katribu or kapamilya.

HALA BIRA!