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 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 55,473 (2020 census)[1] (1980: 1,500 speakers of Ati)[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 PhilippinesWestern Visayas Negros Island Region (NIR) | |
| Languages | |
| Ati,Aklanon,Hiligaynon,Tagalog | |
| Religion | |
| Animism,Christianity (Roman Catholic) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherNegritos,Visayans, andFilipinos |
TheAti are aNegrito ethnic group andindigenous peoples in theVisayan Islands of thePhilippines. Their small numbers are principally concentrated in the islands ofBoracay,Panay andNegros. They are genetically related[3] toother Negrito ethnic groups in the Philippines such as theAeta ofLuzon, theBatak ofPalawan, theAgta of the Sierra Madres, and theMamanwa ofMindanao.[4]
The Negritos are the descendants of the same early East Eurasian meta-population, which also gave rise to modern East Asians and Australasians, among other populations of the Asia-Pacific region. The earliestmodern human migrations into the Philippine archipelago were during thePaleolithic, around 40,000 years ago, followed by two other migration waves between 25,000 and 12,000 years ago, through theSundalandland bridges that linked the islands with the Asian mainland. The latest migration wave is associated with theAustronesian peoples (c. 7,000 years ago) fromTaiwan.[5][6][7] The Philippine Negritos display relatively closer genetic affinity towards differentEastern Asian populations, prehistoricHoabinhian samples, as well as to theIndigenous people of New Guinea andAboriginal Australians, from which they diverged around c. 40,000 years ago, and also display genetic substructure along a North to South cline, suggesting their ancestral population diverged into two subgroups after the initial peopling of the Philippines. Furthermore, they display high percentages ofDenisovan gene flow.[5][6]
Legends, such as those involving theTen Bornean Datus and theBinirayan Festival, tell tales about how, at the beginning of the 12th century when Indonesia and the Philippines were under the rule ofIndianized native kingdoms, the ancestors of the Bisaya escaped fromBorneo and from the persecution ofRajah Makatunaw. Led by Datu Puti and Datu Sumakwel and sailing with boats calledbalangays, 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 theAti-atihan festival. This legend, though, is challenged by some historians.[8]
DuringSpanish colonization, the tribe made contact with theconquistadorMiguel Lopez de Legazpi and were exploited in his colonization of Panay.[citation needed] A 1905 report documented a significant population onBoracay island and the western part ofPanay island.[9]
The Ati speak a distinct language known asInati. According to a census in 1980, the speakers of Inati number about 1,500. Hiligaynon andKinaray-a are also commonly used.[2]
The Ati practice a form ofanimism that involves good and evil spirits. These spirits arenature spirits that often guard rivers, the sea, the sky, as well as the mountains. Sometimes, they may cause disease or comfort. The Ati fromNegros refer to them astaglugar or tagapuyo, which literally means "inhabiting a place."Christianity has also been adopted due to less isolation and more contact with "outsiders."
The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) granted to the Ati community on Boracay a certificate of ancestral domain title (CADT) in 2010.[10]
Atis were harassed and threatened in 2012 on two occasions by men identified with resort owners and local officials.[4] Ati youth leader Dexter Condez was killed on February 22, 2013.[11] The killing has not yet been resolved.[4]
The Supreme Court upheld the CADT in 2019 in favor of Atis against legal challenges mounted by private claimants.[12]
In 2018, four Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) for 3.2 hectares agricultural lands were granted to Ati communities as part of the national land reform program. Ati farmers now grow dragon fruit, banana, lemongrass, papaya, and vegetables on the land.[13]
Not too long ago, like otherNegritos 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.
Ati are known in Panay as practitioners ofherbal medicine. Locals often seek their help in removingleeches from a person's body.
The Negritos traditionally werenomadic people, with the Ati of Panay being known as the most mobile. Now they live in more permanent settlements likeBarotac Viejo, island ofGuimaras, Igkaputol (Dao), Tina (Hamtic) and Badiang (San Jose de Buenavista). The famous island ofBoracay 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 orBatangas.
The Ati are the central attraction in theAti-atihan festival, a festival named in their honor. It is said that the festival is held to commemorate the first appearance of theRoman Catholic Church and theSpaniards in theprovince ofAklan. According to oral tradition, the Ati helped the Spaniards conquer the native Visayans and, as a reward, the tribe was given a statue of theSanto Niño.
In theDinagyang festival ofIloilo City, also onPanay, 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 theAustronesians arrived and bought Panay from the Ati. Dinagyang is held to celebrate this purchase as well as the arrival in Iloilo of theSanto Niño statue. When the statue first arrived in 1967, a tribe from the Ati-atihan festival was invited to Iloilo to mark the occasion.
Atis are the original inhabitants ofBoracay island. As the island gained fame, Atis were pushed away. They lost their lands and many were rendered homeless. Consequently, many migrated to the Caticlan mainland. However, President Duterte took the initiative of land reforms. In November 2018, land titles of 3.2 hectares (7.9 acres) were handed over to the Atis.[14] about one percent of the roughly 1,000-hectare (2,500-acre) area of the island. The lack of education and discrimination remain issues faced by the Atis of Boracay in more recent times.[15]
The Philippine government through theTechnical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has made efforts to increase Ati employability through scholarships for culinary and aesthetics training programs. Upon completion of these programs, they will graduate with a nationally recognized certificate.[16][17] The government is also making an effort to create employment opportunities; in 2019, the Aklan provincial government hired two full-time employees from the Ati community to oversee the crop production in the Ati Greenhouse which was set up as a source of income for the Ati community.[18]
Media related toAti people at Wikimedia Commons
