Feast of Sto. Nino in Tondo Manila: Pit Senyor

Every third Sunday of January, various parts of the Philippines go into the celebration of the Feast of Sto. Nino.  I have a hazy recollection in my childhood of a movie (was it the Flower Drum Song or The World of Suzie Wong, both circa early 60's) where the celebration called "Ati-atihan" in Kalibo Aklan was featured starring the Hollywood actress, Nancy Kwan, amidst the mardi gras style revelry.  She is best remembered probably for her Cheongsam dress displaying a great amount of thigh flesh on wonderfully shaped pair of legs. The Aklan Ati-atihan was celebrated every Third week of January.  There was no looking back for Ati-atihan after that movie. Year after year, the so called celebration caught on various forms in different parts of the country.  

Ati-atihan is a supposed religious festival giving tribute to the Sto. Nino , where people parade around in native  tribal garments. Ashes are smeared on the faces , arms and body of the celebrants to approximate the looks of the dark natives of the Ati tribe.  Drum beats fill the air continuously which lull the people into a happy trance , especially combined with the imbibing of alcohol.  History has it that the celebration originated during the pre Hispanic time as a symbol of friendship amongst the Malay settlers and the natives.  In the Spanish time, it marked the baptism to Christianity of the inhabitants of the town of Kalibo, thus the religious intonation from a paganistic ritual.

While there are many places in the Philippines that give tribute to the Sto. Nino in various dates, I write here about the Tondo, Manila celebration traditionally held every Third Sunday of January.  It is closer to my heart since I stayed in Cebu for some numbers of years, 1979-1983 and 1989-2000, where I witnessed how the Cebu Pit Senor celebration transformed from simple march or parade in 1979 / 1980 to the colorful parade with dances and colorful costumes that it has now.


Tondo in Manila does not have a parade that can compare with the one in Cebu but it has its own share of devotees who troop to the church for the  hourly celebration of the holy mass. Now that I am based in Manila, our family have been trooping to the Tondo Church for the Third Sunday of January celebration.


Herewith are photos taken January 15, 2012  at the Tondo Church and its surroundings showing vendors, devotees and all.