Feasting and festivities followed soon after. Some time later, the Ati people were struggling with famine as the result of a bad harvest. They were forced to descend from their mountain village into the settlement below, to seek the generosity of the people who now lived there. The datu obliged and gave them food. In return, the Ati danced and sang for them, grateful for the gifts they had been given. However, the Maragtas epic is now regarded by modern historians as a legend, despite being once widely included in school textbooks and associated with the Ati-Atihan Festival. The claim of its origins from the Maragtas or the Ati people is a modern addition, like its name. In 2012, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the ICHCAP of UNESCO published Pinagmulan: Enumeration from the Philippine Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The first edition of the UNESCO-backed book included the Ati-atihan Festival, signifying its great importance to Philippine intangible cultural heritage. The local government of Aklan, in cooperation with the NCCA, is given the right to nominate the Ati-atihan Festival in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. Events The formal opening mass during the first day of the celebration emphasizes the festival's religious event. The mass is followed by a procession accompanied by rhythmic drumbeats and dance parades along the street. The second day begins at dawn with a rosary procession and ends with a community mass and another dance parade. The highlight of the festival occurs on the last day, the third Sunday of January, when groups representing different tribes compete for tourists' attention and prizes. The festival ends with a procession of thousands of people carrying different kinds of images of the Santo Niño. Celebrations in other places Other towns in Aklan that celebrate the Ati-Atihan festival are Ibajay, Lezo, Malinao, Makato, Batan, Altavas, and Malay (Boracay Island). Several nearby towns of Antique and Capiz also hold the Ati-Atihan festival. Other festivals held in the region with similar themes include the Dinagyang of Iloilo, the Halaran of Capiz, and the Binirayan of Antique. Controversies The initial Ati-Atihan is believed to not originally include the Ati people (commonly misidentified with the Aeta people of Luzon) in the dances as the dancers were traditionally non-Ati natives who danced to give their gratitude towards the Ati people after the Ati welcomed them to the Ati homelands. In later