Dinagyang came from the Hiligaynon word dagyang which means “merrymaking”. The term was first used to dub the official launch of the festival in 1977. The Dinagyang celebration has been pronounced as a prominent religious and socio-cultural festival in Iloilo City held on the fourth Sunday of January. This event illustrates the unrelenting honor that Ilonggos dedicate to Sto. Nino to whom they believe to be miraculous in times of drought and famine. Dinagyang also depicts the commemoration of the coming of Malay settlers and the momentous selling of the island to them by the Atis.