HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon
All Souls Day the Sagada way

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- Thick black smoke curled up towards the sky coming from sa-eng (red pitch wood) lit in graves the eve of All Souls Day in this tourist town. The yearly ritual done is prior to an afternoon mass held at the nearby Episcopal Church of St Mary the Virgin. The priest proceeds at the cemetery perched on a hill overlooking the church and the village and bless all the graves before the people lit up red wood people here call by the local name sa-eng.

The atmosphere is a sight of burning inferno that embraces the cemetery covered by pine trees as the smell of strong red wood stings and blackens the nostrils. The evening is warm and welcoming with no drizzles which usually happened the past years every eve of All Souls Day.

Slowly, dusk creeped in with embers still warm while people went to their individual homes to partake of pinikpikan (burnt chicken cooked in broth and smoked meat called etag) and sweet rice cakes.

Must have been that the people here in the olden days used sa-eng to warm up the graves due to candles not being available during the eve of All Souls Day. This practice persisted up to this age of information technology. Its not purely wood being burned. Some people also lit up candles.

A marriage of old practices and the availability of candles in the present age obviously shows in the dual use of wood and candles during this special event when the souls of
the departed are warmed in their new home at the cemetery.

A community with strong cultural ties, this Sagada practice shows that it will not fade even with the ready availability of sootless candles.

Similarly, the traditional begnas (agricultural ritual) was held on All Saints Day to usher good harvest. Young and old men garbed in G -strings solemnly paraded the streets of the village with their chants before they proceeded to the dap-ay ( tribunal) to begin the playing of gongs and cultural dancing. It’s a solemn yearly ritual observed with respect and festivity. These are yearly rituals which persist even with the coming of the internet in town and other gadgets such as TV and the video.

This makes a distinct character among the villagers here who don’t forget the old yet take opportunities as making new friends and accommodating the new with sharp discernment of practicality and sensibility that conforms to norms and people’s welfare.