Folks resent tourists opening coffins, mock burials

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province — Here in this mystical town, where almost  any  stone, spring,  or tree has a  spirit that guards it or  rather  guards  the  immediate place around it, any act of  trifling with  rocks,  dirtying a spring,  or opening a coffin raises  criticism and  rebuke   from  villagers.

Especially for death and anything to do with coffins, burial caves, rituals, bones and skulls, considered sacred  that commands solemnity and reverence.

This may have something to do with age-old practice of butchering 21 pigs all with its significance when someone dies.   A certain number of  pigs and chickens  are  offered  to Kabunian (God) in  separate months  within a period of one year . One 21 offered pigs are completed along with rituals, the widow or widower can now take off his/her mourning clothes.

The community collectively mourns with the bereaved family as they attend rituals. Immediate family members should not to leave home within a certain period of time. The soul of a dead person is believed to  be a guardian  of the living referring to immediate members of the family. This was noted during forum second week of August with elders, men and women conducted by  indigenous peoples representative to the Sangguniang Bayan  Jaime Dugao.

It is not any wonder then when scenes shot in  Sagada depicting  death- related acts  elicited  angry and infuriated  comments from natives inside and outside town.  Residents questioned acts as  unacceptable  citing sanctity of place and irrelevance of the act.

Coffins and the bones of the dead are meant to stay in their resting places meaning traditional burial caves and public cemeteries.

For one, the opening of an age-old coffin at Lumyang burial cave by grandfather Pepe Smith in the film Above the Clouds shot in 2013 in Sagada was heavily criticized. Even if  it was a mock coffin as mentioned by  director PepeDiokno in his  apology via Facebook, the act much as it was done inside a burial cave signified that one can just open  coffins to satisfy one s fancy, Which should not be.

Elders during said during the forum coffins are resting places of their dead ancestors. Coffins piled on top of each other are dwellings of the dead. Their remains should be respected much as they are resting in their earthly destination.

Much as the soul of the dead is believed to be a guardian of the living, their remains equivalently are meant to be respected  much as  any other person s remains demands to be respected.

Above the Clouds which accordingly corrects vandalism done by  past generations with some scenes shot in Sagada was done “culturally insensitive.” Portraying this by opening a coffin in a burial cave is  insignificant in Sagada culture. Vandalism and destruction are not any part of death and rituals that go with  the culture of the community. Death is a continuing part of the community psyche where the soul of the dead remains to guide the living. 

Vandalism done by a person in Sagada is corrected not by using any death ritual, skulls, or bones or opening a coffin. This raises the question of the inappropriateness of the symbolism used in the film in a cultural setting disrespecting the sanctity of the burial cave and insensitively opening a coffin and showing the skull and bones of the dead.

Instances of destruction done by a person or group of persons in the past are personal acts and not a collective practice. 

To pit personal acts against a collective belief and practice are two different things. An individual is a member of a community who is expected to conform to norms and the practices in community. Vandalism and destruction are not part of the culture of Sagada.

The July 2013 mock burial of finding  no body inside a coffin placed on mountainside rocks by London-based Me and  You Productions  reenacting   the Sagada practice of   ”hanging coffins” amongst the rocks,  got  harsh reprimand  from the Sangguniang  Bayan. This included locals who participated in the  documentation and filming of the Moaning of Life. The legislative body ruled that Me and You Productions did not show the scenes taken  in Sagada depicting re-enactment of the “hanging coffins.”

A coffin is only used when someone dies is the assertion of elders.  To use it for any act or show goes against the culture of the community.

The reprimand the SB gave to offenders  was meant to serve as example that  disrespect and mocking of culture  should not be done. That is apart from the payment of  fines and the payment of the film showing itself.

Tourists are fast in their ways though.  Manila- based photographer Mike Paglalunan speaking for Ruffa and Mike Photographs apologized  in  their recent 2015 post nuptial photos of couple  Ian and Sheena  due to exasperated  comments from Sagada  both online and inside the community saying the photos smacked of  disrespect  to the culture  of the community.

Elders were one in saying these two  happenings- death and marriage- are practically two different things. One speaks of  sorrow and the other speaks of joy.

Any other romanticized or rationalized way of looking at it is alien to the elders  way of looking at two contrasting events.

Earlier than the above film and photography scenarios, the  screaming of Angelika Panganiban in the 2015  film That Thing  called Tadhana elicited  negative comments from residents as well.  Kiltepan Viewpoint while it officers a vantage point  of seeing  the amazing Kiltepan rice terraces is a sacred site where rituals are done to call for the soul of a sick person along with the conduct of a ritual and the  offering of a chicken. The Kiltepan view point is a sacred healing place locally called  aayagan .

“Were the tourists trying to call someone?” asked  the elders.

Screaming out an emotional pain is another thing. Which in plain language is uncalled for and an insensitive act to do in a sacred place. For someone who wants to scream his or her heart out, elders advise a person to go to a place where it is not sacred. 

What has the film  done? We have heard of some tourists who go to  Kiltepan watch the sunrise and scream. To scream because actress Angelika Panganiban screamed  'ayoko na ayoko na' . OMG!

With the coming  of film makers and commercial artists of all sorts in this tourist town which dramatically reached   65,ooo last year and now going  a 100,000 plus this year, Sagada has become  a  subject of fancy, art or craft.

But some people and elders especially don t like it as manifested in Facebook comments from people all over the world and from people living inside the community when culture or any part of it is debased or trifled with.  

A regulation cited in the  2010 Ordinance  for  film makers and documentors  calls for a  review committee composed of  the municipal mayor, Sangguniang Bayan and the  tourism council  to ensure that  before any  permit is  issued, those making these should  see to it that all provisions  of the Code is fully implemented.

Some elders want to be part of the review committee..

Proposed rules include penalties the customary way.

Elders say the offender shall handle all expenses  of a cleansing cultural ceremony though penalties should  depend on what  the elders say with concurrence of community members.  

With woes of tourism aggression in this tourist town, sectoral recommendations and proposed rules are awaited in the upcoming tourism summit.