CULTURAL NOTES
Richard KinnudWhen my grandmother was alive, I wouldn’t skip to see her whenever I go visit my birthplace. On my first visit after she died, that was about forty days from her burial, I still missed the visits so I went to her tomb.
I felt like grandma was just around fully alive and can just startle me from behind. Or were there other creatures just behind me?
It was the sight of a candle lighted by my aunt who has already left but was there earlier that somehow calmed. Still, I did not get so near the door. I did not even step on paved flat area and took photos a meter or even more from the edge of the concrete which itself is several meters away from the door.
***
Could the dead still “startle” or disturb the living?
Among the Ifugaos is the belief of "pumbangbangadan." The rootword bangad (also bangngad) directly translates to "return" so pumbangbangadan can be understood as that period when someone who passed away keeps returning to the world of the living. How long is that period? No one exactly knows but definitely includes the time immediately following death.
***
When somebody returns, he/she must have gone or going somewhere. So for the dead, where are they going? The old Ifugao belief is that the dead are going to Tulpukan. It is described as a place beyond the land but beneath Kabunyan, a place generally described as heaven.
The description makes it appear that it is so far but looking into old practices, that place is a hearing distance to sound produced by the pig when butchered, and also sniffing distance to scent of the burnt feather of chicken or hair of pig being sacrificed during rituals/occasions.
Is Tulpukan a final destination? The answer I got from almost everyone to whom I asked the question is "Agge inila tedan waha numbangngad hi nangibaga hin ngay umatana." (No one really knows for no one has come back yet to tell exactly how it was.)
Those answers remind us of the story of Lazarus and the rich man in the Bible.
***
"Pumbangbangadan" and the journey to Tulpukan are clearly a time when souls need prayers from the living. But then again, there would come a time when they would no longer need us or our prayers as they would already be at peace in a final place.
The present faith (Christianity) offers two final destinations - heaven or hell. For our dead loved ones, or probably for anyone, the desired final destination is an easy guess. I believe no one desires not to be in heaven.
***
I realized I was comical when I felt scared at dear grandma's tomb then. On the other hand, I thought of the candles that somehow settled my fear. A lighted candle is said to be symbol of the presence of Light of the World, who is Christ himself. It makes logical the belief of blessing tombs with His presence even just symbolically with water and placing candles on them. With the Light of the World magnified there, it should not become dwelling places of beings or evil spirits that could actually be horrifying.
***
All Souls Day and All Saints Day are obviously not native to most of us here in the Cordilleras. But they have blended well with our culture I guess. We had been a people who cared for our dead. We believed that the dead still influences the living. We believe in life after death. We believed that there would soon be a reunion in a place not on this present land where our feet are planted but somewhere beyond. The essences of the celebrations are clearly aligned with traditional practices.
As we do those practices in observance of All Souls and All Saints, may they become meaningful to us the living, and serve the purposes for all the departed.
CULTURAL NOTES
Richard Kinnud
‘More on the Ifugao Baki’
LAST week, this corner presented the two general types of baki – the baki hi hongan di matagu (baki for the welfare of the living) and baki hi hongan di page (baki for the welfare of the rice agricultural season). These are mainly described in Ifugao parlance as “inaphodan” (others would say “pininhodan”) which means “of pure goodness.”
The mumbaki knows how to conduct both thus it is possible that he does both subject to certain limitations such he should not be storing meat from hongan di matagu and meat from hongan di page together in his house. Thus, a mumbaki can be a celebrant of hongan di matagu in an off-season then can later be a celebrant for the hongan di page after complying with all that is required of him from the previous baki. There are, however, rituals that a mumbaki for inaphodan will not perform.
One such ritual is called the hagoho. It is usually performed in the house of a “bimmuhul” (one who got an enemy), such as those who murdered someone or in olden times, the successful ngimmayo (one who came from a ngayo, meaning headhunting).
The ritual is intended for protection from the enemy which would include curses and prayers for misfortune to the enemy. It is performed overnight and requires offering of several chickens. Similar to this ritual is the dallung. It also asks for protection from the binuhul (enemy).
The difference is that the ritual takes three days and offering of at least three pigs. It asks from the gods, especially Mana’ha-ut (from the root word ha’ut which means falseness or deceit) that enemies would perceive friendliness even with such murder.
Another is the Pahang.
It is particularly conducted for the welfare of someone who is sick with an unexplainable illness. Some illnesses considered to be unexplainable are severe thinness, loss of voice, general weakness causing someone to be bedridden and practically any illness that the hospitals cannot give a satisfactory cure. Pahang is said to be a special variant of the honga as it requires more gonob (litanies).
Also, Ifugao has the pa’bi which is a ritual to appease a long-been-dead kin who maybe believed to be causing disturbances to the living usually in the form of unexplainable illness. A particular line in the prayer of the mumbaki who conducts this is “hana ta umaluyopyop ayu nan inumbunan yu” (hope you peaceful where you are seated, also read as “rest in peace”) referring to that dead kin. The mumbaki also mollifies the dead to bring back instead blessings to the living instead of the illnesses.
Similar to the pa’bi is the amlag but the later would be to appease a pinading (an unseen being) believed to have been agitated and now causing unexplainable illness to a person.
Pinading are believed to exist in places that people need for resources say the trees in the forest, in between rocks in mountains and hills and bodies of water such as streams and springs. The agitation can be due to bumping, stepping or urinating on a pinading (note that they are unseen). They can also be disturbed by loud shouts or even unnecessary presence in their domain.
It is also believed that unseen spirits can hold the linnawa (soul) of a person. Thus, only a sick body arrives home. A ritual to remedy this is the ayag. What is unique with this ritual is that while all the others are performed at home, it is performed on a billid (hill) or on the area where the soul was believed to have been snatched by the unseen being.
Related but distinct from the baki is the pa’o. It is a ritual that guesses what is causing the illness. While the mumbaki is always a male, a mama’o (someone performing the pa’o) are mostly females. As with the baki, it is performed by a group. Also, wine is an important element. According to people who witnessed actual pa’o (just like baki, this ritual is no longer prominent these days), the mama’o needed the wine in order for spirits to “humpo” (descend).
When a mama’o is “nahalagan” (possessed by a spirit), chants freely come out of the mouth. It is said that there are times when every mama’o just go silent because no spirit came to seize them. After the ritual, some recommendations can be either the ordinary honga or Pahang when it is guessed that the ill person just needed prayers, the pa’bi when it is guessed that the illness is caused by a dead kin, or amlag when it is guessed that illness is caused by pinading, or any other act that is deemed appropriate. People in a certain village naturally prefers the services of a mama’o who recommended the most that made people well.
My grandfather in his lifetime as mumbaki did mostly baki hi hongan di page. My father recalls that he never went even just as a spectator to rituals believed to be not in harmony with his baki. The nature of the rituals themselves explains why mumbaki for inaphodan abstains from them.
***
Postscript: This and last week's piece were prompted by an invitation recently from a group of teachers to speak to them about Ifugao culture. I have to review my 'cultural notes' written years ago on the subject.
My gratitude to the BSU-SLS faculty headed by a manong and mentor in the universityof life, Sir John Botengan, for the invitation and of course the active participation of teachers from the Epiphany Christian Academy.
I thank them that even as they are not Ifugaos, they had offered enthusiasm in having knowledge of cultural practices. The theme of their event which had the words "discovering the uniqueness of the Cordilleras" speaks volumes on how heritage should be given importance.
CULTURAL NOTES
Ifugao’s Baki
The mumbaki knows how to conduct both thus it is possible that he does both subject to certain limitations such he should not be storing meat from hongan di matagu and meat from hongan di page together in his house. Thus, a mumbaki can be a celebrant of hongan di matagu in an off-season then can later be a celebrant for the hongan di page after complying with all that is required of him from the previous baki. There are, however, rituals that a mumbaki for inaphodan will not perform.
One such ritual is called the hagoho. It is usually performed in the house of a “bimmuhul” (one who got an enemy), such as those who murdered someone or in olden times, the successful ngimmayo (one who came from a ngayo, meaning headhunting).
The ritual is intended for protection from the enemy which would include curses and prayers for misfortune to the enemy. It is performed overnight and requires offering of several chickens. Similar to this ritual is the dallung. It also asks for protection from the binuhul (enemy).
The difference is that the ritual takes three days and offering of at least three pigs. It asks from the gods, especially Mana’ha-ut (from the root word ha’ut which means falseness or deceit) that enemies would perceive friendliness even with such murder.
Another is the Pahang.
It is particularly conducted for the welfare of someone who is sick with an unexplainable illness. Some illnesses considered to be unexplainable are severe thinness, loss of voice, general weakness causing someone to be bedridden and practically any illness that the hospitals cannot give a satisfactory cure. Pahang is said to be a special variant of the honga as it requires more gonob (litanies).
Also, Ifugao has the pa’bi which is a ritual to appease a long-been-dead kin who maybe believed to be causing disturbances to the living usually in the form of unexplainable illness. A particular line in the prayer of the mumbaki who conducts this is “hana ta umaluyopyop ayu nan inumbunan yu” (hope you peaceful where you are seated, also read as “rest in peace”) referring to that dead kin. The mumbaki also mollifies the dead to bring back instead blessings to the living instead of the illnesses.
Similar to the pa’bi is the amlag but the later would be to appease a pinading (an unseen being) believed to have been agitated and now causing unexplainable illness to a person.
Pinading are believed to exist in places that people need for resources say the trees in the forest, in between rocks in mountains and hills and bodies of water such as streams and springs. The agitation can be due to bumping, stepping or urinating on a pinading (note that they are unseen). They can also be disturbed by loud shouts or even unnecessary presence in their domain.
It is also believed that unseen spirits can hold the linnawa (soul) of a person. Thus, only a sick body arrives home. A ritual to remedy this is the ayag. What is unique with this ritual is that while all the others are performed at home, it is performed on a billid (hill) or on the area where the soul was believed to have been snatched by the unseen being.
Related but distinct from the baki is the pa’o. It is a ritual that guesses what is causing the illness. While the mumbaki is always a male, a mama’o (someone performing the pa’o) are mostly females. As with the baki, it is performed by a group. Also, wine is an important element. According to people who witnessed actual pa’o (just like baki, this ritual is no longer prominent these days), the mama’o needed the wine in order for spirits to “humpo” (descend).
When a mama’o is “nahalagan” (possessed by a spirit), chants freely come out of the mouth. It is said that there are times when every mama’o just go silent because no spirit came to seize them. After the ritual, some recommendations can be either the ordinary honga or Pahang when it is guessed that the ill person just needed prayers, the pa’bi when it is guessed that the illness is caused by a dead kin, or amlag when it is guessed that illness is caused by pinading, or any other act that is deemed appropriate. People in a certain village naturally prefers the services of a mama’o who recommended the most that made people well.
My grandfather in his lifetime as mumbaki did mostly baki hi hongan di page. My father recalls that he never went even just as a spectator to rituals believed to be not in harmony with his baki. The nature of the rituals themselves explains why mumbaki for inaphodan abstains from them.
***
Postscript: This and last week's piece were prompted by an invitation recently from a group of teachers to speak to them about Ifugao culture. I have to review my 'cultural notes' written years ago on the subject.
My gratitude to the BSU-SLS faculty headed by a manong and mentor in the universityof life, Sir John Botengan, for the invitation and of course the active participation of teachers from the Epiphany Christian Academy.
I thank them that even as they are not Ifugaos, they had offered enthusiasm in having knowledge of cultural practices. The theme of their event which had the words "discovering the uniqueness of the Cordilleras" speaks volumes on how heritage should be given importance.
CULTURAL NOTES
Richard Kinnud
Ifugao’s Baki
One thing that can
be considered patently Cordilleran, particularly of the Ifugaos, is the
baki. Baki is the Ifugao system of rites
and prayer imploring favour from deities.
By and large, there are three worlds proximate to luta (earth) where deities are believed to be inhabiting. One is Dalom which is described as a habitation underneath earth where the god Yogyog is.
Another place is Daya believed to be where the sun sets. And the third is Kabunyan where a supreme being, referred to as Ma’nongan dwells. (Yes, Kabunyan is a place in the Ifugao belief, while Kabunyan in other Cordilleran ethnic groups refers to a god.) Ma’nongan comes froms the root word “onong” which means “give” or “confer” thus the word Maonongan (which can be understood as worthy of being given/conferred of service, praise, offering) which later evolved into Ma’nongan (other dialects would have it as Maknongan).
It is performed by a mumbaki or a group of mumbakis.
A mumbaki is male who has learned how to do the ceremonies. There are no formal schools for baki.
By and large, there are three worlds proximate to luta (earth) where deities are believed to be inhabiting. One is Dalom which is described as a habitation underneath earth where the god Yogyog is.
Another place is Daya believed to be where the sun sets. And the third is Kabunyan where a supreme being, referred to as Ma’nongan dwells. (Yes, Kabunyan is a place in the Ifugao belief, while Kabunyan in other Cordilleran ethnic groups refers to a god.) Ma’nongan comes froms the root word “onong” which means “give” or “confer” thus the word Maonongan (which can be understood as worthy of being given/conferred of service, praise, offering) which later evolved into Ma’nongan (other dialects would have it as Maknongan).
It is performed by a mumbaki or a group of mumbakis.
A mumbaki is male who has learned how to do the ceremonies. There are no formal schools for baki.
A youngster can learn his baki by simply
listening to the prayers being recited during the occasions when they are
performed, then fortifying hisknacks from the tutorials of a seasoned
mumbaki.
His validation of being a mumbaki happens when he is called to join other mumbakis to perform the rites and prayers. Unfortunately, “mumbaki” is a a scarce people resource in this times.
The occasion in which the baki is done is called a honga. A honga is a general term for celebrations. It is usually a public occasion although the people have limited participation in the recital of the baki.
At best, the involvement of the public are on the slicing of the animal offered in the baki, the cooking, and eventually, the partaking of pahing (take-home meat) and/or food.
There are two kinds of honga – hongan di matagu (honga for the living) and hongan di page (honga for the rice). Hongan di tagu is for the welfare of an individual, especially the sick or the elderly.
There are categories of hongan di tagu depending on the social status of the person for whom the honga is celebrated. The highest is the dinupdup which requires several pigs and often, a carabao.
The least is one called “pamaag dah baki” (they just recite their baki) which does not require a lot of animal offering. Hongan di page on the other hand, is performed for the success of the stages of the agricultural cycle. The celebration is a must for the owner of the designated puntonakan. A puntonakan is a rice field that leads every stage of agricultural cycle. No other field would plant seed bed if the puntonakan has no seedbed yet.
The same is true with the boge (planting) and botok (harvest). The performance of hongan di page for the puntonakan is as good as performance for the whole village. However, it will not prohibit others from performing it for their own rice fields especially the larger ones.
A mumbaki knows both hongan di matagu and hongan di page but the performance of one prohibits him from performing the other until such time that his ngilin (also called pangigimoh, similar to fasting and abstinence) is over.
Mumbakis are obliged to comply with sacrifices such as the ngilin after they have performed a baki as it is believed that the favour asked for in the baki wouldn’t come true.
There may not be formal penalties for mumbaki who violates their sacrifices but it is enough that he would no longer be invited by others for his baki. It is believed that the mumbaki who breaches his work will no longer be heard by the deities.
The baki is a testament of a people’s advancement of ways of thinking even before being flooded by foreign frames of mind. This is the case, I believe, in other Cordilleran ethnic groups.
Thus it can be said that Cordillerans indeed have that originality and strong sense of understanding the human person and his environment and in general the betterment of humanity.
At the present age, the baki could be considered a faded practice. But its essence – a cultural identity – should be considered by all. It may not be revived as it has long been considered paganistic activity. But it should be studied, just like other traditional expressions, to inspire sustaining our own identity or even creating one if we have lost it already.
His validation of being a mumbaki happens when he is called to join other mumbakis to perform the rites and prayers. Unfortunately, “mumbaki” is a a scarce people resource in this times.
The occasion in which the baki is done is called a honga. A honga is a general term for celebrations. It is usually a public occasion although the people have limited participation in the recital of the baki.
At best, the involvement of the public are on the slicing of the animal offered in the baki, the cooking, and eventually, the partaking of pahing (take-home meat) and/or food.
There are two kinds of honga – hongan di matagu (honga for the living) and hongan di page (honga for the rice). Hongan di tagu is for the welfare of an individual, especially the sick or the elderly.
There are categories of hongan di tagu depending on the social status of the person for whom the honga is celebrated. The highest is the dinupdup which requires several pigs and often, a carabao.
The least is one called “pamaag dah baki” (they just recite their baki) which does not require a lot of animal offering. Hongan di page on the other hand, is performed for the success of the stages of the agricultural cycle. The celebration is a must for the owner of the designated puntonakan. A puntonakan is a rice field that leads every stage of agricultural cycle. No other field would plant seed bed if the puntonakan has no seedbed yet.
The same is true with the boge (planting) and botok (harvest). The performance of hongan di page for the puntonakan is as good as performance for the whole village. However, it will not prohibit others from performing it for their own rice fields especially the larger ones.
A mumbaki knows both hongan di matagu and hongan di page but the performance of one prohibits him from performing the other until such time that his ngilin (also called pangigimoh, similar to fasting and abstinence) is over.
Mumbakis are obliged to comply with sacrifices such as the ngilin after they have performed a baki as it is believed that the favour asked for in the baki wouldn’t come true.
There may not be formal penalties for mumbaki who violates their sacrifices but it is enough that he would no longer be invited by others for his baki. It is believed that the mumbaki who breaches his work will no longer be heard by the deities.
The baki is a testament of a people’s advancement of ways of thinking even before being flooded by foreign frames of mind. This is the case, I believe, in other Cordilleran ethnic groups.
Thus it can be said that Cordillerans indeed have that originality and strong sense of understanding the human person and his environment and in general the betterment of humanity.
At the present age, the baki could be considered a faded practice. But its essence – a cultural identity – should be considered by all. It may not be revived as it has long been considered paganistic activity. But it should be studied, just like other traditional expressions, to inspire sustaining our own identity or even creating one if we have lost it already.
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