PITCHING IN

Remembering the dead of the highlands
GLO A. TUAZON

Nov. 1 and 2, All saints' and All Souls' Day respectively are holidays, in remembrance of the souls that went ahead. During these days, everyone has time to visit and pay respect to their dear departed.

Tombs are cleaned, tombstones fixed and letterings repainted, flowers displayed, candles lighted and food offered to the spirits beyond. This was a tradition we learned from our Spanish conquerors and this was the way it has always been during the soul festival in the Philippines and to date is still observed.

In the highlands, the land where the conquistadores never conquered, they have their own tradition and culture concerning burial practices. In Sagada, the hanging coffins dotting the limestone cliffs are a usual sight.

Almost everywhere along the mountainsides, one cannot miss but see one of them straddling the pale limestone facade. The family of the dead go about the difficult task of roping and dangling the caskets from way above, making sure it stays suspended and secure supported by pegs stuck into the hard rock.

Aside from this tradition there is the big community burial cave where caskets are stacked atop each other. And from the casket size and the style it was built, you can decipher which are the old and the much newer ones. Not setting aside religion, along the trails at the back of St. Mary's Church is also located the Christian burial ground.

As customary in the land of Benguet, more and more caves are now being discovered to contain bones, numbering to a few heads or a hundred thus creating the theory that they may be a family, a clan or a community. Kapangan has a lot of those.

Also recently discovered between their boundary with Kibungan were the remains of a few mummies. The tradition of mummification we once believed was practiced only by the Ibaloi tribes of Kabayan.

Mummification is the process of dehydrating the remains by using salt and herbs and "smoking" them until all body fluids are removed. This is a very long process as it takes about two years to complete. The end result is a perfectly preserved body that would last a long time if not exposed to so much moisture and heat.

Further up north in Sadanga, and Bontoc towns in Mountain Province they also have their own burial practices. In the olden times they made the "death chair" or the "sangadil."

The dead is cleaned and clothed and made to sit on a chair-like contraption, like he was part of the living. After a few days when the wake comes to an end, the remains are either put on a log coffin or buried in the family niche depending on his status.

For all of these highland burial cultures, the tribal traditional rites are performed before the body is laid to rest. Livestocks are slaughtered and the people who attended the wake and the funeral are fed.

These days however, with modernization and faith influencing the mass, less and less people are following the traditional practice and doing it the easier, simpler way. But however a person may have died or buried, he will always be remembered one way or the other with flowers, candles and prayers by the living.