The Hanging Coffins of Sagada
Hanging of the coffins is a traditional burial practice by the Igorots in Sagada – a group of indigenous people residing at northern Luzon. It was said that only full-blooded Igorots who reached eighty years old and up, had been married, had children or grandchildren and died of old age can be buried this way. Those who died in accident, sickness or any other causes couldn’t.
On the day of an Igorot’s death, he is covered with the special traditional cloth for six days and six nights and is sat on a chair. The very cloth that is used to cover the dead is said to be passed on to the the family and is believed to bring good luck, too. The dead don’t get to be embalmed. Instead, it gets smoked so the body won’t rot nor smell. As part of the tradition, they would also slaughter and offer twenty one (21) pigs or chickens in one’s death.
On the last day, the dead is carried by its family to the ‘Paytukan‘, the final resting place. Paytukan came from the word ‘paituk’ which means to step up. They literally had to walk and step up to get into the place where the coffins will be hanged. Before it reaches the final resting place, a member would shout at the echo valley that someone has died and is going to be buried. This is the reason why they would not let just anyone shout at the echo valley because it is considered a sacred place for them.
A long time ago, they used to have the dead seated on the chair fixed on the limestone with ropes and wires. They put it high above the ground, too, so it will be spared from being preyed on by the animals or tribal enemies. They would bury the dead into it in a fetal position. They were born into the world that way; thus, they will leave it the same way, too. They firmly believe that the nature will reborn them – the concept of reincarnation.
It is also quite noticeable that some coffins are longer while some are shorter. This doesn’t mean that some of the dead in there were kids or babies. The dead inside the shorter coffins were just in a fetal position, breaking the cadaver’s bones to get into that position, while those in the longer ones are lying horizontally straight. The longer coffins were the most recent ones. The families wouldn’t want to break the bones of their loved ones. This tradition is not solely practiced in the Philippines. Our tour guide mentioned that there are also hanging coffins in China and Indonesia. They might have influenced our ancestors with the rituals during the primitive times when they have gone to some parts of the Philippines.
Some two years ago, people could still go near the coffins until fences were put in there to protect it from being violated and disrespected in any way by the visitors.