You can listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify each week. Follow this link if you're listening on Apple News.
21.07.2023 - 08:01 / roughguides.com / Kiki Deere
Members of the Igorot tribe of Mountain Province in northern Philippines have long practised the tradition of burying their dead in hanging coffins, nailed to the sides of cliff faces high above the ground. Comfortably predating the arrival of the Spanish, the procedure can probably be traced back more than two millennia. To this day, the age-old tradition continues to be performed, albeit on a much smaller scale than before. While researching the new Rough Guide to the Philippines, Kiki Deere went to find out more.
Traditional burials in hanging coffins only take place every few years or so now, but Soledad Belingom, a retired septuagenarian schoolteacher of the Igorot tribe, has invited me to her modest house in Sagada to tell me more about her tribe’s unique burial practices.
One of the most common beliefs behind this practice is that moving the bodies of the dead higher up brings them closer to their ancestral spirits, but Soledad believes there are other contributing factors. “The elderly feared being buried in the ground. When they died, they did not want to be buried because they knew water would eventually seep into the soil and they would quickly rot. They wanted a place where their corpse would be safe.”
The coffins are either tied or nailed to the sides of cliffs, and most measure only about one metre in length, as the corpse is buried in the foetal position. The Igorots believe that a person should depart the same way he entered the world.
When someone dies, pigs and chickens are traditionally butchered for community celebrations. For elderly people, tradition dictates this should be three pigs and two chickens, but those who cannot afford to butcher so many animals may butcher two chickens and one pig. Soledad tells me the number must always be three or five.
The deceased is then placed on a wooden sangadil, or death chair, and the corpse is tied with rattan and vines, and then covered with a blanket. It is thereafter positioned facing the main door of the house for relatives to pay their respects. The cadaver is smoked to prevent fast decomposition and as a means to conceal its rotting smell. The vigil for the dead is held for a number of days, after which the corpse is removed from the death chair to be carried to the coffin. Before being taken for burial, it is secured in the foetal position, with the legs pushed up towards the chin. It is then wrapped again in a blanket and tied with rattan leaves while a small group of men chip holes into the side of the cliff to hammer in the support for the coffin.
“The corpse is wrapped like a basketball", says Soledad, «on the way there, mourners do their best to grab it and carry it because they believe it is good luck to be smeared with the dead’s
You can listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify each week. Follow this link if you're listening on Apple News.
If you’re heading to one of Greece’s biggest tourist attractions later this year, make sure you are aware of the new visiting rules.
As Insider's travel reporter in Singapore, I've backpacked in four countries across Asia and have stayed in a dozen hostels.
What’s the most expensive airport in America? Here’s a hint: It’s not exactly in the continental U.S. If you guessed Guam then high five!
Few lodging situations can beat the coolness of a houseboat. There’s just something about falling asleep on the gentle undulation of water that makes for a more relaxing experience than even the most luxurious hotels. That’s why the Paolyn Houseboat on Coron Island, Philippines, is a must.
For anyone planning a trip to the Philippines, Stephen Keeling has picked out ten top films that showcase the country’s landscapes, history and culture.
The Banaue rice terraces were once a colourful collage of winding fields that clung onto a mountain-side in Ifugao province in the Philippines . After being almost completely abandoned by the locals, these plantations are now being revived as young farmers return to work on the paddies. While researching the new Rough Guide to the Philippines , Kiki Deere was awestruck by the sheer beauty and functionality of the Banaue rice terraces.
Graced by dazzling beaches, year-round sun and numerous opportunities for diving, island-hopping and surfing, the Philippines has long attracted a steady stream of foreign visitors. Yet there’s far more to these islands than sand and snorkelling. These are a few of our favourite islands in the Philippines.
A sprawling capital which is home to almost 13 million people, Manila can be more than a little overwhelming for first-time visitors. But once you find your bearings, you’ll discover a buzzing, vibrant city which has a great bar scene (three of its bars were nominated in 2019’s Asia’s 50 Best Bars awards), some of the region’s best museums and quite possibly one of the warmest welcomes in the world. Here is our guide to Manila.
Rough Guides writer and photographer Kiki Deere shares with us some pictures of Peru from her latest research trip across the country.
Things aren’t always as they seem and although you may feel like you’ve stepped onto the set of a sci-fi movie, these extra-terrestrial looking landscapes are set firmly on our planet. Feel like you’ve been transported to a whole new world in these five striking, stunning and perhaps even a little bit spooky landscapes.
Experienced surfers looking for a pristine break are heading to a remote archipelago somewhere between Hawaii and the Philippines. The Marshall Islands are hard to find and even harder to get to – and of course, that’s part of their appeal. Most of the 29 coral atolls that make up the Islands are unknown to western travellers, only one – Bikini Atoll – stirs a look of recognition.