The Igorot Tradition for the Dead

Igorots keep the coffins of the dead open until it is ready for internment.  The coffin is usually made by the men from wood materials around.  There are no funeral parlors so the family and the people around help each other in taking care of their dead.

 Different rituals are done from the start of the wake.  Old men have their own way of praying for the dead with the use of rice wine and meat.  The moment the men start their ritual; no one is allowed to talk or even stand up.  It is a very solemn moment and only the men praying could be heard.
 

 We call the blanket PINAGPAGAN.  This is one of the most expensive blankets for the dead of the Igorot Tribes.

The internment:  A priest blesses the dead before it is laid into the resting place.

During the wake, pig is butchered and prepared to feed the people but the most important part here is determining if the bile shows signs of a good omen for the aggrieved family or not.  Only the old men could read what the bile would indicate.  If the men sees something negative, another pig should be butchered.  This is very important since the family of the dead will suffer whatever consequences if the ceremony is  not properly done.   Silence must be observed strictly as the men are performing the ceremony.

Women are in charged of preparing the food to be served.  

Although gambling seems an inappropriate way to raise money to help the aggrieved family. It has become part of the wake.  This is where most of the money comes from.  The percentage cut from the winners is a big help to pay for the expenses incurred.  I will at least lessen the burden of the family.

Nature at Its Best in Mt. Province

As the name implies, Mountain province is a mountainous region rich in natural resources.  The forests are thick with pine trees and other shrubs.  Most of the mountains are still unadulterated.

In my home town, Tadian, Mt, Province, logging is strictly prohibited.

When I visited my hometown in May, 2012, I was amazed to see that it has maintained its green environment when I left it more than thirty years ago.  The pine trees have become thicker and the place was green with vegetation. 

One Foggy Day in Tadian, Mt. Province

Sitting on a big log, the kids enjoy a mesmerizing panoramic view of Tadian, Mt. Provinve during one of the cloudy days.  They look like they are floating on the clouds.

Tadian is cold most of the time unlike most places in the lowlands in the Philippines.  It is a very ideal place to spend summer to escape the intense heat in the cities.  The bonus here is that you can enjoy a really great summer studying how the modern Igorots live and to top it all, you can have a nice view of the majestic rice terraces.  You can even go and walk right there on the rice terraces and watch the rice plants swaying with full grains.   

Summer is the time when most of the rice terraces are thickly covered with golden rice plants.  The view is fantastic.

I took this picture one summer time in 2000.  The rice grains were about to turn gold and ready for harvesting.

Two kilometers more and you can find Tadian School of Arts and Trades, the school where I finished secondary education.

 This is a view of Tadian, Mt. Province from Tadian School of Arts and Trades.

The Igorot Way of Honoring the Dead

Igorots have high regard and respect to their dead.  The wake is very important.  The wake is a very significant event that needs special attention from all the community people. As soon as a member of a family dies, donations of all kinds from every household are brought to the aggrieved family. The community people try their best to make things easier for the grieving family. Aside from money and donations in kind, the aggrieved family will get the best help from all the people. The Igorots are very organized in times of calamities. Everybody is willing to give a hand in whatever way they can. There are always things to be done like preparing the food, washing the dishes and others.  At night time when the workers have come from work, they will always go and pay their last respect to the dead.

While the dead in the cities and other parts of the world are left in the care of funeral homes, the Igorots take care of their own dead at home.

The coffin is usually made by the men and the dead is usually buried in the yard. Today because there are cemeteries, most people bury their dead in the cemeteries.

My grandparents were all buried in their yard but my mother and father were buried in the cemetery. You would be surprised to see a tomb in the middle of the rice terraces or a tomb just in front of the house, because this is a part of the igorot culture.  Although in the modern world, people are advised to bury their dead in the cemetery for health reasons. This is not strictly enforced since culture cannot be altered.

The interment is considered a holiday in the community. People will not go to work because they have to attend the burial first before going to work. You can see at least one member of each family giving cash or in kind to the aggrieved family during the burial day; it could be rice, sugar, or anything in order to give aid to the family in need.

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Memories of Old TImes in my Home Town

The chaotic world of the computer age made me thought a lot about the old folks in my hometown whom I had learned all the lessons of simple living. It would have been a lot worth living life if time hasn’t changed this fast and the world is still so peaceful and calm.

Looking back, I could still picture my grandparents and all the other old men and women sitting in a place they called “palasa”, which came from the English word “plaza”. This is a meeting place for the old folks if they wanted to have bonding or they wanted to talk about an important matter. They were simple folks who talked about things that were very important to the town.

If there were problems, they were easily solved by the old men without the help of the community officials. They were the voice of the people and what they said was considered law. The traditional life in my hometown was very simple.  The old men could decide matters and people listened to them.  The words of the old men were considered law in the olden times.  They were referred to as the "wise men" in my hometown.

It is sad to think that almost all the old men I adored have gone and what hurts me more is that I haven't even talked to them about the real stories of long time ago.  They are gone and what stories they might have stored in their minds to hand down to the new generation is also gone.

I was greatly saddened during my last visit in my hometown because I missed the “palasa “where I often saw the old men having a meeting. Today, what stood in place was a Barangay Building where the office of the Barangay Captain and other officials is located. Barangay is a village headed by a Barangay Captain.  The word barangay came from the word "Balangay", the boat used by the Malays when they came to the Philippines..

How I wish it was the same old community where I used to live, with all the “binangi”- the traditional home and the “palasa”. But then, time is ever changing and things also change in this world and the traditional things and culture are being modernized too. It is sad but people aren’t preserving the traditional ways and things and time will come when nothing will be left of the culture of the Igorots, save for the memories of old times.

The Traditional Igorot Way of Curing

Each race has their own practices, traditions and beliefs.  My home town is still rich with old traditions; from the way a family should build a home, the best day to celebrate a wedding to the traditional way of curing.

 The old men and women of Tadian, Mt. Province have their own way of curing the sick.  With rituals and other practices, the Igorot men and women could cure just like the certified doctors.  The last time we had our family reunion, my brother was having an uncontrollable itchiness around his eyes.  He kept scratching and the hard part is he could not apply ointment because he feared hurting his eyes.  After a few hours, it was all over his face.

Our elder brother told him to try consulting one of the old women who knows something about removing unseen organisms that is causing itchiness in any part of the body.  I guess her eyes are like the microscope because she could see things that an ordinary person could not see. 

I was amazed when she took some rice straw and started picking slowly on my brother’s face.  She said she could see a lot of the organisms crawling around my brother’s face.  Every time she finished picking, she crushed the straw with her nails to kill the tiny organisms.  It was unbelievable but my sister and I watched it and we nodded our heads.

My brother said he felt so relieved after that.   The old woman does not accept payment for her services.  The old men and women in my home town do not accept payment for their services rendered.  They just love helping and serving other people without the thought of the money they could earn.  So, if you want to give money or anything, just give it as some sort of gift when you visit them next time. 

It is amazing how the old men and women do things in my home town. Would you believe, the old woman said she could see winged organisms that have already aged when she did the picking too in my nephew's foot?  My sister has been having problems with her younger son's foot that didn't heal for a long time even while giving him different types of medicine prescribed by doctors.  When the old woman picked on his feet with the rice straw, it healed after a few days. The old woman said it is the organisms that are causing the skin to itch and become raw.  Once the organisms are gotten rid, the skin disease will heal.

The Men Who Worked Without Pay

These men had done a lot for the community of Tadian in the olden days. As a practice in Tadian in those olden days, men worked for the community free of charge, this is called "GALATIS" which means free of charge, from the English word "gratis". The men were a bunch of strong and hard-working people who were always willing to work without pay. I really couldn’t forget our old folks before who thought of nothing but the good of the community. They worked hard but they didn’t expect any compensation.

 Until the late seventies, there used to be community work done by men and women without pay. Today though is different. Jobs especially manual labor are given to contractors who do the job with pay of course.

How time has changed; but it cannot be avoided.  Life is becoming harsh and people need money for their needs.  I would have preferred the life before in my home town than life today.