Sagada via Banaue, part 4: Burial Traditions in Sagada and Kiltepan Sunrise

My Last Glimpse of Rice Terraces at Sagada ( taken through a glass window of a running van )

2 and 1/2 days in Sagada was not enough. First day, we explored The Banaue Rice Terraces and then went Hiking to Pongas Falls.  Second day was Spelunking at Sumaguing Cave and visiting one of Sagada's famous traditions, burying their dead. 3rd day was a very short stop for sunrise at Kiltepan Point, before we finally left off for a short detour to Baguio on our way back to Manila. What I will be sharing in this post are some more of the activities we did before we finally left Sagada.

First that I will be sharing in this post is the burial tradition in Sagada. Burying the dead underground was not practiced before Christianity came to Sagada. Instead, the people of Sagada believed in allowing the spirits of their dead to be free, to be close to nature. There were 2 options to bury their dead then: hanging coffins and pile coffins, which are found in Echo Valley, a sacred place for the Sagadans.

Echo Valley

In the midst of these thick trees are some of Sagada's hidden treasures: limestone outcroppings and magnificent caves. Beneath some of these limestone cliffs are the hanging coffins and near the entrance of some caves are the pile coffins.

 Below these limestone cliffs are the hanging coffins

The hanging coffin was not for everyone though. To be buried in hanging coffins was a privilege for persons who had earned their way to be called "old". "Old" in Sagada is not about age, but rather, about contribution to their community. First, the person must be married and have grandchildren. The person must have done a lot of good things to be hung, to be remembered as highly respected people. Only when they have those qualifications can they be classified as "old", and therefore could be buried by way of hanging coffins, which is very symbolic for someone that was being looked up to in remembrance of their contribution to the community.

 Hanging Coffins

Another burying option in Sagada is piling coffins in a burial cave. There are many burial caves in Sagada, but only a few are open to tourists. Probably the most visited burial cave is Lumiang Burial Cave, since it is part of the cave connection, where people enter Lumiang Cave and then, exit Sumaguing Cave.

Lumiang Cave

Wooded Coffins at Lumiang Burial Cave

In the burial caves, coffins are piled on top of one another. Regardless of the burial type, all coffins are made of hollowed out logs held in place by wooden toggle. The coffins are short because the deceased were placed in fetal position.  They believed then that we leave Earth the same way we came to Earth. They sit the deceased on a chair until it would be easier for them to force the dead body into the fetal position. 

Sign to Preserve the Coffins

The pile coffins in burial caves are near the entrance of the cave so that it is accessible to sunlight. Sadly, because they are right by the entrance of the cave, it is easy for visitors to steal some bones and artifacts in the coffins. Though it is hard to imagine how others could do that, but they do happen. :( 

The hanging coffins and burial caves were two of the options then to bury the deceased in Sagada. Those who had earned their way to be called "old" could be hanged high on a cliff, the majority in burial caves. However, there were others who had no choice at all where to be buried. These were the women who died from giving birth. 

A Hidden Place for Burying Women Who Died From Giving Birth

The people of Sagada then believed that women who died in giving birth was because either they were cursed or a result of damnation. As such, they were not buried in the two traditional ways, but were buried separately in what they also thought to be of a "cursed" place, kind of isolating them. 

In the later years, Christianity came to the town of Sagada, which is now predominantly Anglican (Episcopal Church). 

St. Mary Episcopal Church, Sagada

With about 95% of the people in Sagada converted to Christianity, a cemetery was built for burying the dead.

Sagada Cemetery

The tombs in Sagada are facing East, because they carry their old tradition of receiving the early morning sun. Most of the deceased people in Sagada are now buried in cemetery. However, people still have the option to be buried in either of the 2 traditional ways: either hanging coffins or burial caves. The last burial recorded in the hanging coffins was in 2010, and in the burial caves was in 2008.

Next to burying the dead, we also visited Sagada Weaving, Orange Farm and Sagada Museum. 

 Proudly Wearing Sagada Products ( Cross body bag is made of cloth weaved in Sagada- below ), and the beanie is a cotton crochet with Sagada trademark - photo of me by my niece Steff

Sagada Weaving

Before we left Sagada, we stopped at Kiltepan for sunrise.

Couple Waiting for Sunrise at Kiltepan

My Niece Taking Picture of Sunrise

What follows here are sunrise pictures at Kiltepan taken by my niece. When my niece asked me if she could borrow my camera, I happily handed the camera to her. I am glad that she is also interested in photography. She takes really very good pictures, all in manual setting.

 Sunrise @ Kiltepan, photo by my niece

  Fogs @ Kiltepan, photo by my niece

 Sunrise @ Kiltepan, photo by my niece

Leaving Sagada at sunrise gave us many hopes of coming back here again to explore more just as many sunrises do. 

I will share about itinerary and cost of Sagada trip in my other blog, Breathe In..Breathe Out, hopefully soon. 

If you have some time, you may want to check my earlier posts about Sagada via Banaue below:

Sagada via Banaue, Part 1: The Banaue Rice Terraces

Sagada via Banaue, Part 2: Hiking Pongas Falls
Sagada via Banaue, part 3: Spelunking at Sumaguing Cave

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