Mummification in the Philippines

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Mummification was practiced in the Philippines until the arrival of the Spanish. The caves containing the mummies were untouched until the 19th century.[1]

The heat and humidity of the islands made mummification difficult to perform in much of the Philippines. However, widespread practice of the mummification existed in Benguet and in the higher and cooler altitudes of the Cordilleras.

Studying the mummies reveals information about the rituals, beliefs, and social structure of the tribes that practiced mummification. For instance, mummification was intended for leaders and individuals that are from the higher social ranks of the tribe.[2]

Fire Mummies of Kabayan

In Northern Luzon, mummification is prevalent in Cordillera, specifically in Benguet, Ifugao, and Mountain Province. The most well known is the Fire Mummies in Kabayan, Benguet. There are over 200 remains located in Timbak cave and these were made by the Ibaloi tribe between 1200 CE and 1500 CE.[3]

The process of mummification makes the Fire Mummies unique and popular. Tribe members would administer salty water to the dying member.[3] Ingestion of the saline solution results in a shift in extracellular water into the intestinal lumen that triggers peristalsis. The laxative effect expels water and any remaining feces in the colon. This result in a substantial depletion of intestinal bacteria, delaying onset of tissue-destructive enzymatic processes.[4] The process was identified as being parallel to the Egyptians who placed their corpse in a tub of salt to dehydrate the body.[5] After death, the corpse will be cleansed, rubbed with herbs, and tobacco smoke was then smoked into the mouth of the corpse, with a low fire lit beside the body to enhance dehydration and prevent insect infestation. The body was positioned as though seated on a “death chair” and a scarf or blanket was used to secure the position. The epidermis are peeled off by the community elders and juice from the leaves of local plants were applied.[6] The process would take from months to years then after that, the mummy would be placed in wood coffins and buried in caves.[7]

A much more intricate account of the process is from an unpublished doctoral thesis by Dr. Ursula Cariño Perez.

"A large quantity of salt is dissolved in water and poured into the mouth of the deceased to prevent the early decomposition of the internal organs. The corpse is stripped and bathed with cold water. With the Kolebao (death blanket), the corpse in a sitting poition is I-asal (tied to the death chair, that has high stilts and that is set in front of and beside the stairs of the house). Soon, the ends of a piece of cloth ban across the mouth is knotted at the back of the chair - further measure to keep the corpse stay on the chair for at least a week or for until such time fluid oozes from the swollen body; in this condition, the corpse is brought down and placed on the floor in a lying position. Close relatives peel off the epidermis or the outer skin all over the body - the process is called Duduan. After being peeled of its skin, the corpse is washed with cold water, covered with the same blanket, and then returned to the death chair. The process is followed by Begisan (deworming), that is removing the worms that infest the skin. The peeled off skin is placed in an earthen jar which is afterwards buried in the yard - this is dug later and placed beside the coffin during the burial. Beginning to dry, the corpse is applied allover with the juice of pounded guava and patani leaves. The process is repeated everyday until the body is totally dry. Regulated heat from a fire built below the death chair smokes the dead. When the body begins to shrink, the position of the corpse is changed by tying the legs and hands up to the chest in a crouched position. The legs and hands are tied. The string is removed only when both hands and legs are in their desired position. When dried, the corpse is placed under the sun during the day and smoked during the night. The juice of patani and guava leaves is applied twice a day until the body is hardened, intact and smoothly dried. For as long as two months or even one year, the body is alternately sun dried and smoked - interment time is decided by the nearest kin and after he has decided, carried to its final resting place in the cave of his ancestors or in another cave...[8]

In an excerpt from a book[8]

"Dr. Perez adds that the technique of mummification through salting of the internal organs and application of the juice of guava and patani leaves and smoking and sun-drying lasted up to the 1850's, although it is said to have continued to the end of the century. The practice of mummification was slowly relegated to the past during the last decade of·the nineteenth century because the process of mummification was very expensive and time consuming. According to Dr. Perez, the process primarily depended on the social status of the dead, his wealth and most especially on his number of relatives in neighboring villages who could help shoulder the expenses during the rituals for months or years."

"Dr. Perez writes further that the early ancestors of the Ibaloys used a herb called atab to rub on the corpse's body. The leaves of said herb was pounded and extracted of its juice which was wiped on the body to harden it. Patani juice was likewise wiped all over the body to protect it from flies and other insects. Discoverers of the mummies found that the mummies had pieces of cloth plugged in their ears, mouths and nostrils to prevent flies from entering the body."

"Informants of Dr. Perez said the practice of mummification among their ancestors during the seventeenth century has not been recorded but orally divulged from one generation to another. They claim that up to now, no scientific research has been made to determine the age of the mummies found in the caves of Kabayan, although most foreign anthropologists presume that the mummies are between 500 to 1000 years old."

Due to the mummification process of the dead, features, such as the Tatars, were preserved excellently. Appo Annu, one of the mummies found, had remarkably preserved tattoo details. Studies on the tattoos have been done, and one suggestion was that aside from being a tribal leader, he must have been a hunter.[5] Dr. Analyn Salvador-Amores, from the University of the Philippines-Baguio, states that the patterns were “kin-based and had social and collective meanings among the Ibaloy”.

Site Conservation

Of the many caves identified to contain fire mummies, only a few had been found with human remains and it is suspected that the locals are unwilling to disclose the actual locations of other mummies because of widespread looting by private collectors and some locals who use the nails and fingers as talismans[3] of which one of the victims is Apo Annu. Orlando Abinion a chemical engineer and conservation project coordinator of the National Museum said the mummy was stolen from the cave in 1906 by a Christian pastor which wound up as part of the Manila circus.[5][9] By 1984, it was in the hands of an antique collector, and then was donated to the National Museum, and was recently returned to his burial cave in Benguet.[9]

The Kabayan Mummy Cave is proclaimed under Presidential Decree No. 327 (PD 327) as part of the Philippine National Cultural Treasures, which states that preservation, protection, and maintenance of the site be ensured for the future generation as a manifestation and ingenuity associated with the religious belief of the Ibaloi culture and tradition.[2]

How To Make A Mummy

There is no written record explaining the process of mummification in Kabayan, save for oral traditions. Legends have it that when a person died, upon his last breath, he was forced to take in good quantity of salt water. The elders of Kabayan claim that some four liters of this liquid were prepared and set aside, awaiting use at the final moment. The person was laid flat on the floor while his relatives and friends prepared materials to be made into a long-legged chair constructed beside the stairs of stilt house. This chair was then fastened to one of the stilts. Stilt houses were very common in Kabayan during those times. They were elevated to prevent from rodents from entering the house and for security reasons. At night the retractable stair was pulled up to the porch, to be lowered again the following morning.

References

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  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

10. The Earlies Filipinos. Fr. Gabriel S. Casal. pp. 252-253

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