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The Mummies of Kabayan
Posted on Tuesday, 12 August 2014
The
Mummies of Kabayan
By Apolinario Villalobos
Mummification as a process to preserve the
dead is not practiced exclusively by the Egyptians. Early settlers of many
countries also used it as found out by archaeologists of the modern times.
Among these countries is Philippines.
Before the arrival of the Spaniards in
1521, there lived in Kabayan,a group of people, called Ibaloi, who were believed to be among the second wave of
Malays who from migrated from Southwest Pacific Islands. They were believed to have sailed through
Indonesia and Borneo, until finally, settling on the coastal shores of
Pangasinan.
They proceeded north, following the course
of the Agno River. Upon reaching the highlands of Benguet, they settled in valley
of which they named Baloi. As the story goes, an epidemic broke out in their
settlement, that spared several families, the seven of which continued their
trek northward, while the rest retraced their steps back to Pangasinan.
The seven families that went north found a
valley rich in wild animals and wild edible roots. They decided to stay and
named the valley Embossi. The settlement is now what is bounded by the villages
of Kabayan, such as Gusaran, Pacso and Asokong. One time, the hunters of the
group encountered kinky-haired and black pygmies who also roamed the forest for
games. They called the pygmies, “Ansisit” (small people) to distinguish them
from themselves who were referred as
“Adagut” (tall people).
The new settlers put to practice their
knowledge in agriculture by making rice terraces along the borders of the
settlement. Not long after, they also came in contact with the Kalangaya Tribe
which had preceded them, and who settled at Ahin and Tinoc, which are now parts
of the Ifugao Province. Intermarriages caused the split of the Ibaloi tribe
into two groups: the first claiming ancestry from the Embossi and the second
from Tinoc. For clearer distinction, the Ibaloys were referred to as “Ipaway”
(people of the plain), while the Kalangayan as “Ikalahan” (people of the jungle
or mountains).
In time, members of the Ipaway group
settled in Kabayan, Lutab, Digew, Daclan, Bokod, Itogon, Tuba, Sablan, La
Trinidad, Tublay, Atok and some areas along the Cordillera mountain ranges. The
Ikalahan on the other hand, settled in other areas of the mountain ranges,
particularly in Tawangan, Amlimay, Lusod, and also, Kabayan.
Among the traditions of the Ibaloi, the
most significant was the mummification of their dead, which old folks of the
tribe would relate to the younger ones, as if telling them a legend while
pointing to the direction of the Singakalsa Mountain. The said mountain, rising
to 7,000 feet above sea level, was and still is the favorite hunting ground of
the tribe. They would refer to the mountain as the repository of their “meking”
or dried corpse. In 1908, two hunters, Magno Duna and Berong Sakunat of Lutab,
Kabayan Cetral, chanced upon a cave, the entrance of which were hidden by
bushes, where they found crudely- made wooden coffins that contained
well-preserved corpses, practically, dried.
Another story is about the discovery of a burial
cave due to the sound of “kalsa” (gong), that a hunter heard while tracing the
footprints of a deer. At first, he thought that the sound came from a village
down the valley, but when it became louder, he found the source to overhead,
from a cliff. The hunter and his companion went up the cliff and searched for
the gong. They found it hanging by the
branch of a pine tree that seemed to mark the entrance to a cave. Inside the
cave, the hunters found four coffins, containing nine well-preserved remains, one
of which was that of a baby. When the hunters took another way in coming down
from the cliff, they discovered another cave where they found a lone mummy, but
not yet placed inside a coffin.
When stories about the discovery of the
mummies spread in the villages of Kabayan, the old folks understood why the
mountain was called “Singakalsa”. The name could have been referred to the
sound of gongs that they would hear during windy days. The stories of
discoveries were soon forgotten, as no member of the tribe ever tried to make
an attempt to re-visit them.
The late ‘70s saw the spate of discoveries
of burial caves in the Cordilleras. Among these were the Opdas burial cave
which was said to be used by a family during the late part of the 15th
century. It was discovered in 1972 by Baban Berong, an Ibaloi. Other burial
sites are the Kanga, located on the mountain slope of Sadan, Tenongchol, the
entrance of which was carved on top of a solid rock, Timbak, Naapay and Bangao.
There was a rash of tomb raids to steal
mummies, some of which were brought out of the country. The most celebrated
stolen mummy was that of Apo Annu, a tribal leader of Benguet. His remains were
stolen from a burial cave in Natubling, Benguet between 1918 and 1920 by a
Christian pastor, according to a story, and ended up as a special feature of
circus shows in Manila. Ownership of the remains changed hands several times,
until the antique collector who last held on to it, made a decision to donate
it to the National Museum in 1984.
During my visit to Kabayan, I found some
mummies encased in glass for protection and in the custody of the municipal
government. Much care was observed when they were brought out of their
protective glass encasement.
The returned stolen mummies have been
returned to their respective burial caves and the local government deemed it
necessary to keep their locations a secret for fear that looting may again
ensue. The burial caves of the Kabayan mummies have been officially declared as
National Cultural Treasures by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 374. They have
also been officially declared as endangered sites by the UNESCO.
