Amazing! This is the most fitting description of how the ancient Igorot, any of the various ethnic groups in the mountains of northern Luzon, bury their dead in Sagada, a town in the Cordillera mountains in the Philippines. What is interesting about this burial ritual is that the coffins are suspended and preserved in the rocky cliffs of Sagada’s Echo Valley. The Sagada people have been practicing this tradition for over 2,000 years that most of the coffins are over a century old and deteriorating. It is their belief that the higher the position of the dead on the cliff, the greater their spirits reaching a higher nature in the afterlife.
Hanging the body on the cliff is done only when it is the will of the person before he dies. The coffin is already placed in the cave of the valley before the dead body is carried and placed in it. In the process of transporting the dead and a drop of blood lands on you, it is their belief that luck is upon you. When the coffin is small for the size of the dead, the body is twisted like a fetus in the belief that the dead should go the way he was positioned in his mother’s womb — part of the culture we must honor and respect.
To see the hanging coffins of Sagada, be ready for the 12 to 13 hour bus ride, which you can take in any of the terminals in Cubao or Pasay. During the rainy season, however, it takes longer especially if the roads become bumpy. Make sure you are fully rested and have enough energy for the trek because Echo Valley is a steep mountain to climb. Wear comfortable rubber shoes and have an extra shirt ready.
Sagada, here we come!