Kabayan Mummies

Last updated
Kabayan Mummy Burial Caves
Philippines location map (square).svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Location of Kabayan Caves in the Philippines
Alternative nameBenguet Mummy Caves, Ibaloi Mummy Caves
Location Kabayan, Benguet, Philippines
Coordinates 16°33′N120°45′E / 16.550°N 120.750°E / 16.550; 120.750
TypeBurial Cave
Management National Museum of the Philippines

The Fire Mummies of the Philippines, also known as the Kabayan Mummies, Benguet Mummies, or Ibaloi Mummies, are a group of mummies found along the mountain slopes of Kabayan, Benguet, a town in northern Philippines. They were made from as early as 2000 BCE. Today, they remain in natural caves and a museum in Kabayan.

Contents

Description

Scientists believe that the Fire Mummies were created by the Ibaloi between 1200 and 1500 CE in five towns in Benguet and buried in caves. Others believe that the process of mummification began in 2000 BCE. [1] What makes the Fire Mummies unique is their mummification process. Mummification would begin shortly before a person died, where he would ingest a very salty drink. After his death, his corpse was washed and set over a fire in a seated position, drying the fluids. Smoke from tobacco was blown into the mouth to dry the body's inside and internal organs. Eventually, herbs were rubbed into the body. [2] Mummified bodies are then placed in a coffin made of pinewood and laid to rest in rock shelters, natural caves or man made burial niches. [3] [1]

Discovery

When the Fire Mummies were uncovered in the early 20th century by Westerners (the mummies have been known to local communities for hundreds of years), many of them were stolen by white people, because the caves were mostly unprotected. Because of this, Monument Watch, a nonprofit organization, declared the site as one of the 100 most endangered sites in the world. [4]

Today

After logging operations intensified in the area, the location of many caves became known. Unfortunately, this has led to looting, as unconscientious visitors have been eager to leave their mark, including graffiti, on the Kabayan mummies. The Kabayan Mummies were listed in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund. Funding through American Express was used for emergency conservation and the creation of a comprehensive management plan. Additionally, local authorities from surrounding municipalities collaborated in cultural awareness campaign to introduce the Mummies to Filipinos. Tourist facilities were also constructed in order to control visitation and prevent harmful intrusions. [5]

The Fire Mummies remain in natural caves with relatively small security and have been designated as one of the 100 world's most endangered heritage sites. Officials know 50-80 other mummies, but they will not give their locations because of their fear of vandalism. A small museum in Kabayan also displays a few mummies. [2]

Declarations

The Kabayan Mummy Burial Caves are listed as National Cultural Treasures by the National Museum of the Philippines pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 260 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos in August 1973. [6] It is also under consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Scholars are also pushing for the inclusion of the mummy burial caves in neighboring Buguias town in the Kabayan Mummy Burial Caves nomination of the Philippines in the UNESCO Tentative List. The caves in Buguias is home to one of Benguet's folk hero, Apo Anno; the burial caves in Kabayan and Buguias will collectively be called as the Benguet Mummy Burial Caves or Mummy Burial Caves in Kabayan and Buguias. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mummy</span> Human or animal whose skin and organs have been preserved

A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay further if kept in cool and dry conditions. Some authorities restrict the use of the term to bodies deliberately embalmed with chemicals, but the use of the word to cover accidentally desiccated bodies goes back to at least the early 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benguet</span> Province in Cordillera, Philippines

Benguet, officially the Province of Benguet, is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Pulag</span> Volcano in the Philippines

Mount Pulag is Luzon's highest peak at 2,928 metres (9,606 ft) above sea level, third-highest mountain in the Philippines, and the 26th-highest peak of an island on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibaloi people</span> Indigenous ethnic group found in Benguet Province of the northern Philippines

The Ibaloi are an indigenous ethnic group found in Benguet province of the northern Philippines. Ibaloi is derived from i-, a prefix signifying "pertaining to" and badoy or house, together then meaning "people who live in houses". The Ibaloi are one of the indigenous peoples collectively known as Igorot, who live in the cordillera central of Luzon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buguias</span> Municipality in Benguet, Philippines

Buguias, officially the Municipality of Buguias,, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,877 people. The municipality is home to the mummy of Apo Anno, one of the most revered and important folk hero in Benguet prior to Spanish arrival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kabayan, Benguet</span> Municipality in Benguet, Philippines

Kabayan, officially the Municipality of Kabayan, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 15,806 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angono Petroglyphs</span> Prehistoric petroglyph in the Philippines

The Angono - Binangonan Petroglyphs are petroglyphs carved into a rock wall in Binangonan, Rizal, Philippines. It consists of 127 human and animal figures engraved on the rockwall probably carved during the late Neolithic, or before 2000 BC. They are the oldest known work of art in the Philippines. These inscriptions clearly show stylized human figures, frogs and lizards, along with other designs that may have depicted other interesting figures but erosion may have caused it to become indistinguishable. The engravings are mostly symbolic representations and are associated with healing and sympathetic magic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agno River</span> River in Luzon, Philippines

The Agno River, also known as the Pangasinan River, is a river on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Traversing the provinces of Benguet, Pangasinan, and Tarlac, it is one of the largest river systems in the country, with a drainage area of 5,952 square kilometres (2,298 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras</span> World Heritage Site in Luzon, the Philippines

The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are a World Heritage Site consisting of a complex of rice terraces on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995, the first-ever property to be included in the cultural landscape category of the World Heritage List. This inscription has five sites: the Batad Rice Terraces and Bangaan Rice Terraces, Mayoyao Rice Terraces, Hungduan Rice Terraces and Nagacadan Rice Terraces, all in Ifugao Province. The Ifugao Rice Terraces reach a higher altitude and were built on steeper slopes than many other terraces. The Ifugao complex of stone or mud walls and the careful carving of the natural contours of hills and mountains to make terraced pond fields, coupled with the development of intricate irrigation systems, harvesting water from the forests of the mountain tops, and an elaborate farming system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinchorro mummies</span> Mummified remains of individuals from the South American Chinchorro culture

The Chinchorro mummies are mummified remains of individuals from the South American Chinchorro culture, found in what is now northern Chile. They are the oldest examples of artificially mummified human remains, having been buried up to two thousand years before the Egyptian mummies. The earliest mummy that has been found in Egypt dated around 3000 BCE, while the oldest anthropogenically modified Chinchorro mummy dates from around 5050 BCE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Sebastian Church (Manila)</span> Roman Catholic church in Manila, Philippines

The Minor Basilica of San Sebastian, better known as San Sebastian Church or San Sebastian Basilica, is a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church in Manila, Philippines. It is the church of the Parish of San Sebastian, and also a Shrine of Nuestra Senora del Monte Carmelo, or Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabon Caves</span> Caves and archaeological site in the Philippines

The Tabon Caves is a cave system located in Lipuun Point, Quezon, Palawan in the Philippines. Dubbed as the country's "cradle of civilization", it is a site of archaeological importance due to the number of jar burials and prehistoric human remains found starting from the 1960s, most notably the Tabon Man. The system is a part of the Lipuun Point Reservation, which has been protected by the Philippine government as a museum reservation to protect the caves and its immediate vicinity from deforestation and to preserve the cultural artifacts present there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bacarra Church</span> Roman Catholic church in Ilocos Norte, Philippines

St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, commonly known as Bacarra Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the municipality of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, Philippines under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Laoag.

Mummification was practiced in the Philippines only on those able to prove the loss of baby teeth. The baby teeth represented youth, losing them illustrated wisdom gained in their mouth. It also portrayed the journey of maturity. Dying without losing baby teeth was a sign of someone who never reached their full potential. Once you lose and grow your first grill, the second time you lose the teeth, it's time to go. That's because they were given a chance of proper dental hygiene. The caves containing the mummies were untouched until the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guayadeque ravine</span>

The Guayadeque ravine, in Spanish Barranco de Guayadeque, is a ravine-type valley located on the Spanish municipalities of Ingenio and Agüimes, in the province of Las Palmas on Grand Canary island, off the coast of Morocco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeology of the Philippines</span>

The archaeology of the Philippines is the study of past societies in the territory of the modern Republic of the Philippines, an island country in Southeast Asia, through material culture.

Heritage management in the Philippines is guided by laws and agencies that create regulations for potentially destructive behaviors such as excavations and demolition. Legislation pertaining to heritage management consists of Republic Acts and Presidential Decrees. Organizations such as UNESCO, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Heritage Conservation Society are also referred to in laws.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kabayan Mummies". Mummy Tombs. When were they made. Archived from the original on 28 October 2000. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 Dylan; Treeswithknees; Nicholas Jackson. "Fire Mummies of the Philippines". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Kabayan Mummy Burial Caves". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  4. Paperdue (November 2010). "Fire Mummies of the Philippines". PaperDue.com. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  5. "Kabayan Mummy Caves". World Monuments Fund. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  6. "Presidential Decree No. 260, s. 1973". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines . 1 August 1973. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2023.

Further reading