Mummification in the Philippines
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Mummification is an intricate process of turning a dead body into a mummy. Mummies were classified depending on the process and the medium of preservation. Philippines is known to be one of the places in the world that practice mummification.Heat and humidity is a limiting factor to the process of mummification of the Philippines, however, widespread practice of the mummification existed in Benguet, in the higher and cooler altitudes of the Cordilleras.The tribes that perform this ritual embalming shows not only their ritual and beliefs but also their social hiatus. Mummification is intended for leaders or individuals that are from the higher social ranks of the tribe (UNESCO).
The practice of mummification in the Philippines continued on until the arrival of the Spaniards and the caves that contained these mummies were not touched up until the 19th century (Project: Kabayan Mummy Caves).
Fire Mummies of Kabayan
In Northern Luzon, mummification is prevalent in Cordillera specifically in Benguet, Ifugao and Mt Province. The most popular is the Fire Mummies in Kabayan, Benguet.There are over 200 mummies located in Timbak cave and these are made by the Ibaloi tribe between 1200 CE and 1500 CE (Project: Kabayan Mummy Caves).
The process of mummification makes the Fire Mummies unique and popular. Tribe members would ingest salty water to the dying member. Ingestion of the saline solution results to 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 results to a substantial depletion of intestinal bacteria, delating onset of tissue-destructive enzymatic processes (Aufderheide, 2003). The process was identified as being parallel to the Egyptians who placed their corpse in a tub of salt to dehydrate the body (Rabang, 2013).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 is peeled off by the community elders and juice from the leaves of local plants were applied (Piombino-Mascali, Abinion, Salvador-Amores, & Beckett, 2013). The process would take from months to years then after that, the mummy would be placed in wood coffins and buried in caves (Fire Mummies of the Philippines).
Due to the mummification process of the dead, features such as the tattoos were preserved excellently. Appo Annu, one of the mummies found, had remarkably preserved tattoo details. Studies on the tattoos of Appo Annu have been done, and one was suggestion was that Appo Annu, aside from being a trible leader, must have been a hunter (Rabang, 2013). Amores, a UP professor of social anthropology, 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 (Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog). One of the most famous of the mummies is an intricately tattoed body of a tribal leader named ApoAnnu. The mummy was stolen from the cave between in 1906 which wound up as part of the Manila circus (Rabang, 2013). In 1984, the mummy, then was in the hands of an antique collector, was donated to the National museum, and was recently returned to his burial cave in Benguet (Kabayan Mummies).
The Kabayan Mummy cave is proclaimed under Presidential Decree No. 327 (PD 327) as a 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 (UNESCO).
References
- Aufderheide, A. (2003). The Scientific Study of Mummies. Cambridge, UK: University Press, Cambridge.
- Piombino-Mascali, D., Abinion, O., Salvador-Amores, A., & Beckett, R. (2013). Human Mummification Practices among the Igorot of North Luzon. Bulletin de la Societe Suisse d' Anthropologie, 19(2), 45.
- Fire Mummies of the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved from Atlas Obscura: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fire-mummies-of-the-philippines
- Kabayan Mummies. (n.d.). Retrieved from James M Deem's Mummy Tombs: http://www.mummytombs.com/mummylocator/group/kabayan.htm
- Project: Kabayan Mummy Caves. (n.d.). Retrieved from World Monuments Fund: http://www.wmf.org/project/kabayan-mummy-caves
- Rabang, R. (2013, February 19). Origins of the Benguet mummification. Philippine Daily Inquirer.net. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/361561/origins-of-benguet-mummification
- Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog. (n.d.). Mummies in the Philippines. Retrieved from http://www.southeastasianarchaeology.com/2006/08/09/mummies-in-the-philippines/
- UNESCO. (n.d.). Kabayan Mummy Burial Caves. Retrieved from UNESCO World Heritage Convention: http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/2070/