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Weekly Photo Memes

May 10, 2009

PHOTOHUNT 3 : In Memory

Published on: Sunday, May 10, 2009 by shykulasa - 8 comments

Sagada's Hanging Coffins

This is my entry for this week's "In Memory" theme of Photo Hunt. Taken from the Echo Valley is this photo of one of the major attractions of Sagada, Mountain Province : the famous hanging coffins. This was the traditional way of burying people but not utilized anymore. To be buried this way, one needs to be married and have grandchildren. The last person buried this manner was in 1986.

Maybe for them this saying makes sense " If I want to get to heaven why would I want to be buried 6 ft underground".

In memory, this hanging coffins will forever be a remembrance of Sagada's mystifying aura.


ADDENDUM :
Received an inquiry from gabrielle that made me look into the veracity of the info I provided here which I got from wikipedia and another sagada blogger. The qualifications still hold true though. It turned out from a very reliable source, my good friend Benjch from Sagada informed me that the last person buried there was in 2007 and about 1% of the Sagada community still observe this old belief. A very small percentage nearing 0 but as long as there's 1%, the old tradition and the memory will continue to live on.
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8 comments:

  1. yamiMay 11, 2009, 3:42:00 AM

    Its like a status symbol for them to be buried that way.

    You really have a penchant for historical sites and artifacts. Nice post. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 11, 2009, 10:44:00 AM

    i thought the hanging coffins are somewhere in bicol :( so i was wrong..

    ReplyDelete
  3. JanelleMay 11, 2009, 10:06:00 PM

    i've been planning to go here for years! hopefully, i'll get to go soon!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMay 12, 2009, 3:29:00 PM

    Aloha!
    Very interesting post for this week's photohunt theme. I did a tribute to my parents. Please stop by http://upcountrysmiles.com & visit. Thank you.
    Cindy O

    ReplyDelete
  5. LibertineMay 12, 2009, 5:35:00 PM

    This is very interesting, yet I can understand the logic.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gabriele MuellenbergJun 4, 2009, 7:37:00 AM

    Why was the last person buried with a hanging coffin in 1986? Don't people marry any more. They sure still have grand children.
    Oups...

    ReplyDelete
  7. gabrieleJun 4, 2009, 7:41:00 AM

    Very nice photos in flickr. Will look later.
    Here is my flickr which I will also leave as my ID now
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tenerife-holiday-home-insider/

    Gabriele

    ReplyDelete
  8. shykulasaJun 6, 2009, 2:41:00 PM

    @gabrielle your question got me thinking and i ask a good friend and it turned out the old tradition is not dead after all... check my addendum.

    you got nice photos too :)

    ReplyDelete

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