Sagada’s mysterious Hanging Coffins at Echo Valley attest to the 2,000-year-old Igorot burial traditions that have fascinated the world. For thousands of years, the locals from Cordillera Region have practiced the tradition of burying their dead in pinewood coffins. Each of them suspended with primitive wires and ropes along limestone cliffs as vessels to heaven.
The departed assume a fetal position which is believed that souls should leave the earth the same way they entered it. Elders or those who are in high position in the tribe are placed higher. Minimal written records exist to document this bizarre practice; rather, knowledge is passed down through word of mouth by
It is also part of their tradition that the hanging coffins are reserved for only those who died of old age. Infants or those who died of illness cannot be placed inside the coffins in fear of bad luck. On the other hand, being subjected to a drop of blood coming from the wrapped corpse is considered good luck.
In their practice, the body of the dead is first bound with rattan and vines and then placed on a wooden chair facing the main door of the house to allow their relatives to pay respects. After a vigil for a number of days, the corpse is secured into a fetal position, the legs pushed up towards the chin. It is tied with rattan and vines and fitted into a coffin measuring only about a meter in length. Some of the coffins are also placed in the dark corners of the Lumiang Burial Cave.
The rise of Christianity has prompted Igorots to opt for western-style cemeteries where they honor the dead on Panag–Apoy, a Sagadian All Saints Day celebrated every November 1st.
