Sagada

Cemetery, catacomb, crypt, churchyard, city of dead, funerary ground, grave, graveyard, marble town, memorial park, mortuary, necropolis, city of dead, potter’s field, God’s acre, eternal home, final resting place.

Even as a little girl, I have this fascination for cemeteries. I would visit a graveyard near our school, bring some flowers and place the bouquet in some random plot. I would then utter a prayer for the soul of whoever was buried there and go home.

Some people may find me a little creepy or eccentric even. But for me, there are a lot of lessons to be learned from the stories of the departed ones. If only the dead could talk.

I was able to visit the Lumiang Burial Cave and the Sumaging Hanging coffins in Sagada a few years back. Unfortunately I lost all the pictures when my bag was stolen. So a former work mate asked me if I can accompany them to Baguio then to Banawe and then finally to Sagada. I had to explain to them that I am not really familiar with Banawe nor Sagada, having visited those areas only twice or thrice. A friend, who’s an Ifugao, acted as our tour guide then, to ensure that we are not breaking tradition or norm or belief or whatever.

I remember pointing at a strange-looking tree and the next thing I know, the natives (my friend and his relatives included) were doing the Canao (or Kanyaw) so that the spirits (Anito) will forgive me for being disrespectful. It turned out that the tree I was pointing at is considered sacred. So being main reason for the sacrificial pig’s death, I can say that hiring a professional tour guide is a necessity when visiting the area.