Kalinga - Part III - Burials

In this Part III of my Kalinga series I share with you a bit about the burial customs of these mountain people, the Butbut. Followers of my blog know I like to participate in the meme Taphophile Tragics when I can.

Yesterday I introduced beautiful Whang Od - the last tattoo artist - and showed the grave she had built for herself (last photo). I wasn't able to find out whether it was usual for tribal elders to prepare for their own deaths, but I suspect that it is as rare for the Butbut as for anyone else.

Yet she is not alone in her village in placing her grave close to home. 

 Kalinga, Buscalan, 2012

Walking around Buscalan a few weeks ago it was impossible to miss the graves placed right next to family houses. The dirt lanes between the raised wooden houses were narrow, yet I felt compelled to walk around the bare concrete structures flat on the ground.

I found it curious that although most in the village spoke only their native tongue, the wording on the headstones were in English. Also, although most of the Kalinga tribal groups are historically animist, the crosses on these graves indicate to me that Christianity is making inroads into their traditional belief systems.

For die-hard taphophiles, I include this rather lengthy quote about burial customs of the Kalinga. This comes from a fascinating paper published online by Aubrey Pagal.

The pakoy (death announcement) is done to announce that somebody has died in the community. It calls for the gathering of the clan to discuss things to be done during the wake. Close kin and neighbors are informed. It also signals people to will reset whatever celebration they had planned earlier to show sympathy and respect for the grieving family. It manifests the value of concern toward the bereaved family. The pakoy prods people to gather to build the bawi (shelter for visitors), helping build a community spirit of cooperation and assistance.

A number of carabaos (water buffalo) and pigs are slaughtered, and are offered to Kabunyan, the supreme deity, and to dead ancestors. Coffins are made of quality mature pine or mahogany, without any metal or nails holding it together. If a wealthy person dies, each of the children butchers one carabao for the people gathered. The uncooked meat will be distributed to close relatives. Among Cordillerans, the extent of meat distribution is dictated by certain considerations. Those who are given the meat are immediate relatives, the abalayans (in-laws) and those who help build the bawi. People continue to follow this tradition, regardless of whether they are good or bad, useful or useless. The individual who goes against tradition often finds himself the object of severe criticism. Distribution of ilang (uncooked meat) lets the recipients know of the hosts' deep appreciation of their relatives' gesture of help and their attendance in the gatherings.

During the wake nearby relatives and neighbors perform the mankayakeg, butchering pigs or piglets or chickens for people from nearby barangay (village) who come to condole with the bereaved family and honor the dead man during the wake as a social obligation. Kachame is the practice of accompanying the grieving family during the night of the funeral to boost the morale of the bereaved. The practice insures kinship ties. 

During death, as sign of concern and cooperation among kin and friends, assistance in the form of financial aid helps preserve these ties.

Achang is the mutual aid system where close kin, up to third cousins, and friends are morally obliged to help one another financially and share their goods. Donations depend on the capacity of individuals or families.

During the day of the funeral, utong will be provided for the people gathered. Most families observe three to five days of wake, depending upon the socioeconomic status or the traditional wake practices. This practice proves family ties and family social status wherein the number of pigs and carabaos butchered is indicative of wealth, more property for the family, and cooperation among the individuals concerned.

And also at the day of the funeral, bulong is donated by relatives to help feed the people who come. This fosters cooperative participation among relatives by consanguinity and affinity. The utong, the immediate post-burial slaughtering of animals, is performed to help the dead achieve well-deserved rest. The butchering of animals in utong results in the peace of mind and contentment of the donors, who are assured that each of the offspring has satisfactorily fulfilled the departed's final request.

In every neighboring house, when the corpse is buried, pechus is observed in order to prevent the entry of the dead ancestor's spirit. This ensures health among family members. Singising is also performed to help the bereaved family overcome grief and spare them from being disturbed by bad roaming spirits.

Seven to nine days after the burial, songot, or the practice of putting glutinous cakes on the tomb of the dead, is observed in to ensure the dead spirit does not return home and cause sickness to family members.

Specific burial grounds are chosen along farmsteads or within residential compounds, according to the will of the deceased. Often, it is a place that was meaningful during the departed's lifetime.

Stay tuned for Part IV!

A Grand Armchair Grave

On our way home to Manila from Wuchuan ten days ago we passed through Hong Kong and again stayed with our friends in the countryside of the New Territories. It's a lovely secluded and green place to live, but as guests without a car, getting in and out is not always most convenient.

I wanted to visit a cemetery for Taphophile Tragics, but my honey and our hosts were not at all enthusiastic. Not only was it a work day for my friends, it rained most of the day, so it was not a good time for either an outing or photography.

Truth be told, Chinese in general regard cemeteries with mixed feelings. While on special days in the year they meticulously go through the rituals of ancestor worship I described before, they otherwise see cemeteries as places for powerful spirits both good and bad, places to be avoided. In sharp contrast with the West, Chinese do not regard cemeteries as positive urban spaces. To illustrate, I was told we'd likely have trouble getting a taxi driver to take us to the cemetery up on a hill in the area, let alone wait for us while I explore. Unfortunately it was much too far to reach on foot.

To appease me, my friend offered to walk me to this grave near her home. Or rather, she showed me the start of a narrow concrete path, pointed up, and said, "it's about 20 meters up there." Then she quickly turned to return home. No way was she going to accompany me!

So here is what I found: a grand example of a modern armchair-shaped grave (all photos can be enlarged).

 Hong Kong, 2012

Headstone: Here lie together Uncle Wong, Father Wong and Mother Lau. First built 1967, rebuilt Jan 2002 by all the offspring.

The two minor side graves are for the "guards" - in Chinese they are called "god of the earth."

You'll agree the grave resembles an armchair, with raised areas protecting three sides, from its back reaching around to the left and right. The front is left open and accommodates the platform where living family members engage in the rites of ancestor worship. I've shown less grand versions of the armchair grave here and here.

 

I have read that constructing graves in the armchair shape goes back to the Northern Song Dynasty, 960-1127 AD.  Many Chinese, especially in southern China, have long regarded the form of an armchair as the ideal shape for a grave. It provides a sense of wealth, comfort and dignity.

According to fengshui beliefs, it is considered auspicious for a grave to have a good view.

Historically only the ruling class or the mandarin Chinese could afford armchair graves. Today they are increasingly frowned upon as taking up too much valuable real estate. But as elsewhere, old customs and traditions here die reluctantly.

The property behind the grave had a dog that was not pleased with my visit and barked incessantly. Rather than any spirits that may have been hovering, it was this very living creature that made me wary of hanging around too long. Still I thought he was a handsome fella.

Lao Temple: Mural and Burial Stupas

Most of the temples we saw in the Buddhist nation of Laos were noticeably less ornate and decorated than the many I've seen in Thailand. I found them serene and appealing.

The first photo shows you the intricately carved door of a small unassuming neighborhood temple we walked by in Vientiane, the nation's capital. I failed to find out its name (and googling came up empty).

I also regret cutting off the bottom of the door in this photo; my focus back then in 2002 was clearly on the wonderful mural (better seen enlarged) painted directly onto dry stucco. I've learned since that this mural most likely depicts scenes from the ancient Jakata Tales that Buddhist monks tell to develop the moral values of their listeners.

Vientiane, 2002 

Near the temple were a cluster of typical burial stupas. We saw many of these in Laos; around temples, in nature along the road we traveled, and in the gardens of private homes. And yet I was not able to discover any information at all about them.

Upon death, Lao people are generally cremated following Buddhist rituals, and so these would not be graves for bodies in coffins the way we often bury our dead in the West. I conclude, until I learn otherwise, that these funerary stupas are memorials erected for loved ones.

The only view of the entire temple building I photographed was this one from the back.

I am linking with the blogging communities at Monday Mural and Taphophile Tragics.

Ponte and Castel Sant'Angelo

This is a section of the beautiful Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome spanning the Tiber River.

Rome, 2007

Emperor Hadrian had this bridge built in 134 AD to give access from the city center to his grand mausoleum. The ten Bernini-designed angels lining the bridge were added much later, in the 17th century (unfortunately I did not cross over to get close ups of them, but images can easily be found online).

About Hadrian's tomb, from Wikipedia:

The tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian, also called Hadrian's mole, was erected on the right bank of the Tiber, between 135 AD and 139 AD. Originally the mausoleum was a decorated cylinder, with a garden top and golden quadriga. Hadrian's ashes were placed here a year after his death in Baiae in 138 AD, together with those of his wife Sabina, and his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, who also died in 138 AD. Following this, the remains of succeeding emperors were also placed here, the last recorded deposition being Caracalla in 217 AD. The urns containing these ashes were probably placed in what is now known as the Treasury room deep within the building.

More about Castel Sant'Angelo from Wikipedia:

Legend holds that the Archangel Michael appeared atop the mausoleum, sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of the plague of 590, thus lending the castle its present name.

Today the building is a museum.

My images today are offered to the blog-hop communities of Weekend Reflections, Sunday Bridges and Taphophile Tragics.

Markers in the Wilderness

Today's post for Taphophile Tragics and Our World Tuesday is short.

While we were out appreciating the vastness that is the aimag of Hovd...

Mongolia, 2007

... I hardly expected to find this: 

 

No living humans around for miles and miles. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

A Cemetery in Mongolia

Traditionally, Mongolians did not bury their dead. Rather, the body of the departed soul was “cast out” in an open air burial after a ceremony led by a Buddhist lama - or more lamas, depending on the social status of the departed. It’s an intricate process that ends in the corpse being left in the clan’s sacred burial place to be devoured by predatory animals and is well described in a paper here.

After the 1921 Revolution that turned Mongolia into a Communist nation, open air burials were strongly discouraged and European-style burials were gradually adopted.

These are photos of a cemetery on a hill we saw about an hour’s drive outside the capital Ulaanbaatar.  The images will have to tell you the story, as I have no further information about it.

I marvel at the many styles, shapes and materials used. As you can see, a few markers were enclosed in a fence; most were not.

Mongolia, 2007

To the front of the burial grounds is an expansive vista of a small town in the valley and the mountains beyond.

Joining the Taphophile Tragics community.

Sandy Ridge Cemetery

I thought I'd end up with a pretty lame post, if one at all, when I took these shots of a cemetery I saw in the distance yesterday. Instead, my online research unearthed some interesting information I did not know even after 27 years in the region.

This is Sandy Ridge Cemetery, known as Shaling by the locals.

Hong Kong, 2012

These photos show just the top section of one of the larger cemeteries in the Hong Kong New Territories. It is one of nearly one hundred named burial grounds in this Special Administrative Region.

The cemetery was opened in 1949 and holds the mortal remains of a mix of Buddhists and Christians in both coffins and urns.

But it is perhaps unlikely that I will get to visit Shaling Cemetery anytime soon; first, because it's hard to get to, and second, because it's located in a 28 square kilometer area of land bordering the Shenzhen River and China that is closed to all but locals and those with special permits to enter (this is the most interesting part I did not know). There is, however, a plan to reduce the size of this area significantly, and already there are places open to visitors. I'll have to find out whether the cemetery can be accessed by non-relatives. 

In the early 2000s, the Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene began a program to remove, cremate and place in the urn sections the human remains of parts of various cemeteries in Hong Kong, including this one. Families could apply for permission to do a private exhumation and make their own arrangements. I'd like to find out more about that program, too.

This may be of interest to the community at Taphophile Tragics.

Qingming Rituals

Qingming Festival (aka Ching Ming or Tomb Sweeping Day), like many traditional Chinese festivals, involves family, food and firecrackers.

Much like a western memorial day, this is a time for the living to remember those who have passed on. For the Chinese people, it is significant to celebrate their enduring lineage. Families take this day to clean and restore their ancestors' resting places.

Qingming in Chinese means "clear and bright," a solar term indicating when the sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 15°. On our calendar, it begins around 4th of April. Thus last week Wednesday was official Qingming day.

Yet it was early morning the day before when my honey and I boarded a bus in Wuchuan with the extended family of our friend and spent until late afternoon visiting nine separate graves to pay tribute to their forebears.

On this first hot spring day after a wet chilly winter, we had a first-hand look at the rituals of the day. While specific details of traditional customs may vary from place to place in China, and even overseas in Chinese communities, here is a much abbreviated account of what people generally do at gravesites on Qingming:

1. Sweep the grave or clear it of all debris and plant overgrowth.



clearing the gravesite or sweeping a grave

2. Strategically place amulets around the grave to protect against evil unearthly influences. (This practice may be distinctive to certain regions.) Here it was in the simple form of small mounds of dirt with pieces of paper and rocks.

cleared grave with amulets

3. Burn candles and joss sticks (incense) to call the ancestors, imaginably like ringing the doorbell to announce one’s arrival.

4. Offer foods – such as a full roasted suckling pig, boiled chicken, barbecued pork, rice, fruits – and drink and place them in front of the tomb. Typically white rice wine is first poured into small glasses then spilt onto the grave.

5. Burn joss paper – fake money and other symbols of wealth like gold, silver, clothes, jewelry, gadgets (cell phones are popular these days!) – anything that gives us comfort as humans. (I’ve even seen miniature mansions and cars before.) Traditional belief holds that when burned, these symbols will transform into real wealth for their ancestors to enjoy in their place beyond.

"hell" money and other goodies burned for the spirit world

6. Pay respect and show devotion to the ancestor with kowtows; the number varies by region.

7. Surround the grave with firecrackers (this too may be unique to here) and light them to scare away gremlins or other nasty spirits hovering around the grave.

I'll not be surprised if you have some questions. There is still so much I could say about our fascinating experience, as well as about Chinese gravesites and this ancient traditional day of devoted offspring demonstrating they have not forgotten their predecessors.  But that would make this post unbearably long, so I may have to return to this story in future.

For links to posts by others with an interest in graveyards and cemeteries, visit Taphophile Tragics.

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Roadside Memorial in Laos

Today I may be stretching the definition of taphophilia. Yet I feel these Lao memorials on a narrow but well-traveled road somewhere up in the hills between Vang Vieng and Vientienne are a special enough tribute to the dear departed to include in the Taphophile Tragics meme.

Memorials beside the highway to those killed in auto accidents are sadly not uncommon.  But have you ever seen this many on one spot?

 Laos, 2002

While the place was some distance from any residential area, we can see there are regular visitors. The incense in the small memorial altar was burning.

I'm only guessing that this is the curve in the road that causes the fatalities.

(Again my 2002 digital photos are grainy and my photography skills unimpressive. Rather than rotate and crop out large areas of this last image, I wanted to keep the detail and only rotated for a straight view.)