"Sagada and the journey close to the sky." Sagada by edachsund

11.30am – Welcome to the Sagada the Mountain Province. The place is much nicer than Banaue which is crowd and ugly. The climate is cool. The Jeepney driver bring us to St. Joseph Rest house where I plan to stay for overnight but the place is full house already, I went to one after another guesthouse around and finally I stayed at Alfredo’s Inn and Restaurant and pay for 350p with share bathroom.

That's me another activities on a cave.

2.00pm – I started the tour with the other 2 Filipino’s to the Sumaging cave. Basically just a lot of rock formation down there and there is fresh water also. Then we went to the Eco valley to check it out the Hanging Coffin. That’s what Jud told me on our Vt’s (Virtualtourist) dinner sometimes ago. Otherwise I wouldnt know there is such thing. I thought at first the hanging coffins were hanged on a tree. But in fact, coffins were hanged on the cave rock.
According to Pery our tour guide, the dead body will be stay at home for a week during awakes time before the funeral. Some of the death body was put on a sitting position just to ensure that the body will definitely be re-incarnated on the next life. Some of them were really sitting on a chair as according to Pery, sitting on chair is the correct position as fetus on womb. That’s why few of the hanging coffins were hang together with a broken chair where believed, that the last chair the death was sated.
Although if the death is a Christian, she or he also can be buried in such a way as it all depend on him or her family as well to follow the tradition which is already been 500years old. Follow the traditional burial way, the person who is going to be buried in such way must have completed her life by having married, having children, grand children and all. She also not dies because of any sickness. When the person died, she will be put on the fatal position just like becoming a child again for a week while the coffin will have to go first on the hanging cave, then the body will come secondly. They leave the body like that; the smell of the death body will be gone soon. They have 2 different type of cemetery where one if for the death who has completed their life and the other who died because of illness. The believe that if the death died of illness where buried together it wont be any good as the illness or the disease will be transfer to the other.
Same goes to Ifugao Native culture, the separation of the cemetery between man and women, and a child and also to an illness deceased. They will be wrapped with their traditional Ifugao costume and leave it in a cave without buried underground or hang on a coffin. They don’t preserved the death body as it will be just like that. “So, you’ll be buried in that cave like that also then huh Harriot?” “Yes, of course. Just like my Lolo (grandmother and grand father)” replied Harriot.

Sagada Town

Three of us, went down walking to look for a Sagada Weaving before it gets dark. I felt so exhausted since 2 days in a row; I’ve been doing the trekking up and down the mountain and the cave until I really can’t climb the stairs to my room. Get a hot shower, finally here have it before I went grab dinner downstairs. Alfredo’s really serves good foods. Sagada town gets really quiet after 7.30pm.