Month: May 2019

BABAYAS: When Igorots Tie the Knot

Just like death (as discussed in my previous post), marriage is another important milestone in life that has its own rituals. The rituals of marriage in the Cordilleras vary from one tribe to another. The Ifugaos have their own rituals, the Kalingas have their own as well, and so do the Tinggians and Ibalois. This post is a very rough summary of the marriage rituals of the Igorots and many rituals will go unmentioned as this post will become superbly lengthy if all the details were to be explained.

Engagement

After courtship, the couple does an exchange of work called dok-ong. The boy carries logs to his girlfriend’s house, while the girl works in the camote or rice fields of her boyfriend’s parents. At this point, the couple are now called sin-asawa, and their parents are called sinkaising (kaising means “co-parents-in-law”).

If a person wants to marry in another place, far from his or her village, he or she is called domawin. Usually, the residents of the boy’s village wants the girl to go to his village to marry. When a boy brings his girlfriend to his village, the girls in his village meet her and “bully” her somewhat. The girl defends herself to be accepted in the village.

Pasya

After the engagement, the couple proceeds to the pasya, a preliminary marriage ritual which is the start of the actual marriage. The relatives of the couple give gifts to the kaising and both families bind with each other by exchanging food and work. A “dowry” is agreed upon by the kaising.

After the pasya, the couple is watched closely for any unusual event like if the girl’s necklace breaks, if soup is spilled, or others. If such events happen, the marriage is temporarily put down (badeng). The marriage can be continued later, or the couple can separate permanently. The couple, with their parents, then prepares and fixes (eset) the house they will stay in. When the house is ready, they will make a sacrifice.

Babayas

When wedding season (dodono) comes, the whole community will now engage in the babayas, or the wedding feast. The elders in the dap-ay (a sort of community council) set the date for the babayas and perform the essential rituals. The kaising invite as much distant relatives as they can remember. Whoever attends the babayas should observe good behavior at all times to prevent any misfortune to the couple.

Preparation

The first ritual of the babayas is the segep, or “entering” ceremony. The couple and some of their relatives enter the house and say prayers. If any unusual incident occurs, the couple have to move into another house, or the babayas will be postponed.

The next ritual is the pakde, which is done under a sacred tree. A pig is taken there to be sacrificed and its gallbladder and liver is examined for omens. If the omens seem unfortunate, the pakde is repeated until the omens become good.

After the pakde is the betbet, where the carabaos and cows for the wedding feast will be butchered for all the guests of the babayas to eat. The bebe (pine saplings), pine logs, and dalatey (a special fireplace) will be given to each couple.

Marriage Proper

After all preparations have been done, the major rituals begin. The first of these is called the palayog. Lots of relatives will come over, bringing many gifts like rice, meat, rice wine, and others for the couple. The manokgong (master of ceremonies) is chosen by the parents of each couple. The one who will be chosen must have had his own children already proper married in the past to qualify. He will supervise all the rituals and say the prayers for the event. The couple will sit on special chairs near the door and receive their relatives’ gifts. Throughout the palayog, the couple must fast and practice abstinence to each other.

During the palayog, people will dance, sing, play instruments, and feast outside the house. The bebe is planted near the doorway, the dalatey is set up, and a chicken is sacrificed at the dalatey. The manokgong then says prayers. A series of rites (tatag and siwag) are done by the men, and the women do the dayyao.

After the dayyao, many singing and dancing rituals are done, such as the takik, pinanyowan, and the tallibeng, which all have different styles and formats as to how they are done. The couple formally receives the “dowry”, and they are recognized as a separate household (bomayas or bommey) from their parents.

A wedding dance in Bontok. Photo from
http://igorotwedding.blogspot.com/p/wedding-rituals.html

On the following day is the poyo or inga. The manokgong says a series of prayers for the alim ritual, and a rooster a sacrificed. At the night of the poyo, the boys and girls assemble at the couples’ houses and tell boltiya (riddles) to each other, then the bebe are taken down.

On the third day is the gangaw, where nobody is allowed to work. Men can meet together to discuss local matters, settling disputes, and setting up the dates of future ceremonies. A sob-oy ritual is also performed if the wedding is performed when mushrooms or edible insects are in abundance.

After the gangaw is a work day (boknag). On the first boknag, the papa ritual is performed, wherein a rooster is a sacrificed in front of the house. Friends and relatives visit the couples in their homes, give gifts and eat. After the papa is the second segep ceremony. A string of beads (gameng) will be given to the groom. Later, the apoy, or “fire” ritual, is done on the rice fields.

The pes-ay is done on the next day by the old men. They take a pig and some rice wine for sacrifice in a certain area (pepes-ayan) for the fields of the entire town to grow fruitful wheat. In the sidwil, or end of the pes-ay, a pakde ritual is done. Many restrictions are still in effect until this point to prevent the couple from going into bad omens. After the apoy rituals, the boka is done. The spirits who were invited in the babayas, and the boys and girls doing errands for the event, can now return to their homes. The sidwil is also a boknag, so harvest in the rice fields may begin.

Second Series of Rituals

This second series of rituals are more concerned about the health and welfare of the couple. Most of the guests have already gone home, so these rituals primarily involve the couple and their immediate relatives.

After the sidwil or boka, the pidpidwa, the second series of rituals, is done. The bebe are set up again, but the dalatey is not. The father of the boy or the girl says a prayer for the pidpidwa. After the prayer, a pig is sacrificed and a series of prayers are said for the pig. Then the bebe are taken down again and the poyo prayer is said.

On the next day, the oldest man says the sabosab prayer. On the day after that, another papa ritual takes place. The day after the papa is another work day and an otop ritual is performed. The marriage proper ends here.

After the Babayas

There are still some rituals concerned with marriage after the babayas. After one or a few months, the bakid ceremony commences with a third series of rituals. After a week the pagey ritual is done, where harvest of rice is done and a prayer is said for the rice. After the pagey ritual, the couple can help others harvest rice. This marks the end of the marriage rituals.

In the case that the babayas is not done properly, a tegma is held, essentially a repeat of the wedding ceremony. More animals are sacrificed during a tegma and more rites are done. There are also “anniversary” rituals done after certain periods of time.

This is how complex Igorot culture can get. As I said earlier, this post is a really summarized explanation of the marriage rituals of the Igorots. Igorots take these rituals very seriously, and it is very hard for a couple to separate. This shows that Igorots are really faithful when it comes to relationships. With the coming of modern times, these practices are slowly disappearing. We have to continue sharing our unique culture.

References:

  • Eggan, F., & Scott, W. H. (1965). Ritual Life of the Igorots of Sagada: Courtship and Marriage. Ethnology, 4(1), 77. doi:10.2307/3773001 
  • Wallace, J. (2018). Northern Kankanay Dictionary. Retrieved May 11, 2019 from
    https://northernkankanay.webonary.org

NATEY: When Igorots Reach Life’s End

With life comes death. All of us can agree that losing a loved one is very sorrowful and Igorots agree. When somebody dies, we usually hold a funeral, sing dirges, and pray to help the dead rest in peace. After a few days, the usual practice today is that the dead will be buried in a cemetery, cremated, or whatever their will says. But how did we, Igorots, handle funerals and how did we bury the dead?

During the ancient times, Igorots consider a lot of things when somebody passes away. Many different rituals are practiced, and there are many beliefs as to what happens to the dead during their wake and in the afterlife. The rituals and beliefs also vary from place to place. It also varies according to and how the person died. Due to the complexity and diversity of these practices, this post will only cover a summary of the rituals in the Mountain Province and Ifugao, as this post will become lengthy if all cultures and all detail will be included.

If a person dies from an accident, a murder, violence, or by suicide, a dog will be sacrificed to revenge those who did wrong to them. If a newborn baby dies, the burial follows immediately at day or at the next day when dead at night. If someone dies of old age, rituals will be performed.

The wake starts with the cadaver strapped on a chair, called a sangadil, to dry and ready the body for burial. Dirges, called bayao, will be sung while the vigil (adog) is done. Pigs (danglis) will be butchered as a sacrifice for the dead person’s spirit, and also serves as nutrition and strength to those who will participate in the vigil. It is expected that all relatives of the dead person will attend the funeral and contribute to the bereaved family. On the day before the burial, rites and a prayer (legleg) will be done to protect the family from further accidents.

In Ifugao, the burial takes place at least three days after death because it is believed that the soul may come back to the body within the first two days. But when the third day comes and no sign of life shows, the person is formally declared dead. In Sagada and neighboring areas, the person is formally declared dead (natey) when the time has come to take the body off the sangadil, usually after eight days, but it also depends on the family.

When the cadaver is taken off the sangadil, it is put in a fetal position, with the knees reaching the chin, and passed around to the relatives. It is said that if some of the bodily fluid drips on you, you will have luck. (Gross, I know, but that’s their practice.) After this, the day of the burial (leben) will proceed.

The coffin (koong) on where the dead will lie should be made of a hollowed pine tree log and the tree must not have been struck by lightning. The dead will be laid in the coffin in the said fetal position, and covered by blankets (uwes, tinetey). It is believed that a person should enter and exit the world at the same position.

In Sagada and neighboring areas, the coffin is placed in a high place, preferably in a burial cave. This is so it will be easier for the spirits of the dead to reach the sky. Also, People before did not want to be buried in the soil, because they believed that the water in the soil can seep through the coffin and speed up the decomposition of their body. In Ifugao, they bury the body underground, near the house of the bereaved family.

The hanging coffins in Sagada. Photo taken from
http://primer.com.ph/travel/2016/11/20/sagadas-hanging-coffins/

The day after the burial (koyag), the bereaved family will not work in the fields. Rather, they will take care of everyday things like cleaning the house, laundering clothes, and others. In Ifugao, the cadaver’s bones are exhumed after a year. They are cleaned, put in cloth and kept under the house, or, if the family is rich, it is put in a mausoleum or stone tomb. Sagada celebrates the Panag-apoy, done every year on November 1, where people burn pine needles to commemorate the dead. It is the equivalent of the All Saints’ Day.

Panag-apoy in Sagada Cemetery. Photo taken from
http://jonas.ph/blog/project/sagada-panag-apoy-festival/

As we can see, there is a great deal of complexity about the funeral and burial rites of the Igorots. This is why these practices are starting to fade, and people are turning towards more practical, cheaper Christian practices. I couldn’t possibly discuss everything with this post alone. There are many more things that I didn’t discuss in this post, although I want to share just a part of the culture of the Igorots, and to spark interest into learning about this, before we all forget and face the death of a beautiful culture.

References: