THE HANGING COFFINS OF

SAGADA
Philippi
nes-

Historica
l
backgro
und

Hanging
coffinsarecoffinswhich
have been placed on cliffs. They can
be found in various locations,
includingChina,Indonesia, and the
Philippines.
Hanging
coffins
are
an
ancientfuneralcustom
of
someethnic
groups.
Coffins
of
various shapes were mostly carved
from one whole piece of wood.
Hanging coffins either lie on beams
projecting outward from vertical
faces such as mountains, are placed

Beliefs
One of the most common beliefs behind this practice is that
moving the bodies higher up brings them closer to their ancestral
spirits. The elderly feared being buried in the ground. When they
died, they did not want to be buried because they knew water would
eventually seep into the soil and they would quickly rot. They wanted
a place where their corpse would be safe.
Years ago, during the headhunting days, savages from different
parts of Kalingawould hunt for the villagers heads, and take them
home as a trophy. Thats another reason why the dead were buried

The ritual
The coffins are either tied or
nailed to the sides of cliffs,
and most measure only
about one metre in length,
as the corpse is buried in
the foetal position. The
Igorots believe that a person
should depart the same way
he entered the world.

The
scale

It would be easier for you to realize the

scale of the coffins by watching this
video

Bibliograph
y

http://www.roughguides.com/article/hanging-coffins/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_coffins
http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2014/01/mysterious-ha
nging-coffins-of-sagada-philippines/
http://www.filipiknow.net/sagada-hanging-coffins/

ealized by Barbarii Mihai, Ana Dobre and Ana Teiusian