The Hanging Coffins of Sagada

Yes, it has been a long time since our last post. Our busy schedule has gotten in the way of blog posting and for that we truly apologize. To make up for it, we have traveled all the way to Sagada to see the famous hanging coffins as well as the coffins inside the Burial Cave.

Going to Sagada was a fun experience albeit a tiring one. We had to endure hours of being inside the van as well as hours of climbing and hiking just to get to see the hanging coffins at the Echo Valley.

Hanging Coffins at the Echo Valley

The last coffin that was added to these group was in December 2010. It’s the brown coffin that you can see at the lower part of the picture. If you are wondering why there’s a cross there, some of the “residents” are actually Christian who would like to be buried the traditional way. If you are wondering what the chairs are for, these chairs were used in a ritual and was where the dead person was made to sit for days. If you are wondering why some of the coffins are small, it is because part of the Igorot’s burial rituals required the dead people to be in a fetal position.

Here’s one coffin at Echo Valley. This is not part of the group of hanging coffins in the first picture. You can see this coffin by going down Echo Valley right before you get to the area where the hanging coffins are. If you look closely at the actual coffin, you would be able to see the ones inside. There is one bone that has already fallen on the cave floor. The tour guide explained that there used to be many coffins in the snall cove at the foot of the Echo Valley. Unfortunately, a number of grave robbers have taken these bones.