Mysterious hanging coffins of Sagada

In most cultures of the world, it is customary to bury their dead underground, marking the place of burial with a monument or memorial plaque. However, representatives of some nationalities in China, Indonesia and the Philippines ... hang coffins with the bodies of their ancestors high above the ground right on sheer cliffs.

One of the places famous for its hanging coffins is the municipality of Sagada in the mountainous province of the Philippines. Here, even today, the ancient tradition of hanging coffins on the rocks is practiced.

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1. Hanging coffins in the Echo Valley, Sagada, are "reserved" mainly for the elders of Igorot with their families, because it is believed that the younger generations will be able to receive spiritual enlightenment after a successful "burial".

2. Relatives of the deceased sometimes even want to take the corpse to the coffin waiting for him on the cliff wall in order to soak in the fluids of the body, which supposedly store the talent and luck of the deceased.

3. Presumably, the corpses in the coffins are dressed in outfits of family colors and patterns, so that the ancestors in the next world would recognize them. According to tradition, the body is placed in a coffin in the fetal position, and the coffin itself is carved from a tree trunk. Moreover, often the future dead themselves cut out their own coffins.

4. The advantage of a hanging coffin is that the body of the deceased is closer to heaven, and they can better watch their family from above. However, a more practical reason is that hanging coffins do not take up space on the ground, which can be used, for example, for sowing crops.

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6. Sometimes a chair is also hung next to the coffin, on which the deceased sat shortly after death as part of a special death ritual.

7. Hanging coffins (and chairs) and echoes appearing in the aptly named Echo Valley definitely create a mysterious and slightly creepy atmosphere.

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9. Photo for memory on the background of hanging coffins.