Fire Mummies
Encyclopedia
The Fire Mummies of the Philippines
, also known as the Kabayan Mummies, Benguet
Mummies, or Ibaloi
Mummies, are a group of mummies found in Kabayan
, a town in the northern part of the Philippines.
operations intensified in the area, the location of many caves became known. Unfortunately this has led to looting
, as unconscientious visitors have been eager to leave their mark, including graffiti
, on the Kabayan mummies. The Kabayan Mummies were listed in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund
. Funding through American Express
was used for emergency conservation and the creation of a comprehensive management plan. Additionally, local authorities from surrounding municipalities collaborated in cultural awareness campaign to introduce the Mummies to the Philippine people. Tourist
facilities were also constructed in order to control visitation and prevent harmful intrusions.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, also known as the Kabayan Mummies, Benguet
Benguet
Benguet is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad and borders, clockwise from the south, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Mountain Province, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya....
Mummies, or Ibaloi
Ibaloi
The Ibaloi or Nabaloi is an indigenous ethnic group found in the northern Philippines. The Ibaloi are one of the indigenous peoples collectively known as Igorot, who live in the mountains of the Cordillera Central on the island of Luzon...
Mummies, are a group of mummies found in Kabayan
Kabayan, Benguet
Kabayan is a 4th class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 12,657 people in 2,063 households. It is one of the vegetable farming towns in the province of Benguet. The imposing Mount Pulag, the third highest mountain in the...
, a town in the northern part of the Philippines.
History
Among the Ibaloi tribe, the deceased were placed in a fetal position into oval-shaped wooden coffins with etched anthropomorphic and geometric designs. The coffins were placed in mountainside caves, the location of which remained unknown for most of their history.Today
After loggingLogging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
operations intensified in the area, the location of many caves became known. Unfortunately this has led to looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
, as unconscientious visitors have been eager to leave their mark, including graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
, on the Kabayan mummies. The Kabayan Mummies were listed in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
. Funding through American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
was used for emergency conservation and the creation of a comprehensive management plan. Additionally, local authorities from surrounding municipalities collaborated in cultural awareness campaign to introduce the Mummies to the Philippine people. Tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
facilities were also constructed in order to control visitation and prevent harmful intrusions.
See also
- Colin Amery and Brian Curran, Vanishing Histories, Harry N. Abrams, New York, NY: 2001, p. 107.
- Walter Ang, "The Mummy - that Brendan Fraser didn't see," Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. E4.