Filipinos are big on honoring loved ones who have passed on, thus making All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day important holidays for people to come home to their hometowns and remember their loved ones who have gone ahead.
Remembrance, remembering – what does it take to remember someone who has passed on ahead of us? Of what purpose does remembrance have in our lives? For some, it’s a way to ease the pain of losing a loved one. For others, it’s an intricate ritual that is tied to obligation. While for some, it is giving value to what that person has given to them in their life. It’s a recognition of their continuing role in our lives, whether we like it or not.
The Ifugao way of remembrance
It was in December 2014 when I had my first encounter with a very intricate ritual that the Ifugaos do to remember their dead. It was mid-morning when we left the poblacion of Banaue. Our destination was the village of Gohang, one of the villages of Banaue municipality, and more importantly, it was the village where my mother-in-law, Mama Lourdes, grew up. When we got to our aunt’s house, located along the main road, there were lots of people already gathered around the house, instantly tipping us off that there was a gathering of sorts.
Upon approaching the main house, the image that struck me immediately was the huge carabao lying immobile on the ground in front of the house. A group of men were already working on the animal’s carcass, starting the process of butchering.
In front of the house, the family set up a small bench that looked like an altar and covered it with a white cloth. I noticed three bundles, wrapped in traditional Ifugao woven fabric of red with black accents. Near the bundles, there several lighted candles. I did not know what these were until I asked my husband later.
Different Reasons For a “Bogwa”
As I was caught unaware about what was happening, I began asking my husband what we were witnessing. It was called a “bogwa” which was being done because the family has been experiencing sickness in the past few months without knowing the reason why. They felt they needed to do a “bogwa” because they thought that the sickness maybe due to the displeasure of their ancestors who have already passed on.
After the carabao, two large pigs were also butchered. After which, it was time to prepare the food for those who gathered and joined the ritual.
My husband also told me that we caught the tail end of the ritual already as we came on the third and usually the last day, when a carabao would be slaughtered to signal the end of said ritual. In some cases, when the family can afford it, it can be more than just one carabao.
The first day of the ritual involves the ritual exhumation of immediate family members who have passed on. It is intricate because it involves taking out the remains, cleaning the bones, arranging them and wrapping them in traditional woven cloth. Only a few people are allowed to do this and they are called the “munhuhukut.”
In the center of the whole ritual is the priest, the “mumbaki.” He performs the necessary rituals according to why the “bogwa” is being performed. According to documented studies, a “bogwa” is usually performed for the following reasons: a person keeps on dreaming of a family member, to cure a sickness in the family, to pay tribute or if a widow or widower wishes to remarry.