Sagada's Mysterious Hanging Coffins

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 the steep 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

The hanging coffins (and chairs), as well as the echoes appearing in the aptly named Echo Valley, definitely create a mysterious and slightly creepy atmosphere.

Photo for memory against the background of hanging coffins.