Philippines Kabayan Fire Mummies

I reached Manila in the Philippines on a warm evening in April. The next day, I took an eight-hour bus journey heading for Baguio where I would meet my guide. We took another bus to the mystical village of Kabayan a place so far away from civilisation and untouched by the trawls of tourism. My guide took me far into the mountains, to the caves of the fire mummies. My guide whispered prayers in his native tongue of Ibaloi on entering the cave where these 1000+ year old mummies rested in walnut shaped coffins. I wanted to capture these beautiful bodies as they are truly remarkable and I feel it is important that before any harm comes to them as time moves on and more tourists visit them, they are recorded for future generations. In my mind it made me feel at peace with their souls and I felt OK taking these photos. A true honour to these people that had lived so many hundreds of years ago. Carefully lifting the lid, my guide showed me a family in one coffin. 

You could tell he had great respect for the dead and I carefully photographed them. Then he showed me a woman who had died in childbirth and then inside another cave, a young child. To me, it was truly fascinating. The mummification process had begun even before their soul had departed from the body by drinking salty liquids when the person is dying, over time a process of cleaning them, heating them and putting herbs in them, smoke was used to continue the mummification process. It is truly remarkable that after thousands of years their bodies still remain with their organs intact and the skin on their bodies. Some even had the ancient forms of tattoos remaining on them. Exiting the cave, the lids were put back on the coffins and my guide closed the metal gates that kept them safe inside the caves. He told me stories of how one mummy had been stolen and a long period of storms occurred in the mountains until that mummy was returned to Kabayan. I am glad the mummies are so well looked after and that they hold such importance in the history of this land.