Filipino Views onThe culture of Filipinos has a diverse cultural background. This can be seen through the diversity of its culture and traditions. A good example of this diversity is seen through the traditions that surround death and dying. Filipino traditions that surround death and dying are a blend of indigenous, Spanish, and American influence that makes Filipino traditions unique.ek ‘ie ~=—s The Philippines had been a colony of Spain for ~ ga over three hundred years until it was gained as ae” AUS. territory following the Spanish-American €; war in 1898 (Braun & Nichols 1997). In result, oh ae Filipinos were considered as U.S. Nationals, sf which allowed for immigration to the United States. These historical contexts face Filipinos with three different cultures; indigenous, Spanish, and American which all contribute to Filipinos’ culture and traditions.The Filipinos have many indigenous traditions that regard death and dying. One of these traditions is called an “atang” (Braun & Nichols 1997).Atang An atang is a feast prepared by the bereaved family. The feast is made up of the favorite food of the deceased person and a seat at the dinner table is left open in memory of that person. It is also a traditional food offering in the Philippines to ward off evil spirits. The most common atang to ward off sickness is a rice cake called sinukat. A table with an atang meal may be put in a new house. An atang may also be for a harvest offering. Ilocanos may prepare an atang before each meal.Another indigenous tradition is to bury the deceased with his or her personal belongings such as glasses, watch, and toiletries so the person’s soul would have no reason to come back from the dead to retrieve them. Also, another native custom would be to keep the deceased person’s body in the family’s home during the grieving process.Regional Burial TraditionsThe Apayaos, also known as the Isnegs or Isnags, of the Cordillera Administrative Region wrap the deceased person in a mat (ikamen) and is carried on the shoulders of the order to help the deceased person in his journey . ¢ such as jar basi to quench the deceased one's thirst, a spear and shield is also put inside in order to help 4% him protect himself from enemies. The coffin will then be lowered down either in the kitchen area of & their homes or in a burial site owned by his family.For eight days, the indigenous people from Benguet blindfold the dead and then sit it ona . chair that is placed next to a house's main entrance. The arms and legs are tied together in the sitting position. A bangil rite is performed by the elders on the eve of the funeral, which is a chanted narration of the biography of the deceased. During interment, the departed is directed towards heaven by hitting bamboo sticks together.Ve The Tagalog people had numerous burial practices prior to Spanish ne colonization and Catholic introduction. In rural areas of Cavite, trees are used as burial places. The dying person chooses the tree beforehand, thus when he or she becomes terminally ill or is evidently going to die because old age, a hut is built close to the said tree. The deceased's corpse is then entombed vertically inside the hollowed-out tree trunk. Before * colonization, a statue known as likha is also entombed with the dead inside the tree trunk. In Mulanay, Quezon and nearby areas, the dead are entombed inside limestone sarcophagi along with a likha statue. However, the practice vanished in the 16th century due to Spanish colonization. In Galatagan, Batangas and nearby areas, the dead are buried under the earth along with likha statues. The statues, measuring 6-12 inches, are personified depictions of anitos. Likha statues are not limited to burial practices as they are also used in homes, prayers, agriculture, medicine, travel, and other means.The Ilongot is buried in a sitting position, and if a woman, has her hands tied to her feet, to prevent her "ghost" from roaming.The Itnegs of Abra have a customary habit of burying their dead under their houses.One of the ancient customs for burying the dead in the Philippines is through the use of burial ‘jars known as Manunggul jars. These ancient potteries were found in the Manunggul Cave on the island of Palawan. A characteristic of the jars for the dead is the presence of anthropomorphic human figures on the pot covers. These figures embody souls riding | a boat for the dead while seafaring towards their sanctuary in the afterlife. These containers have been dated from 710 BC to 890 BC.In Sagada, Mountain Province, the ancient funeral norm of hanging coffins from mountain cliffs is still practiced by some minority groups. The purpose of suspending the casket from the mountain rocks is to bring the deceased closer to heaven. In ancient times, coffins were made from carved and _ hollowed-out wood. They are ‘hung’ in place through the use of projecting beams.‘a \\ For many weeks, the Tinguian people dress the Y dead body with the best garments, sit it on a chair, % , and sometimes put a lit tobacco source between the h dead person's lips. +nine-day recitation of the rosary, litanies, novenas, and Latin prayers after the burial, additionally chanting the Pahulayng Dayon or “Eternal Rest” (also known as "Gozos for the Dead"). Cebuanos also have superstitious beliefs related to funerals that include: placing ~ funeral alms or limos into a container, refraining from sweeping the floor of the deceased's home (wastes are collected by hand instead of being swept by brooms; other Filipinos also have this superstition), no bathing and no combing of hair on the part of relatives (other Filipinos too believe in this), placing worn mourning pins into the coffin during interment, preventing tears from dropping onto the glass plate of the casket(in order for the departed soul to travel in peace), placing a chick on top of the coffin of an individual who died due to a transgression (to hasten justice for the dead victim), wearing black or white clothes during the interment (except for a child who is dressed with a red-colored garment, as a deterrent from seeing the ghost of the dead relative), urging relatives to pass through under the casket before it is loaded onto the funeral hearse (to assist the surviving relatives in moving on with their life), marching the dead towards the church and the cemetery (known as the hatod, or “carrying the departed to his destination” on 7 foot), consuming food only at the cemetery after the interment, and passing through smoke while still within the cemetery or by the gates of the cemetery (to untangle the spirits of the dead from the bodies of the living).Merriment, singing, and poem recitations are ¥ * components of funerals in Oton, Iloilo. Gambling is 4 also permitted because gaming contributions help @ defray expenses incurred in burying the dead.T’boli tribe thrive near Lake Sebu and has an interesting philosophy of death and life. They believed that death occurs if his/her spirit leave the body permanently by the evil spirit, Busao. So their burial custom starts with laying the corpse on the boat-shaped coffin, which will be celebrated from a week to five months (and even a year for respected people like datu). The tribe often throws feast for commemoration in a positive vibe. This body, together with the wooden boat will be burnt at the end of the long wake, where the liquid extract from burnt woods will be collected for eatery. The tribe believes that the good qualities of the dead will be passed over through that liquid extract.This tribe occupying Surigao del Norte has customs that fear the spirit of dead. The tribe community move their settlements when a death occurs, because they believed that the spirit of dead will come back for a revenge. So the corpse is buried on the day of its death, using the leaves, mat and coffin to cover the body either in sitting or standing position. Just like usual burial, this coffin is buried under the soil or it is sometimes displayed on the platform for people in high positions within their community. The community mourns and prays for the dead for approximately 9 days.~ 4 Tausug people occupying Sulu are basically Muslims, 1 thus, they have defined set of burial customs in the \ strong influence of their religion. The process of burial contains four steps: Sutchihun (cleaning the > body), Saputan (wrapping the » body), Sambayanganun (obligatory prayer), and Hikubul (burial). The grave is created hollow under 6 to 9 feet depth in North-South direction, which will be prayed upon by a religious man for a peaceful rest of the dead. Afterwards, the grave will be closed using ding ding hali (means “wall of the rest”) made of huge flat slab.Manobos occupied hinterland areas which today are within Davao. Originally, they either wrapped the corpse in mat and bamboo slats to hang up on the tree or laid the dead on an elevated station (such as platform) beside the trees. Placing the body on an elevated place was believed to help the dead’s soul reach the heaven. However, after the Americans introducing Abaca plantation system in the 20th century, the custom changed to burying the corpse under the house. Due to the plantation, it became impossible to simply move out from their places like how they did before. For Ata-Manobos occupying § the forest areas of Davao, have the unique superstition in teaching Antuk [28](riddles) other than for wake ceremony will bring misfortune. So in Ata-manobos' joyful wake custom, close people of the deceased gather and sit around the corpse (in laid down position) and chat, tell stories, sing, dance, play instruments and more to elevate the atmosphere of grief.The Subanu people thriving near the riverside had different s burial procedure depending on the causes of death. For ordinary ag cause (dying due to age), the body was placed in the cemetery for < common families. However, if for special cause (like contagion and illnesses), Balian or shaman is called to apply herbs and prayers on the dead for driving away evil spirits. After then, would they prepare for the wake by sculpting tree trunk to create coffin. Sometimes, bodies are merely placed in the empty cave or under the house, so that they could prevent stray dogs digging out the graveyard. It is a unique custom of Subanu to place Chinese jars containing offerings or food with the dead body, so that the afterlife journey of the dead will be successful. For the highly respected members of the community, two people (one being Balian) chant Geloy (funeral song) during Gukas (ritual ceremony to special people). Just like mass, this ritual ceremony is accompanied by food and wine called Pangasi offered to the dead.Bilaan tribe is probably the most popular Mindanao occupants of Mountain provinces for Hanging Coffins of Sagada. Even before the influence of Christianity, the elders feared being buried on the ground, since they wanted to reach heaven in their afterlife. Out of love and concern, the family would hang the coffins on the wall of the cave (such as Lumiang cave). However, this kind of burial procedure was similar to other fishing communities like Banton of Romblon. Another unique characteristic of this pre-colonial burial custom contains the tradition of inserting jars in the coffin. This was similar to the Manunggul jar discovered in Tabon cave, Palawan, making the custom pre-existing even before the pre-colonial era. For Bilaan people, tree served as a zone of final rest, which is a unique pattern for most of the Mindanao tribes’ burial custom as well.Further influences on Filipino views on death and dying come from American exposure. When the Filipinos moved to the United States, Eaigsen their viewpoints on death and dying began to a change even more. For example, the novena eae prayers that were traditionally held in the deceased person’s house had to be moved to funeral homes because U.S. laws prohibit keeping dead bodies in the home for the nine- day service. Further, before American exposure, organ donation after death was not accepted among Filipinos. However, organ donation is more accepted among U.S. born Filipinos. What we can see here is not so much of a blending of viewpoints that we saw with Spanish, rather, a more direct influence from American culture.What is your opinion about the Filipino's funeral practices and burial customs?