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Many of us associate mummies with embalmed Egyptian pharaohs from whom all organs were removed, in particular they even took out the brain through the nostrils. But few people know what on the planet one can meet other varieties of stored bodies. For instance, in the Philippines, there are the so-called Kabayana fire mummies, which are located in a natural environment and have all their organs, although it is generally believed that this certainly leads to decomposition.
Discovering Mummy Caves
Caves with unique remains were first discovered at the beginning twentieth century by local lumberjacks when the north of the Philippines began to fell trees industrially. Burials in the rocks did not were protected and therefore partially looted – perhaps lumberjacks also contributed to the plunder of tombs. Today, many tourists visit the caves, and the government the country is doing its best to preserve this historical Sight.
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However, to find these places is not so easy, despite all their openness to the public. Caves are high in the mountains, where impossible to reach by transport. Only an experienced guide is capable of take you along narrow and often dangerous paths so that you have the opportunity to witness unique mummies with your own eyes. According to According to local beliefs, the guide must be a direct descendant of the people balobs, otherwise the spirits of those to whom these dried bodies belong, get angry.
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The entrance to each cave is closed by bars, however a reputable guide easily lead you inside. There you will find yourself in the distance outstretched hands from several fire mummies keeping their secrets for many centuries. On the skin of corpses are clearly visible underbody drawings. Many mummies retain their hair and teeth. If you wish to inspect all the remains, then you have to climb very high. For a person with a heart condition or overweight such a climb to the mountains may be overwhelming.
How fire mummies were created
As mentioned above, the fire mummies of Kabayan retained all of them internal organs. Someone will say that this is real mysticism, since, say, the human digestive tract is known to it is impossible to mummify. However, the ancient Filipinos was available The secret to the complete mummification of bodies. It is believed that at first at death, ibaloi committed a very painful suicide by drinking special saline solution, which immediately began to dehydrate still living person.
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When an individual died, a complex process was carried out mummification of his corpse, lasting several months. Body carefully washed, brought into a sitting position and placed over weakly smoldering bonfire. Thus, the deceased literally smoked in intense warm and thick smoke. All liquids evaporated from the outer tissues bodies, making these tissues dry and stiff. However, there were still internal organs that also needed to be dried.
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To dry the corpse from the inside, smoke from special herbs was blown into his mouth. After that, the mummy was rubbed with fresh herbs, and then placed in small oval coffin made of wood. The sitting position of the bodies was extremely convenient, since the mummies did not take up much space, and the coffins not required in full growth. Similarly in one cave managed to place more coffins.
The looting of caves with mummies and their attendant curse
Despite the protection of the caves, as well as the apparent fragility of the mummies, some coffins with dried corpses were stolen from here and sold in Europe for impressive amounts. At a certain point, such theft turned into a real disaster: wanting to get rich even the death from the curse did not frighten the criminals. Then filipino authorities turned to the international community, asking them to return the remains to place of their burial.
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By 2004, only eight mummies returned to their homeland. Rest still kept in private collections of the rich. It costs note that Filipinos are not only worried about their national treasures, but also about the fates of dishonest mummy captors and their customers. The fact is that, according to local legends, make no corpses from caves, because in this case the perfume is in earnest angry and cursed anyone who will contribute to their separation with ancestors and native land.
One noteworthy theft, surrounded by a halo of mysticism, occurred almost a century ago, in 1919. Then the attackers are illegally they brought out not just a mummy, but the remains of the leader of the Baloah, Apo Anna, who passed away five hundred years before. The skin of this mummy covered in intricate tattoos that are thought to be worn magical destiny. Later it turned out that the remains Filipino pastor who handed over the coffin with the mummy to the sailors cargo ship. From there, the mummy went to Europe.
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A dishonest priest soon died of tuberculosis, and three of his companions-sailors also suddenly went to forefathers in strange circumstances. One fell overboard and hit his head on the boat, the second was beaten to death by his wife’s lover, the third just laid hands on himself. The fiery mummy was delivered to Spain, where she was shown in the museum. However, the institution has become various accidents occurred and had to be closed. Only in 1984 did Apo Anna return to the Philippines.
The Ybaloi people still exist, but in a modernized form. Its representatives no longer practice mummification, but deeply worship fire mummies of Kabayan, considering their caves sacred in places and conducting their religious rituals here.
Mummies Caves
