Photos from open sources of
In the Philippines, there is a mountainous province of Sagada, where the dead are buried. not in the usual way for us. Coffins with the dead are not here buried in the ground, as is customary almost universally, and suspended on the rocks.
The cemetery has been over two thousand years old
A unique cemetery called “Sagada’s Hanging Coffins” It has a history of two thousand years. Here, since ancient times, coffins suspended from limestone cliffs on ropes, and it is believed the higher the deceased is suspended, the better, because according to popular belief Filipinos in this case, the soul of the deceased is closer to God, and therefore to her easier to fly to heaven.
A photo from open sources
At the same time, hanging coffins are well preserved, since they do not subject to some serious disasters, say, floods, looting and desecration by animals. Also themselves mountains turned into a kind of cemetery are considered sacred, and because every resident of Sagada wants to be after death precisely here in the mountains, not in the earth.
In some places there are so many hanging coffins that rocks (especially from afar) resemble some multi-story buildings with balconies. And all this looks both creepy and very unreliable: and it seems that coffins can be torn by the wind, blow it a little stronger. However, this is a misleading impression, as some coffins have been hanging here for many centuries, and nothing with them happens.
Secrets of unique burials
By tradition, every resident of Sagada prepares for himself such a hanging coffin, care of relatives is the funeral service the deceased, placing it in a cooked one (carved from wood) box and hanging the coffin itself high in the mountains. It turns out the impression that some virtuoso climbers are doing this. Themselves Filipinos do not demonstrate this process to anyone, that is, they keep in secret from strangers so ask them about it useless.
A photo from open sources
It’s not so easy to get to this hanging coffin cemetery, you need to drive a very bad car (you can say, just ugly) the road is about eight hours, and during the rainy season this way will take you twice as long. And although the distance to Sagada less than three hundred kilometers from the central motorway, few tourists decide to do it.
And finally, another amazing property of this unique cemeteries. The fact is that today in the Philippines it is forbidden to bury people in hanging coffins. Despite this, the number of coffins per the cliffs of Sagada are increasing markedly every year, which leads to thought: the natives are not going to give up this unique method of burial of the deceased. And therefore the most amazing cemetery The world continues not only to exist, but also to expand.
