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Welcome to the House of Rules |
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Written by Joel Fagsao
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Sunday, 28 June 2009 03:17 |
 After work in Sagada, on a Saturday afternoon, we stopped at the Heritage Coffee Shop and Picnic Grove. We were met by the amiable owner, Ms. Grace Pit-og Dayag. Ushering us at the back of the cafe, we were greeted by fresh river air and a full view of Kadchug Rice Terraces. What struck me in particular were a row of miniature house replicas (locally term-fawi) set at the viewing area and the numerous signs posted in strategic areas of the coffee shop. Grace explained that part of the Heritage Coffee Shop property is pagwawalitan or hallowed ground. It is in this place where numerous rituals of making contact with our dead ancestors are made. As Grace started to explain, in my mind, I was having thoughts of a late night movie “The Lord of the Rings.” I blurted “this must be the centre of the universe. Well Grace continued to explain that in times of sickness or hardship, a family member contacts the local shaman (translation in my mind- career executives who contact the dead). Grace relates that even shamans from as far as Bauko visit the place. The shaman brings offerings such as wine, tobacco or chicken and performs the ceremony to contact the dead. The shaman usually gets a stick points to the air (in my mind, a magic wand- point to the east and point to the west...hello hello, anybody home?) north to south, east to west and starts to call the ancestors of the sick one. “Calling all the members of the family of ______who have gone ahead of us....hear ye....your grand daughter______________ is in need of your help.” Again, in my mind, it looks like the spot is where one can receive the strongest signal from the underworld or it could also be considered the door to the underworld. The ritual is performed (in my mind, message sent) and the shaman heads home expecting favours from the spirit world. And so, I realized that the reason signs (actually, rules) were posted so that visitors will be aware of the significance of the place to our Igorot culture. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 June 2009 04:34 )
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