Kabayan Mummies also known as Fire Mummies is a collection of remains of ancient people in Benquet in Pilippines. Local people who live around Kabayan Mummies claim that these burial caves are haunted by ghosts and spirits of people who died long time ago.
Location: Benguet
Kabayan mummies are named after their location in
the municipality of Kabayan in the province of Benguet, Philippines.
Kabayan is considered a center of Ibaloi culture, the traces of
which can be traced back to the pre-colonial era. A sociological
peculiarity of the historical Ibaloi culture is the mummification of
selected and socially significant dignitaries.
The mummification that the Ibaloi performed was an active method of
making mummies. This method is called fire mummification.
Preparations for the mummification were initiated shortly before the
person's death, by supplying the person concerned with drinks
containing a lot of salt and alkali. After the death, the dead man
was seated over a fire, which was of low to medium intensity, until
the body was completely dehydrated by the heat treatment. This
process could take up to two years. At the end of the treatment, the
old skin layers were removed and the body was embalmed with plant
extracts, and the body was also subjected to intensive tobacco smoke
treatment. This type of mummification was carried out from the 10th
to the 16th century and is regarded worldwide as the second example
of active mummification of the dead, which was carried out using a
different technique than mummification in ancient Egypt.
The mummies were then buried in wooden coffins, which were laid out
in artificial and natural caves. These caves are considered sacred
ground to the Ibaloi and are located near Mount Pulag National Park.
The burial places of the Kabayan mummies have been on the
Philippines' list of proposals for inclusion in the UNESCO World
Heritage List since 2006 and are considered the National Heritage of
the Philippines.