KE - AL A. ALINDAYO MASS, July 2020. BOGWA A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao

BOGWA: A SURVIVING TRADITIONAL SOCIAL CONSTRUCT IN
SANAFE, LAMUT, IFUGAO
KE-AL A. ALINDAYO
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

BENGUET STATE UNIVERSITY, LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
(Social Studies)
JULY 2020
BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao /

KE- AL A. ALINDAYO July 2020
Contribution No. MA 2020-0803-343
Republic of the Philippines

BENGUET STATE UNIVERSITY
La Trinidad, Benguet
GRADUATE SCHOOL
This thesis hereto attached, entitled BOGWA: A SURVIVING
TRADITIONAL SOCIAL CONSTRUCT IN SANAFE, LAMUT, IFUGAO
prepared and submitted by KE-AL A. ALINDAYO in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS (Social Studies), is hereby
accepted.
GIGY G. BANES, PhD ANN HEATHER P. KIWANG, MAT

Member Member
Date Signed: ______________ Date Signed: ____________
RUTH S. BATANI, PhD

Adviser
Date Signed: ______________
Accepted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS (Social Studies).
SAMUEL S. POLIDEN, PhD ROMEO A. GOMEZ JR., PhD

Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Dean, Graduate School
Date Signed: __________ Date Signed: __________
ii
CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that all sources used in this thesis have been properly
acknowledged or duly cited.
This is to further certify that the research is an original undertaking and has
not been submitted for another degree.
KE-AL ABLANG ALINDAYO

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There is no definite formula to success that fits all people who do not want
to settle for mediocrity. I believe in the maxim: “Unless we do it, we’ll never know
if we can”. To finish my master’s degree, aside from the courage, passion and
determination as my main ingredient to succeed in broadening my horizon, I would
also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the following people who voyaged
with me to attain this goal.
Above all, the omnipresent God, for giving me strength, for answering my
prayers, for lifting and sheltering me from thoughts of impossibilities, doubts and
negativities. He, who blest me with people that inspired me to pursue my study,
Thank you so much Dear Lord.
I offer my sincerest gratitude to my adviser, Dr. Ruth S. Batani, who has
supported me throughout the thesis with her patience, knowledge and expertise
allowed me to grow. Without her invaluable input and critiques, this thesis would
not have been completed or written. One simply could not wish for a better adviser.
To my panel members, Dr. Gigy G. Banes and Ma’am Heather B. Kiwang,
your critiques and suggestions were of great importance. To my English critic Mr.
Julsen Copete who allotted his time and effort to check the grammar of this paper.
To Ma’am Dolipas who also proofread my paper. To the BSU Graduate School
staff who were part of improving the technical aspect of my manuscript, Thank you
for your help.

Special thanks to my colleagues, Ms. Ferlyn Talban, and Ms. Maricar Delmas
who supported me by giving their insight to improve my manuscript. To Mr. Jemar
Patnao who helped in the technical aspect particularly in the form and style of this
paper. To my parents and siblings who supported me in this endeavor, they were
my inspiration in writing this thesis, Thank you so much.
KE-AL A. ALINDAYO

ABSTRACT
KE- AL A. ALINDAYO July 2020. BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional
Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao. Benguet State University, La Trinidad,
Benguet.
Adviser: Ruth S. Batani, PhD
The study aimed to document Bogwa as a surviving traditional social
construct in Sanafe, Ifugao. It specifically delved into the prevailing notion of
Ifugao about bogwa. It also looked into the ritual as integral healing that affects the
wellbeing of an individual. It aims to explore the sociocultural significance of the
disappearing traditional culture in the contemporary time.
The exploratory qualitative research design was used to document bogwa
as a surviving traditional social construct. Key Informant Interview in the form of
maki-is-istorya (story telling) was used to obtain data from 20 key informants who
were cured by the exhumation ritual, millennial and post millennial generation.
Findings show that there are two prevailing notions of Ifugaos to bogwa.
Religion primarily affected the perception of people towards the ritual as well as
education. Modernization and education afforded changes in the process of bogwa
as indigenous people improve and develop. But despite the changes, it did not alter
bogwa as a traditional healing among the Ifugaos as they seek the wisdom of their
predecessor in curing spirit inflicted illness which modern medicine failed to cure.

In addition, the sociocultural significance of bogwa in contemporary time
includes the enhancement of indigenous peoples’ knowledge and practices. The
ritual intensify community relationship by keeping closer community ties, fostering
cooperation and boosting ethnic identity and cultural pride.
Comparing the number of exhumation ritual conducted in the barangay and
in other municipalities, the number of families who perform the ritual decreased
dramatically. There is no denying that after twenty or thirty years from now, the
exhumation ritual might not be observed as people embrace changes induced by
technological advancement and modernity.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Title Page…………………………………………………………………….. i
Approval Sheet ………………………………………………….................... ii
Certification …………………………………………………………………. iii
Acknowledgements........................................................................................... iv
Abstract………………………………………………………………………. vi
Table of Contents……………………………………………………………. viii
List of Tables ………………………………………………………………... x
List of Figures………………………………………………………………. xi
List of Plates…………………………………………………………………. xii
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………. 1
Background of the Study…………………………………………….. 2
Conceptual Framework……………………………............................. 13
Statement of the Problem …………………………............................ 25
METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………………. 26
Research Design…………………………………………………….. 26
Population and Locale of the Study………………............................. 27
Data Collection Instruments.………………………………………... 40
Data Collection Procedure .. ……………………………………….. 41

Page
Treatment of Data……………………………………….................... 41
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION……………………………………………... 42
Ifugao Prevailing Notion of Bogwa…………………………………. 42
Bogwa, as Integral to Healing and Wellbeing……………………. 53
Changes in the Process of Bogwa…………………………………... 73
Sociocultural Significance of Bogwa………………………………... 79
Summary…………………………………………………………...... 84
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS…………………………... 87
Conclusions………...………………………………………………… 87
Recommendations……………………………………………………. 88
LITERATURE CITED ……………………………………………………… 89
APPENDICES………………………………………………………………. 97
A Interview Guide A ………………….………………………… 97
B Informed Consent………….…………………………………... 99
C Letter to Key Informants……………………..………………... 100
D Documentations…….…………………………………...……... 101
E Transcribe Sample Interview Data……………………………... 103
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH………………………………………………… 107

LIST OF TABLES
Table No. Page
1 Comparison of the deities and ancestor......................................... 7
2 Profile of the key informants with bogwa experience………...... 38
3 Profile of the key informants under the young generation............ 39
4 Profile of the key informants under the post-millennial group…. 40

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No. Page
1 Schematic diagram of the study………………………….……. 24
2 Satelite image of Lamut, Ifugao: the blue line indicates the road
from Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya to Lamut, Ifugao…................... 28

LIST OF PLATES
Plate No. Page
1 An Image of Purok 6, Sanafe, Lamut Ifugao………………........ 29
2 Common housing architecture of Sanafe……………………. 33
3 Garbage truck………………………………………………... 35

INTRODUCTION
“Ipaptoh juh shuy lubfuh na” (Clean her grave), these were the words of the
mumbaki (native priest) relayed to my older brother during the agba, a ritual
conducted by a mumbaki in determining the spirit ‘who’ inflicted an illness. After
performing the agba, the mumbaki recommended that my family should exhume
the bones of my 13 year’s dead grandmother and offer her one thousand pesos. My
family sought for the help of a mumbaki because of the unexplained condition of
our father. He was diagnosed with Tuberculosis, and was under medication for
months, however his medications seemed to be failing him because his condition
never gets better since we observed that his body was weakening. He can no longer
walk on his own; worst, he was manifesting disorder on his muscle reflexes
(shaking hands and feet) like our late grandmother when she was still alive. With
our father’s condition, our relatives advised us to seek the help of a mumbaki to
determine possible reason behind my father’s suffering.
With the hope of helping our father, we conducted bogwa for three days.
Bogwa is a well-known exhumation ritual in Ifugao which is usually done for the
purpose of divining the needs of the spirit of the individual. The initiation of the
ritual is based on the belief that the spirit has notified the living about the need for
bogwa by making a family member sick or through dreaming about the dead.
Which, I realize this kind of ritual is necessary to ‘restore’ the disturbed
relationship between the living and the dead. In the words of Cannell (1999) in her

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Bicol study, what matters is not really the soul going to heaven or hell, but that the
separation of the dead and the living is ‘properly performed’ through rituals.
Following this argument, in the case of Sanafe in Ifugao, such ritual performances
is aimed at restoring strained relationship or in rekindling relationship between the
dead and the living and even spirits. It is from this perspective that this study is
taking off: to understand how bogwa or the exhumation of the dead contribute to
the health and well-being of its Ifugao seekers. Initially, I wondered and questioned
the effectiveness of the exhumation ritual; I am also asking why locals believe in
the practice the fact that each one belongs to a particular religious sect. I am not
exempting my family as I also found myself participating in this ritual. I also ask
continuities and alteration in the practice of bogwa. As a member of the culture on
which bogwa is being practice, I believe I need to understand the continuing
observance of this ritual as I am also a part of the culture.
Background of the Study
Many researches have been published about the Ifugao culture. Many of
these documents tackled concerns about the rice terraces, beliefs in deities and
gods, mumbaki, hagabi, Hudhud, and the Alim. Bogwa is one of the most
researched topic. Dait (2000) briefly discussed reasons why bogwa is being
conducted; Tuguinay (2009) provided a narrative on how bogwa as a ritual is being
conducted. Transterra Media (2013) also posted an article online about the concept

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of bogwa. Dumangeng Pride (2014), a You tube channel uploaded a four-minute
video depicting the ‘cleaning and rewrapping of the bones’ which is a part of the
process of the exhumation.
In this study, I hope to contribute to the literature by focusing on the
surviving practice of bogwa as I am looking at this as an indigenous knowledge that
is very functional in terms of understanding the notions of Ifugao health and well-
being. Furthermore, bogwa is referred to as the second funeral of the dead because
after cleaning and rewrapping the remains, the family needs to hold a wake for the
bones. Based on my observations, the wake serves as an avenue and opportunity
for the spirit to express his demands or grievance by possessing the mumbaki (a
native priest) during the ritual. Moreover, the ritual is being practice by the Ayangan
and the Tuwali, both sub-ethnic groups in Ifugao. In this study bogwa will be used
and viewed as the general concept of exhumation ritual practiced by the Ifugaos,
setting aside the difference on how the Ayangans or the Tuwalis perform the ritual.
I want to investigate the significance and meaning of bogwa to the people
of Sanafe, Ifugao where almost everyone is a ‘Christian’ yet they also observe
rituals such as bogwa. The study sought to know and understand the prevailing
notion on bogwa, how it became integral to healing and well-being of an Ifugao.
Rituals like bogwa deserve attention because it is an existing functional social
construct and structure that contributes to the wellbeing of the Ifugaos. Rituals like

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bogwa also exemplify that Igorots are rich with indigenous knowledge that are
worth transmitting to next the generation.
To be able to understand the prevailing notion of bogwa in conjunction with
the current situation and significance of the ritual to the Ifugao community, bogwa
will be viewed into two lenses: as an exhumation ritual and as a folk healing integral
in Ifugao well-being. The word ‘prevailing notion’ will be used in this research as
an identifier of what present day Ipugaw (Ifugao blooded individual) idea or
conception towards the exhumation ritual. In this study, bogwa will be particularly
useful in understanding changes in Ifugao culture.
Rituals are worth studying because it orients and shape people’s thoughts
about a certain practice. It demonstrates communal activities that intensify
solidarity and the observance of hierarchy within a society. For Forbes (2017)
culture is not simply a collection of artifacts and rituals but encompasses meanings,
ideals, habits and ways of interpreting the world that a particular community shares.
Digging deeper into the practice of a certain ritual gives people the opportunity to
see and understand practices because it directs them to see another angle of focus.
Bogwa as an exhumation ritual has intricate processes. For it to work,
paying attention to the processes and methods of performing this ritual is important.
The article posted by International Information and Networking Centre for
Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCHAP) provided the
following as the procedure of bogwa;

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Bogwa officially starts when the punhukutan or the day when the
bones are brought out of the tomb. During the punhukutan, the
munhukut- person who clean the bones, will prepare the remains by
removing it from its original shroud to be cleaned, arranged and
rewrapped in a new uloh- a hand-woven blanket held together by a
wano or g-string for male and a tolge- a wrap-around skirt tied with
a balko-traditional belt for the female. The shroud is then paced on
a table for public viewing. Before the day is over, an elderly relative
or someone close to the deceased offers a baki or prayer followed
with a iyo- dirge to recount the good deeds done by the person while
alive. On certain days during the bogwa, offerings are made by the
mumbaki while invoking the linnawa– soul of the dead person, his
deceased father, mother or sibling through mungkotad- the
messengers are sent to inform the souls that they are being
summoned on earth. On the last day of the bogwa, after the bones
have been returned to its grave, the mumbaki performs the final rite
called Kahiw- it is meant to remove the food prohibitions observed
by the family and their relatives during the bogwa (ICHCHAP;
2018).
Like the document cited above, many literatures already have discussed the
different reasons why bogwa is conducted, the procedures involved and the
paraphernalias that comes with the ritual. The contribution of this study is to
explore how bogwa become integral to healing and well-being. It is also worth
noting that bogwa only cure spirit inflicted illness because the sickness is only a
cover-up to the true intention of the spirit. Spirit inflicted illness is one of the ways
the dead use to communicate with the living. As suggested by Sacla (1987) spirits
are invisible, they communicate to human beings through dreams, mediums (native
priest), omens, signs or by causing illness to the living. In the study of Taguba
(2019) she revealed that she herself experienced how she fell ill as her leng-ag or
soul failed to acknowledge the ancestor-spirit who was actually her grandmother.
This is similar to what my father experienced – where his mother was trying to

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convey messages to him. In another study, Camfili (2001) provided a possible
explanation for experiences of ‘illness’ that is related to the soul and spirits where
she argued that ancestor spirit who interacts with the living extend their feelings
towards their relatives by speaking to them. She further added that the soul responds
through the material body and so the affected person would get ‘sick.’
For the Igorots, the physical or medical life is intertwined with the belief of
spirits. Being co-existent with the spirits, the life, health and the well-being of the
living is susceptible to the disturbance of the unseen. Having this as Igorot
worldview, it paves way for the construction of indigenous or folk healing rituals
giving popularity to diagnosticians locally termed as mambunong, mansip-ok,
mandadawak and mumbaki and others. Cawed (1972) and Ngodcho (2004)
illustrates the powers of sup-ok- a traditional healing process in Bontoc Mountain
Province, where by the mansup-ok can call the spirits of the patient ancestors to
identify who inflicted the illness then the mansup-ok appeased the spirit and cure
the ill. Most healers consider their healing craft as God-given gift, a calling from a
supernatural being wherein their healing practice is profusely infused with prayers
and religious rituals (Abella et al., 2019). It implies that Igorots daily exposure and
management of natural habitat, with the spirits or unseen as stewards of these
natural resources, allowed them to construct traditional healing practices, aside
from ancestor worship that is elaborate. As stated by Palaganas (2001) traditional
medicine are practices, methods, techniques and substances embedded in a matrix

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of values, traditions, belief and patterns of ecological adaptation that provide means
for maintaining good health and preventing disease and injury.
Table 1 shows a comparison made by Medina (2000) citing the writings of
Lambrecht (1957) on Ifugao beliefs. Lambrecht emphasizes the Ifugao worship of
dead ancestors that in all sacrifices, the mumbaki invoke the ancestors, and invite
them to partake in the meals. He concluded that ancestor spirits have not become
deities in the other world. In the table, deities are more powerful than the ancestor
spirits as they can molest people by causing accidents, destroy crop, and more.
Thus, the researcher wants to use the comparison in the table to emphasize that the
illness experienced by the key informants in this study were caused by ancestor
spirits and not the deities.
Table 1. Comparison of the deities and ancestor
DETIES ANCESTORS
1. Never considered as belonging to the 1. remain members of the human
human family; family and come always to
2.They come only to participate with men participate in the meal of all the
in a feast or other sacrifice when they are sacrifices offered
invited to do so. 2.want to raise victims, their
3. Want only to eat victims in their abode. domestic animals are the same as
4. They want to raise domestic animals those of the earth, but as the
but they are of another species than the ancestors are themselves
pigs and chickens man raise. spiritualized they can only raise the
5. Can molest people on earth in many souls of these animals
ways; only cause death or illness
6. they can cause accident, destroy crops, 3. Are less powerful among the
cause illness or death etc. supernatural beings.

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According to Khonen and Khonen (1986) the origin of the healing method
among the Igorot is unknown but as far back 1700, healing practices among certain
tribes who inhabited the wild and impenetrable mountains of the Cordillera Central
were recorded by Antonio Mozo (1763). Meaning, folk healing among the Igorot
has been practiced even before the colonization of the Philippines. This indicates
that indigenous knowledge particularly folk healing rituals have been saving the
lives of the Igorots by curing and maintaining good health and balanced well-being.
In connection to Igorot traditional healing, Engangan (2003) enumerated
the healing rituals in Benguet. These are the Kedaw, which is performed to offer
material things to the spirit of the dead who came back to ask for these offerings by
inflicting disease to their kin; lawit, a ritual done in connection with the belief that
the ill person may have been momentarily separated from his spirit, thus to call
back the spirit that aimlessly rooms around, a lawit must be performed to ease the
body; Epas, a last resort ritual to save a person who is gravely ill and who is
hovering life and death, whose spirit is believed to be imprisoned by mountain
spirits; bayani and pasang are healing rituals performed to cure impotency,
frigidity, bedridden and inability of a woman to bear a child inflicted by tomongao,
spirits which are believed to be sensitive and easily annoyed by waste pollution and
dumping of debris to their sanctuaries. The angered tomongao inflicts sickness to
humans whom they caught disturbing their sanctuaries. The above mentioned
healing rituals signify that illnesses are believed to be related to the relationship of

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Igorot to the unseen. Thus, these traditional healing practices as indigenous
knowledge contributes greatly in maintaining the well-being of the Igorots.
Well-being is generally defined as a state or alignment of the body, mind
and spirit (Bakken, 2019; Better Health Australia, 2018; United States Department
of Health & Human Services, 2019). Meaning, well-being is the combination of
person’s physical, mental, emotional and social health which encompasses positive
emotions like satisfaction and happiness together with the absence of negative
emotion like depression and anxiety. In the context of bogwa as contributory to
Ifugao well-being, besides traditional healing method that helps in sustaining the
balance of the body, the ritual is a process that enhances social, mental and
emotional state of an Ifugao considering that the ritual is a communal activity, it
requires people to help which eventually results to the enhancement of social
relations in the community.
Death rituals among the Igorots have always been elaborate and as noted by
Russell (1989; cited in Batani, 2015) curing and death rituals persisted. Rituals can
be more complex especially if the dead communicates through dreams or sickness.
Bogwa as practiced in Sanafe Ifugao is a manifestation of the persistence of these
rituals. Bogwa as a healing ritual is an example of indigenous knowledge shared by
Ifugaos. Indigenous knowledge are products of our constant interaction to the
environment. This know-how and practices are based on how we see and
understand the world around us which eventually results to the construction of our

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worldviews. Indigenous worldview is the view from within as noted by Conklin
(1954, cited in Nakashima and Roué, 2002). This means that indigenous people
have structures of thought built into the local language without the influence of
western culture. Thus, Indigenous worldviews are being demonstrated in
understanding and explaining a phenomenon, in curing diseases and injuries, in
solving disputes and many more.
Prill-Brett (2001) and Agoot (2018) noted that ritual animals are being
sacrificed during Igorot rituals. For the Buwayas in Kalinga, the purpose of animal
sacrifices is to save the life of the sick. As argued by de Raedt (1989) sacrifice
must be done to defeat the demon who captured the soul of an individual. While
for the Kankan-eys in Benguet according to Sacla (1987) sacrificial animals like
chicken, dog, water buffalo and other paraphernalia are important as the spirit world
are very specific in their request for the kind of animals to be sacrificed; in this case
to make the ritual acceptable and effective. In Ifugao rituals, Delos Reyes and Delos
Reyes (1978) enumerated the following as primary requirements for a particular
ritual to commence; rice bran, betel nut, incantations called baki, animal sacrifices
to ancestors, gods and spirits. Importantly, Sacla (1987) pointed that ritual materials
are categorized according to the objectives of the rituals. These are as follows, ritual
materials for healing purposes; ritual material for thanksgiving feast and ritual
material for funeral ceremonies.

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Nowadays, social change is inevitable. As pointed by Form and Wilterdink
(2002), social change is the alteration of mechanism within the social structure
characterized by changes in cultural symbols, rules of behavior, social organization
and value systems. Changes in culture as an aspect of social change are influenced
by education and religion as people continuously communicate and improve their
quality of life. In line with religion and education, Christianity is another important
element. The number of mumbaki (native priest) dropped since religious sect
opposes the act of paganism. Ananayo (2007) pointed that when Christianity was
introduced in the Ifugao province by missionaries in late 1800’s, they strongly
opposed Ifugao practice of polytheism and animism. Ananayo added that by
embracing the teachings of Catholic faith, most of the Ifugaos discarded their
traditional religious faith as they were convinced of its evil character and that their
ritual paraphernalia bear evil spirits. The missionaries had struggled in convincing
the Ifugaos to leave their customary practices. As reiterated by Ngalob (2013) one
of the trends that are happening in every community is the inevitable socio-cultural
changes brought forth by education, religion and economic opportunities.
Amores and Martin (2014; cited Luis Binwag), a mumbaki from Hungduan
Ifugao, who said that many Ifugaos have been Christianized and educated that
prompted them to abandon traditional practices to look for better jobs, other than
farming. This illustrates that native priests themselves notice the effects of religion
and education in the continuation of Ifugao traditional practice. Furthermore,

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Bimmolong et al. (2005) posited that animistic rituals are no longer observed in
Mayoyao, Ifugao however, when some of them are confronted with serious
calamities and sickness, they would doubt the ability of the Christian faith, so some
seek the aid of Mayoyao deities.
In connection to social change, Martin (2017) reported that bogwa is one
of the fast disappearing practices of the Ifugao province. Therefore, documenting
it through a research is one way of saving the dying culture. Bantas (2019) posits
that indigenous practices would be lost because of modernization and intermarriage
of cultures unless documented by a local who has direct knowledge of the
community’s traditions and practices.
Thus, the findings of this research will help curriculum designers and
educators in contextualizing indigenous knowledge to the lessons and subjects
taken by the student. Incorporating the ritual practices in the curriculum will help
in the transmission of the social and cultural significance of bogwa to Ifugao society
especially now that the lesson taught at school sets asides indigenous knowledge.
As pointed by Abayao et al. (2017),
Generations of Ifugaos have passively absorbed the standardized

history and social studies lessons developed in the national school
system, as if these where their own. There was a little room to
reintroduce Ifugao culture as part of formal education. This
penchant for uniform pedagogy transformed entire generation of
Ifugaos to the ways of the dominant Filipino culture. (Abayao et al,
2017).

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The research will also contribute to the existing studies related to bogwa
because it features changes in the original process of the ritual. In line with social
changes posed by modernization, bogwa altered some of its procedure to fit the
needs of the current generation. I also hope to understand deeper meaning and
significance of the ritual to the lives of the Ifugao and to myself by exploring social
connection and values catalyzed in the performance of bogwa. The study also
wishes to break the animistic conotation attached to the ritual and direct the focus
of any observer on the Ifugao values sewn in the execution of the ritual and its
functionality to Ifugao community.
Conceptual Framework
This part of the paper presents A.R Radcliffe-Brown’s theory of structural
functionalism as a central concept in this study including social construct theory by
Berger and Luckmann (1966). Theories on human agency also guided the study in
understanding the present construction of bogwa.
Bogwa and Indigenous Worldview
Society as an organized group of people associated with cultural, religious,
and political purposes is like nets woven by individuals and groups. Societies have
their own views; people tend to establish a common idea or understanding by
creating what we call worldview. As defined by Redfield (1951) worldview is the
outlook of a person towards the universe or the world which allows the person to

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describe a way of life. Thus, a world-view is assumed as the self’s idea of a universe
which in turn be shared with other people through social interaction that eventually
formulates bases for societies in constructing a group of concepts like culture,
tradition, and practices. Generally, the indigenous worldview speaks of the close
relationship of humans, nature and even the non-human.
As described by Lewis (1991) the people of prewar in Buguias, Benguet are
‘continually touched by host of gods and spirits both benign and malevolent, who
influences the people in all their activities.’ In Lewis description, “a successful and
progressive businessman, a farmer with bountiful harvest, an elected official, or
anyone who attained a high professional status and a man whose life was spared
from accident are believed to be lives favored and protected by the spirits. These
spirits bring back good luck in accordance to the care they recieve from humans. It
is from this nature of worldview that the customary practice of thanksgiving feast
in honor to the gods, deities and ancestral spirits are performed by the people of
Buguias”. This is transported in today’s celebration of rituals for good vegetable
harvest as well as cultural practices (Lewis, 1991). In addition to the link between
the Igorots and spirits, Moss (1920) explained that an Ibaloi may be visited by the
displeasure of the unseen for not celebrating a ritual on the proper occasion, or in
violating a taboo.
Like the Igorot’, Bicolano’s of Southern Luzon also believe that the world
of humans is co-existent with the world of spirits which euphemized the term tawo

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which means people or tawohan- the people. According to Cannell (1999) tawo has
two kinds, the maboot- the understanding tawo and maisog- the aggressive tawo.
When people annoy or hurt a tawo, they are likely to inflict illness like naibanan-
(accompanied) meaning, the spirit of the living has gone to the world of the tawo.
As an effect, the well-being of the person is unbalanced causing discomfort and
sickness.
As pointed by Remme (2016) shared sociality in Ifugao is the belief that
spirits inhabit the same world as the living human being, the two classes of beings
exist in different dimensions. He added that the shared sociality of the unseen and
the living are actualized when spirits contacts human through dreaming or illness,
or when the living invoked the spirits for favor through baki. Thus, shared sociality
means the co-existence of the living and the unseen. However, with this shared co-
existence, the unseen can inflict harm to the living whenever they are not pleased
or in favor to an act (Lewis,1991). According to Pawid-Keith (1962) Ifugao’s right
to morality is in conformity to the will of gods and deities because when these
supernatural beings disapprove an act, they bestow punishment to humans in the
form of calamities and misfortune. Power of gods and deities over humans are
manifested in the form of illness, death, catastrophe (Khonen & Khonen, 1986;
Rheenen, 1998). In this study, bogwa serves as an avenue for the living to offer the
request and to appease their dead through a mumbaki who will send the offering to
the world of spirits.

16
Cannell (1999) has elaborated that ”tawo- people we cannot see is co-
existent with people like us, but their (tawo) world is misaligned or is an inversion
of the world we see”. Cannell added that what we see are rice fields but it may be
a road in the world of tawo, they may have their houses where our water-pumps or
pigsties are located. From this shared co-existence, an inconvenience arises since
people like us cannot see them, we might accidentally bump into a tawo, treading
on them or worse urinating on them which in turn they cause illness to unwary
people as a reprisal.
Refracting Cannell’s concepts to the Ifugao bogwa, it illustrates that there
is no clear boundary between the living and the unseen, that both co-exist and that
the spirit of the dead can influence the activities and behavior of the living. The
connection between humans and spirits as an indigenous world view is evident
among the Igorots.
The above paragraphs clearly explain that Igorots have indigenous
worldview about the environment and thus guiding them on how to interact and
behave. Kawagley et al. (1998) suggests that the indigenous worldview
conceptualizes the principles and beliefs which people have acquired to make sense
of the world around them. Thus, worldview is important because it gives people
foundational belief towards a thing or a phenomenon. People’s world views play
an important role in how they manage, react and live their lives. This claim is
supported by Vidal (2008) who described that people interact with others to have

17
implicit and pre-ontological answers for each worldview questions and to be able
to understand and predict features of the world. Meaning, as part of daily human
interaction, people set, construct and share group world-views that guide them
throughout their lives.
Bogwa as a Social Structure
Social structures is inseparable with society since it is formed along with
social relationships, behavior or culture in general. It is a product of social
interaction. As pointed by Martin (2009) there is no society as a thing in itself but
persons and their action, and these interactions themselves have a tendency to reify,
to become thing/like and guide spontenous action. Radcliffe-Brown (1952) stated
that social structure are sort of ordered arrangements of parts or components
including people as components or unit of social structure that occupy position in
social system. Radcliffe-Brown further emphasize that the social relationship
which the continuing network constitute social stucture which were determined by
social processess as products of peoples interaction.
Banaag and Cruz (2016) enumerated the different components of social
structures namely: social function, social relationship and social interaction. Under
social function, these are the results or outcome of actions and activities in relation
to social structure. While in social relationship, it is the bond or connection between
and among individuals and groups that are forged or established out of social
interaction and other social processes. While in social interaction, these are the

18
language mediated process of reciprocal responses or reaction occuring between
individuals.
A related concept here is structural functionalism is an approach in the field
of social science that explains that each institution, relationships, roles and norms
together constitutes a society which serves a purpose; each is indispensable for the
continued existence of others and society as a whole. Barnard (2000) emphasized
that structural functionalism tends to be concerned less with individual action or
needs, and more with place of individuals in the social order.
An institution like the family, education, and religion are examples of social
structures that have essential functions for the society such as sexual, economic,
educational and spiritual needs of its members. In sociological studies, there are
two functions in a given social structure, the so-called latent and the manifest
function. As cited by Cole (2019) manifest functions are those that are intended or
anticipated by the people to be fulfilled by the institutions meaning, a particular
structure was created because of its effects to the society like health, culture and
education institutions. While latent functions are the unexpected effects of
institutions. It means that these are not consciously intended function of social
structure but has beneficial effects to the society. The practice of Milang-lang by
the Tuwalis in Ifugao illustrates the latent and manifest function of a ritual. Milang-
lang is like bogwa wherein the bones of the dead are exhumed to clean and rewrap
it with a new blanket. The said ritual only lasts for a day compared to bogwa which

19
is a minimum of three-day. The manifest function of the milang-lang is to clean the
bones of the dead while. While the latent or unintended function of milang-lang is
the reunion of family members as relatives participate in the said occasion.
Bogwa as a Social Construct
Gender, race, religion as well as culture, tradition and others are examples
of social constructs that are developed based on the interaction of people, and those
construct, that last over time are those that have meanings which are widely or
generally accepted. According to Berger and Luckmann (1966) the analysis of
social construction of reality is based on the sociology of knowledge. It signifies
that people’s knowledge is made and shaped by social organization of a community
or society within which social construction like family, education, culture and
gender are products of interaction between people. Santos (2015) believed that
cultural and social norms are socially constructed reality that sets parameters on
motion of biology, gender and sexuality. It entails that social construct are created
to preserve, modify and protect each individual’s freedom, development and
totality. Berger and Luckmann (1966) further argue that, sociology of knowledge
does not only deal with variety of empirical knowledge in human societies, but also
with the processes by which any body of knowledge comes to be socially
established as reality. It explains that institutions like religion, culture and societies
are realities constructed by individuals as a product of social interaction and are
generally accepted in a given society. Thus, social construction theory will expose

20
bogwa as a social construct among the Ifugaos as a local knowledge emanated
through constant interaction. On the other hand, Social constructivism is the theory
that people develop knowledge of the world in a social context, and much of the
perceived reality depends on shared assumptions of people (Vinney, 2019).
Constructivism is an extension of symbolic interaction theory that proposes that
reality is cognitively constructed by people. Meaning, Social constructivism
focuses on individual’s learnings as a product of his interaction to groups of people.
From the above mentioned theories, we can say that ‘bogwa’ is symbolic of the
Ifugao continuing quest to define their ‘idenity’ the fact that the ritual is performed
not only for what it’s perceived manifest function but also for its ‘solidifying’
functions. Through bogwa, the living and the dead (Cannell, 1999) are reunited.
Bogwa and Social Change
Bogwa, like any other ritual practices is persisting in an environment that is
undergoing various challenges to include economic, political and socio-cultural
forces. Nevertheless, bogwa remains and has maintained its purpose as a ritual
that forms part of a complex set of death rituals, despite it’s changing character.
For this particular section of the paper, it will discuss various concepts and theories
of social change. These theories will then be operationalized in the study.
Social change refers to the changes that take place in society as a result of
social, cultural, political and economic integration of individual to its society.
Social change contributes to the alteration, modification, continuation or even

21
extinction of a certain culture and behavior in a given society. By understanding
social change as a variable that influenced culture, it will give us a clear picture that
culture is never stagnant, that culture change as people adapt to the new
information, technology and knowledge shared in a community. According to
Alimbuyugen et al. (2009), there are four theories of social change, these are
evolutionary theory, conflict theory, cyclical theory and equilibrium theory.
In evolutionary theory, social change goes hand in hand with

progress, societies trail similar patterns. Thus, it explains that
society move in a definite direction. Under the conflict theory, it
underscores the emergence of groups that would struggle and
surmount difficulties as social progress. While in cyclical theory, it
suggest that societies follow sequential pattern. Societies move
through continual cycles of growth and decay. Lastly is the
equilibrium theory, it refers to the balance in social system both
internal balance between interrelated social phenomena and external
relationship that asserts the occurence of sudden changes which may
disrupt the balance of the society (Alimbuyugen et al., 2009).
When translated in the context of this study, the emerging characters of
technologies coupled with globalization that operates across geographical
boundaries, these can be taken and be understood in the lens of the ‘evolutionary’
theory. Culture and cultural elements are not exempted from these forces and as
can be seen, tradition will be acclaimed as still important. The tension between
tradition and change is sees by the conflict theory as part of the social progress.
With the advent of technology, cultural changes are more to be experienced as
people meet and discover other cultures from around the globe with the aid of
virtual communities like online platforms. Social change can evolve from many
sources like, technological revolution, diffusion of culture through communication

22
to other societies and through socio-political movements. An example of social
change can be noted in the book of Anima (1982). The book discussed that the
death of Tinguian culture in Abra which started in the later part of Spanish regime
where by young generation of Tinguian engineered the change of their culture
because they are more receptive to new things and have dared to experiment
untrodden ways.
Globalization, religion and education are social changes that affect bogwa
as a practice. Internet as a product of globalization presents all aspect of knowledge
that can be accessed by anyone. In this case, the phenomenon poses a threat to the
exploitation of indigenous knowledge and practices like bogwa. Cultural heritage
is susceptible to scrutiny and negative interpretation of people.
In the aspect of education, Reyes (2014) suggested that education plays an
important role in the modification and transmission of culture, however, the
subjects and lessons taught at school are concepts, ideas and experiences of the
westerners which endanger local knowledge of Filipinos. As widely acknowledge,
western influence is still evident in the present educational curriculum and content
of many subject areas provided in the Philippines. That local knowledge is ignored
perhaps because the indigenous groups who are proponent of local knowledge do
not get documented. Ideas, lessons and contributions of majority groups like the
tagalogs dominate the content of books and instructional materials used in

23
instruction but even the Tagalog written books are still limited and carry erroneous
conception of the other culture, such that of the indigenous groups.
In the study, the practice of bogwa is also suseptible of change as
modification of the ritual can be observed. According to Abayao et al. (2017) the
fundamental purpose and principles of Ifugao ritual practice is currently challenged
by various changes which can be observed nowadays knowing that the practice is
still in place.
Figure 1 shows the schematic diagram of the study. Through the
understanding of the indigenous worldview of the Ifugaos, we recognize that the
relevance of bogwa as an exhumation and healing ritual intertwined with the well-
being in the community of Sanafe. As a closed rural ‘community’ where everybody
knows each other, the functionality of the ritual is known to everyone. This is
because when the neighborhood learned that someone was healed by the ritual, the
other people might as well perform the ritual to cure their illness.
In Ifugao world-view, there is a shared sociality of living and the unseen.
According to Khonen and Khonen (1986) spirits of the dead are powerful beings
who can communicate with the living and express their needs as they can actively
intervene in the activities of the living. For the Ifugaos, the spirit inflicted illness
disturbs the well-being of an Ifugao as a whole because it does not only weaken the
physical body but also distort the psychological and social aspect of the person.

24
The diagram also illustrates that bogwa like other ritual practices is open to
influence by various factors: globalization, education and religion among others.
The current state of the ritual is determined by the sociocultural context in Ifugao
society, the fact the Sanafe, the study site is a ‘melting pot’ of various
ethnolinguistic groups and therefore is no longer purely settled by Ifugaos. Using
the structural functionalism and social construction theories, helps us locate bogwa
into the culture and social life of the Ifugao.
Sanafe
Notion of
Bogwa
Performance of
Bogwa
Social Socio-
-Healing cultural
Changes
Significance
-Well-being
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the study
The functional elements of bogwa are basically seen in the notion of
‘health and well-being.’ The continuity of the ritual performances amid changing
conditions, can be a testimony of the ‘functional elements’ as well as the
constructed notions on bogwa. The fact that bogwa is being performed, with the

25
accommodation of certain changes in the ritual processes, makes bogwa still
significant.
Statement of the Problem
The research sought to explore the observance of bogwa as evidenced by
the continuing practice of Ifugaos in the Sanafe community.
Specifically, the study sought to answer the following,
1. What is the prevailing Ifugao notion of bogwa?
2. How is bogwa practiced as integral to healing and well-being?
3. What are the changes in the practice of bogwa from the original process?
4. What are the socio-cultural significance of the ritual as seen in the
present day context?

26
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the research design used in the study including the
informants and locale of the study. It also discusses how the data was collected, the
interview guide used and how data was analyzed.
Research Design
The study used descriptive exploratory research design as it attempts to
provide a picture about the Ifugao notion of bogwa as well as the changes in its
process, socio-cultural significance of the ritual to Ifugao and illustrate values
catalyzed in the execution of the ritual as a surviving traditional social construct.
Thus, exploratory qualitative research design fits the study because it explores
personal and lived experiences of the participants, how these shaped the culture and
how the culture shape them.
To be able to lay the information properly, the study used story telling as a
research approach. As stated by O’Brien and Peters (2010) the focus of qualitative
research is the gaining of insight into people’s experiences which value personal
stories. Storytelling or maki-isisturya as used in the locality, is a natural way of
communicating with others. Potts (2004) provided the following elements of
storytelling namely, context, characters, plot or action and passing of time. Thus,
using storytelling as a qualitative approach in gaining data helps key informants to
reconcile, re-examine and construct meaning of their experiences which yield the

27
deeper meaning and response, and so the researcher will have the opportunity to
collect comprehensive data. The stories of the key informants who were cure and
help by the ritual will serve as data of this study including insights of the residents
in the community.
Population and Locale of the Study
The locale of the study is at Barangay Sanafe, Lamut, Ifugao. Sanafe is one
of the eighteen barangays in the municipality of Lamut. As of 2015 census of
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the barangay holds 1,208 population
representing 4.78% of the total population for the municipality. The barangay
consists of 7 Puroks. The barangay is known to be the Tilapia capital of the
municipality for the reason that they produce the highest supply of fish products.
Poultry farm and piggeries also contributes to the income of the barangay.
Poblacion West is the central business district of Lamut, where restaurants,
municipal public market, municipal hall and other government offices and business
establishment are located. The municipality of Lamut is the gateway to the province
of Ifugao via Nueva Vizcaya national road.
Figure 2 shows an aerial shot of Lamut, Ifugao. It is one of the 11
municipalities of Ifugao. Ifugao cultural practices in the municipality are not really
being observed compared to other municipalities of Ifugao because of
intermarriages with nearby provinces like the Ilocanos from Nueva Vizcaya and
Isabela. As seen in the image, Lamut is only separated from Nueva Vizcaya via

28
river. As pointed in the official website of Department of Interior Local
Government (DILG) the inhabitants of Lamut are composed of Ifugao and Ilocano.
Ilocano settlers are primarily coming from Nueva Vizcaya and nearby provinces.
Figure 2. Satellite image of Lamut, Ifugao: the blue line indicates the road from
Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya to Lamut, Ifugao (Google Map, 2019)
Plate 1, shows an image of Sanafe, Ifugao. As seen in the image, Sanafe is
a hilly barangay. Sanafe is a community where everyone knows each other; for
instance, when an adult resident gets married, or when they get sick, it becomes a
community news. It is also a society where a newlywed couple reside either
following the mother’s or father’s residence or build a house near his or her parent.
Only a few adults move out from the barangay to build their own homes away from
their parents. Generally, the number of full blooded Ipugaw (Ilocano term for

29
Ifugaos) people in the barangay is minimal compared to people with mixed
ethnicity. Based on the 2019 record of the barangay, there are 392 households in
the barangay, and only 26 households are full-blooded Ipugaw, while 314
households are with mixed ethnicity; Ipugaw, Ilocano, Kankana-ey, Ibaloy, Bago
and Kalinga, and 52 households are pure Ilocano.
Plate 1. An image of Purok 6, Sanafe, Lamut, Ifugao
The Physical Geography of Sanafe
Old photographs of Sanafe and old description of the place by the residents,
show that the present Sanafe has changed a lot. Signs of urbanization are obvious
in the barangay. From the dusty rough roads to cemented ones. The barangay is
situated in gradually rolling hills making the land rough and rugged. But with the
construction of the Hapid Irrigation System (Hapid IS) funded by the

30
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program-Irrigation Component (CARP-IC) in
1990 which became fully operational in early 2002, paved way for the exploitation
of the land resources of the barangay (National Irrigation Administration, 2016).
Hapid IS an intake-type diversion that draws irrigation water from the Ibulao river
to Poblacion East. Its canal stretches to more than 21 kilometers. Sanafe the nearest
barangay to Barangay Hapid (where the source of irrigation is located), the
barangay benefited from this government project breakthrough. It turned the barren
and idle land to rice fields and led to the proliferation of Tilapia production since
other lands and rice fields have been converted to fishponds. Currently, Sanafe is
known for its production of Tilapia as well as livestock that includes chicken and
pig with the presence of swine/poultry around the barangay. However, it is worth
noting that most fishponds including poultry farm and piggery are not owned by
the local residents but migrants who bought the land from the original settlers of
Sanafe. Selling of lands prior to the opening of the irrigation was evident because
people lose their hope in the dry land of the barangay.
Glimpse of the History of Sanafe
Based on my personal interview with Bernardo Cadingan, former Barangay
Captain of Sanafe and the son of Jose Cadingan (one of the barangay residents who
spearheaded the separation of sitio Pangka from Barangay Pugol) barangay Sanafe,
Pangka (original name of Sanafe) was a sitio of Barangay Pugol. Due to limited
resources and vastness of Barangay Pugol, people of Pangka felt that they were

31
ignored and less prioritized by the Barangay. The grievance of the people was
aggravated during the spread of the Malaria epidemic in 1970. There was a story
that people of Pangka were not prioritized in the distribution of medicine to combat
the epidemic. To avoid further discrimination from the barangay, the people of
Pangka decided to be separate from Barangay Pugol. Alfredo Carino Sr. and Jose
Cadingan are among the earliest residents of Pangka who engineered the separation
and creation of barangay Pangka.
For sitio Pangka to be a registered barangay, there must be at least two
hundred registered voters. Alfredo Cariño, Jose Cadingan, and other residents of
the sitio convinced other people from other neighboring barangays to go to Pangka
to dappat land. Dappat is an old practice of claiming and acquiring land whereby a
person seized a vacant land as his own and for him/her to legally own the land,
he/she must register his/her nadappatan- seized land, in the municipal office. The
news for dappat reached other barangays and neighboring municipalities which
ignited the increase of population of the sitio. Dappat in the sitio was not exclusive
to the Ayangan or Tuwali Ifugaos since the objective of it was to increase the
population of the sitio. This allowed other ethnic groups like Ilocano to acquire land
in the barangay. This also explain how and why present Sanafe has mixture ethnic
groups. Carmelo Tultog from Burnay Lagawe, Feliciano Camat (an Ilokano
married to an Ifugao from Kiangan), Olibo Benitez (an Ilokano from Nueva
Viscaya married to an Ifugao in Lamut), Mansing from Hapid is among those

32
earliest people who were able to dappat- acquire land in Sanafe. Bernardo Cadingan
(son of Jose Cadingan) added that Alfredo Cariño Sr. also donated some of his lands
to other people who wished to live in the Sitio to increase the number of residents.
He added that Alfredo Cariño Sr. sold some of his land to Jesus Cambay, (a
Pangasinense married to an Ifugao) from Lagawe.
In 1982, there were already two hundred registered voters of the sitio which
allowed the residents to apply for the creation of barangay Pangka. In May 29 1982,
Pangka was officially registered and proclaimed as barangay with the helped of the
ongoing Provincial Governor Zosimo Paredes Sr. And in honor of the governor, the
name Pangka was changed to Barangay Sanafe.
Iti nagan ti Sabafe ket naadaw idjay tallo nga nagan ti annak ni Apo
Governor Paredes nga isuda Susan, Anna ken Fe (the name of
Sanafe was derived from the three daughters of Governor Paredes
namely, Susan, Anna, and Fe (Cadingan, Personal Communication,
February 16, 2020).
Base from the statement of former Barangay Captain Bernardo Cadingan,
the name of barangay Sanafe was derived from the names of the three daughters of
the ongoing Provincial Governor Paredes Sr. According to Bernardo Cadingan, this
information was relayed to him by his late father Jose Cadingan who was one of
the proponents in the separation of Sanafe from Barangay Pugol.
Plate 2 shows one-story houses made with cement and steel following the
veranda-living room-kitchen set-up. Some houses are made of galvanized sheets

33
and wood structures. Below these houses are empty spaces called siruk (a space
below the house) where they put chicken coops and store firewood.
Plate 2. Common housing architecture of Sanafe
Looking at structures and listening to peoples conversation, a first timer in
the barangay would think that he or she is not in Ifugao but in Madiangat Solano,
Nueva Vizcaya because Ilocano is the dominating language used in the community
which is why is tedious to look for tangible Ifugao culture around the place. This is
because historically the original settlers of Lamut the municipality where Sanafe
belong) are Ilocanos from Nueva Vizcaya and Ilocos provinces. According to the
Department of the Interior and Local Department -Cordillera Administrative
Region (DILG-CAR) the settlers of Lamut are Ilocanos from Nueva Vizcaya and

34
Ilocos, they were attracted to the municipality due to the abundance of wildlife and
fresh water fish. That after World War II, many people from neighboring towns and
provinces took refuge in Lamut and eventually settled comprising the current
population of the municipality which composes Ilocano and Ifugao. The geographic
proximity of Bagabag (a municipality of Nueva Vizcaya) is also a reinforcing factor
to the mixture of residents.
The researcher remembers in those days, when one walks around one can
see groups of women and young people going to a nearby stream to get water and
wash clothes; nowadays one can see each house already having their own deep well.
Washing machines also abound in the community.
During one of the home trips of the researcher to Sanafe, a garbage track
stopped in front of the store where the researcher was interviewing an informant
who happens to be the store owner. The store owner excused herself and rushed
through the backdoor of her store to manage her garbage as the collector parked the
vehicle beside the road. It was the first time the researcher learned that the
municipality collects trash from barangays. As the store owner and other residents
are busy segregating their rubbish, the researcher approached the garbage collector
and casually talked about garbage collection. According to him they collect garbage
once a month and the schedule for our barangay is every third week of the month.
The collector added that the said program of the municipal government started in
2019. According to the store owner, they pay 480 pesos a year as part of their

35
business permit. This ordinance is in line with the prohibition of burning of plastics
ban in the municipality. Plate 3, shows the collection of garbage in the barangay.
Plate 3. Garbage truck
Additionally, there are three houses of worship in the barangay, the 7th Day
Adventist Located at Purok 5, The Greatest Commission Full Gospel Fellowship
Incorporated at Purok 2 and Evangelical at Purok 3. There is also a bible training
center named Association of Ifugao Bible Churches in Purok 3. However, the three
house of worship do not prove that the people in the barangay are religious because
only few people participate or join in the Sunday services. Some belong to other
religious sects like Roman Catholic, Born Again Christian, Iglesia Ni Cristo,
Jehovah’s Witness and others. This being the case, it deters them in participating

36
activities of the three religious sects present in the barangay. Some residents will
need to go downtown to Lamut (Poblacion West and East) to their Sunday
obligation.
In Sanafe, though, there are professional and migrants who own and manage
swine and poultry production, majority of the residents still adheres to farming in
order to sustain their daily needs. Notably, there are eighty-six (86) residents
working overseas especially women who work as domestic helpers.
In relation to farming, residents usually visit their field every day to check
their crops and make sure that it is irrigated. In addition, the practice of “ammuyu”
is still observe in the community but not as frequent as before. Ammuyu is a
Tinguian concept of cooperative endeavor in doing farm related works. Generally,
the Ifugao counterpart of the said practice is ogbo, however as mentioned earlier,
the settlers of the municipality are mixture of Ilocano and other ethnic groups
making ammuyu dominate over the term ogbo. The term ogbo is popular among
other Ifugao municipalities including Lagawe, Banaue and Kiangan.
The concept of ammuyu can be deduced as ‘service-bank’ which has a chain
effect. One who needs help during planting and harvesting rice can loan in the form
of labor. The person can return the loan through working for the other person as a
reciprocal. Nowadays, a request for an “ammuyu” usually happen when a farmer
lacks money to pay all the laborers needed to finish the work in the field. In some
cases, when a farmer cannot return back the favor of ammuyu, he can pay it with

37
the current worth for the said labor. However, paying back an ammuyu through
monetary value leads to negative perception towards the person. As an effect,
people will no longer agree to have the same arrangement of ammuyu with the same
person again because an ammuyu is both ‘trust and responsibility’. That when a
farmer request for an ammuyu, it is his responsibility to return back the favor as the
person entrusted him to do so. The practice of ammuyu has a counterpart terms in
other ethnic like the tagnawa of the Ilocanos, paisda of the Batangenueos, alluyun
to the Kankaneys and gamal for the Pangasinense (Anima,1982).
With the mixture of ethnic groups in the barangay, enculturation in Sanafe
is evident. Enculturation is a process wherein an individual learn and assimilate the
practices, values, traditions and cultures of other groups. Proof of enculturation in
the barangay can be observe in the practice of atang- offering of food during All
Saints Day and All Souls Day celebration by the Ilokanos; Imbango- an Ifugao
practice of engagement before marriage. Apart from ammuyu, another tradition that
is kept and performed by the residents is the practice of bogwa. Hence, in this
paper’s case, we refer bogwa as a social construct of the Ifugao that primarily cure
illness inflicted by the spirit of dead ancestors. It is also important that we
differentiate deities from spirit of the ancestors since both can inflict illness to
human.
There are two types of research participants for this study – the people who
were cured by the exhumation ritual including their families, and the second group

38
are the residents in the community was divided into two groups, the post-millennial
and young generation. Dividing the second type of participants into post-millenials
and young generation group gives the researcher an opportunity to see whether the
two-generation has different perception and belief towards the healing ritual.
Table 2 shows informants who were directly cured and helped by the
healing ritual. Their stories on how and why the exhumation ritual was conducted
to restore the disturbed well-being of their sick family member played an important
role in this study.
Table 2. Profile of the key informants with bogwa experience
NAME OF AGE OCCUPATION ILLNESS SEE EXPERI

KEY K ENCE
INFORMANTS
MED OF
ICAL BOGWA
CAR
E
Immay 46 House wife Ulcer Yes Healed
Mong-ngeh’s 54 Store owner Vertigo No Wife of
wife the
Healed
Bunnag 62 Farmer Tuberculosis Yes Healed
Brother
Inkuh 43 Farmer Schizophrenia No of the
healed
Heart Failure Sister in
Chummuh 86 House wife Yes Law of
the
healed

39
Table 3 shows the second group of informants under the young generation.
These informants are 30 years old and below. They are referred to as the young
generation as they comprise the youth sector. Knowing that they are less exposed
to the practice of bogwa, their thoughts, and perceptions about the exhumation
ritual as a traditional healing practice play a significant role in this study. The
observation and insight of this group also reflect how well informed and
knowledgeable young generations regarding Ifugao culture being practiced in the
barangay.
Table 3. Profile of the key informants under the young generation
NAME OF KEY AGE OCCUPATION ETHNICITY

INFORMANTS
Pida 25 Community Relations Tuwali-Ilocano
Verginia 22 House wife Ayangan-Ilocano
Francis 28 Computer Trainer Ayangan-Waray
Casilda 24 Care Taker Tuwali-Ilocano
Pepe 17 Student Ayangan-Tuwali
Anita 20 Student Ayangan-Ilocano
Maria 22 English Teacher Ayangan
Table 4 shows the other key informants. They are referred to as the post-
millennial group. These key informants are 31 years old and above. They have been
in the barangay for a long time and have had witnessed the ritual for a longer period
as compared to the young generation. Thus, they have more information to share
especially on the changes they have observed in the process of bogwa as they have
witnessed how the exhumation ritual changed over time.

40
Table 4. Profile of the key informants under the post-millennial group
NAME OF KEY AGE OCCUPATION ETHNICITY

INFORMANTS
Bukkaw 42 Brgy. Kagawad Ayangan
Ritas 63 Vegetable vendor Ayangan
Domingga 38 Store owner Tuwali
Marites 64 House wife Waray
Edna 38 Gardener Ayangan
Arsely 31 House Keeper Ilocano
Mila 36 House wife Ayangan-Ilocano
Fadcho 55 Mechanic Tuwali
Data Collection Instruments
An interview guide was the main instrument used to gather data. The first
part delved on the personal information about the key informants, the second part,
talked about the notions of bogwa, its relation to the unseen, how and when bogwa
is conducted. The changes in the process and conduct of bogwa that the informants
have observed were also captured. Additional questions were included for they key
informants who were healed or their family member includes why, when and how
did they conducted bogwa.
Interviews were made in the form of maki-is-istorya or listening to the
stories of informants. The researcher explained to the key informants the
importance of the endeavor particularly in documenting their experiences and
notions of the bogwa ritual. Interviews were transcribed to ensure that the research
participants’ answers were correctly understood and analyzed. As part of the
culture, my insights towards the study helped in contextualizing the ritual as a

41
surviving social construct. Pictures were taken to back up the worded data, prior to
taking photos the informant gives his or her consent.
Data Collection Procedure
The researcher sent a letter to the Barangay Captain of Sanafe informing the
purpose and interest of this endeavor. Consent seeking from the key informant was
undertaken after receiving the response of the barangay. I visited the key informants
in their homes for the interviews. During the interview sessions, I must say that I
had a difficult time conveying and explaining some of the questions and
clarifications I had for them. I gave examples to guide them in reconciling their
thoughts and answers.
Treatment of Data
The data were recorded and transcribed capturing of the informant’s
answers and words in the interviews. Thematic analysis was utilized as well as
coding in the analysis of raw data.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This section presents the analysis and interpretation of the study on the
prevailing notion of the Ifugaos on bogwa as a surviving traditional social practice
in Sanafe, Ifugao following the interpretivist paradigm and indigenous
methodology. The content of this chapter are the testimonies of the people who
were cured by the exhumation ritual and such testimonies through story telling.
Through their stories, informants able to unconsciously cover the set of questions.
Ifugao Prevailing Notion of Bogwa
To understand the social truth about the behavior or practice of a particular
community, it is important to discover and understand the prevailing notion of its
people that motivates them in doing or behaving in such way. Bogwa is an
exhumation ritual commonly practice to cure illness that medicine failed to cure. It
is believed that the illness is caused by the dead ancestor and so to restore the
disturbed well-being of a person due to the ‘illness’, bogwa must be conducted.
Data shows that there are two prevailing notions of Ifugao bogwa which seemingly
is conflicting; these are bogwa as an alternative healing system and as an additional
financial burden.
Bogwa: As an Alternative Healing System
According to all the informants, bogwa is a ritual for healing people whose
sickness were incurred by their dead relatives. As described by Cannell (1999)

43
people are co-existent with the world of spirits or the unseen. In Filipino culture,
belief in anitu- soul of the ancestors that exist along with the living is evident.
Veneracion (1992) pointed that a person has two or more kaluluwa- soul. That when
a person is dead one of his soul remain with the mortal body while the other would
be lingering around which eventually becomes an anitu- soul of the ancestors that
would visit the living during important celebrations and occasions when the
kaluluwa’s presences is desired. For the Ilokanos, the belief in anitu is manifested
in their practice of atang- offering of food and drinks during occasions. In Sanafe,
I noticed that when men started to drink alcohol, they spilled liquor around with the
message “daytuy ti bagi yu” (this is yours) acknowledging that there are unseen
around. The argument on the connection of the living and the dead is supported by
Sacla (1987) spirits can communicate to human beings through dreams, mediums
(native priest), omen, signs or causing illness to the living.
All informants mentioned that bogwa only performed primarily when the
illness of a person defies medication. The informants further added that prior to
consulting the indigenous way of healing, the family seek first medical test by
health practitioners. When doctors or medicine failed to cure or identify the illness,
that’s the time relatives of an ailing person are prompted to seek the help of seers
or ‘mun-agba’ or ‘mumbaki’ who are known to possess powers of accurately
identifying the spirit which inflicted the ailment. The mumbaki also direct what to
do to placate the spirit. The practice of identifying the spirit and healing is common

44
among Igorots popularizing the native priest like mambunong of Kalinga, Mansip-
ok of the Kanka-ey and Mansup-ok of the I-bontoc (people from Bontoc Mountain
province).
However, it is worthy to note that not all the informants believe and agree
on the effectiveness of the ritual. Bukkaw, Edna, Mila and Francis are Christian
informants who shared their views and arguments towards the validity of the ritual.
Bukkaw claimed that in the past, bogwa was effective in curing the sick comparing
today. Bukkaw argue that mumbakis today are not as good as before because some
failed to cure the sick because the process of bogwa was not strictly followed.
Bukkaw and Edna added that, some mumbaki do not follow the correct baki-
incantation used to call out for the spirit of the ancestor who inflicted the illness
during the first day of bogwa. In this regard, Apu Pablo, a mumbaki for 25 years
agree to the observation of Edna and Bukkaw and shared that
Dagijay gamin daduma nga mam-muni gapo ti bartek dan ti tapuy,

haan da maayaban amin nga kararwa nu agbuni da, dajiya kararwa
nga haan maayaban di da sumali idjay okasyon, resulta haan nga
epektibo diyay ritwal (some mumbakis failed to call out the names
of all the dead ancestors during their baki because they (mumbakis)
are already drunk with tapuy- rice wine. As an effect, the spirits of
the dead who were not called do not partake in the occasion which
lead to the failure of the ritual) (Bantiyan, Personal communication,
July 20, 2020).
Apu Pablo pointed out that mumbakis should avoid drinking plenty of tapuy
while conducting baki to accurately deliver the rite (P. Bantiyan, Personal

45
communication, July 19, 2020). While Apu Manuela, a mun-agba and mumbaki
mentioned that
Depende jay ikasta na (mam-muni) nga agbuni nu ilaslastog na. Nu

haan na idemo nga usto kasla nu aramiden na dagijay panih-yo-
taboo ti panag bogwa. Example ti panih-yo ket diyay agbuni
agraman pamilya nga nabun-yan maiparit nga kanen da amin nga
umuli example climbing beans, dagijay nalangsi example, lames,
tuyu, dagijay adda bawang ken sibuyas na kasjay. 3 days after
bogwa santo lang mabalin kanen ti nagbuni ken diyay pamilya nga
nabunyan dagijay naiparit. Isu nga nu haan suruten diyay agbuni
dayta nga panih-yo ken diyay pamilya haan epektibo diyay ritual
(The effectiveness of the ritual depends on how the mumbaki
administer the ritual when a mumbaki including the host family
breaks a panih-yo- taboo in bogwa like eating beans, fish, food with
seasonings during bogwa, then the ritual will not be effective. The
mumbaki and the host family can only eat the food included in the
panih-yo 3 days after bogwa. To ensure the effectiveness of the
ritual the mumbaki and the host family should not break the taboo)
(Apu Manuela, Personal communication, July 20, 2020).
Citing the statement of Apu Manuela, the effectiveness of bogwa is not the
sole responsibility of the mumbaki but also the host family because they all need to
follow the panih-yo- taboo. On the other hand, Mila share the same views with
Bukkaw and Edna, Mila pointed that
Han tayu mapatunayan nu talaga dagijay agpas-pasakit ket dagijay

relatives tayo, nu ngay devil gayam diyay nga ibabaun nalang
dagijay minatay tapno pasakiten da ti tao? (We cannot really prove
that our dead relatives are the ones who inflict illness to us. What if
it is a devil that commands our deceased to inflict illness to people?)
(Mila, Personal communication, February 16, 2020).
It is evident that Christianity penetrated and changed the mindset of people
towards the practice of bogwa because historically in Ifugao religion, Ifugao has no
certain belief in the existence of a devil unlike the teachings of Christianity.

46
Therefore, using the perspective of the past, people were sure that the offerings they
made during the exhumation ritual goes to their dead ancestors. But because of
Christian faith, a possibility that the offerings made by the people goes to devil.
On the other hand, Francis a 28 years old informant mentioned that bogwa
is a confusion especially now that people are Christianized. He said that he believes
in bogwa because he personally witnessed how the exhumation ritual become
integral to healing an ill person. However, part of him doubts bogwa not as
alternative healing ritual but in the acceptabibily of the ritual to the Christian
religion. He believed that butchering and offering animals to the dead is an an act
of animism.
For Edna, Bukkaw, Mila, and Francis, they claim that views on traditional
healing like bogwa changed overtime. The informants admitted that their views
towards the practice of bogwa is based on their Christian belief. The statement of
the four informants is supported by Dumia (1979) only the non-Christian still put
themselves at the mercy of their deities. Most Ifugaos, especially the educated are
no longer applying animism and have embraced the Christian faith. On the other
hand, there were also success stories in Sanafe, particularly the people who were
cured by the ritual are also Christians who believe in the existence of God but
because of the need to save the dying person, especially if medicine fails to cure
the illness, they were provoked to set aside their religious affiliation to seek the
indigenous ways as an alternative for healing. This being the case prove that people

47
in Sanafe observe syncretism in dealing with circumstances. Syncretism is the
combination of different forms of belief or practice. That the practice of bogwa is
a manifestation of syncretism in Sanafe as the people combine animistic practice of
healing with Christian faith because the people still believe in Christianity despite
performing the ritual. Thus, people who practice bogwa should not be labeled as
animistic or anti-Christ because bogwa is syncretize with healing as a resolution to
the unbalanced well-being of the sick. This observation is in contrast with the
documentation of Egangan (2003) on dualistic behavior. In her study, she found
out that Kankana-eys of Upper Bauko in Mountain Province have dualistic behavior
as they associate their belief and teachings of Christianity to their practice of
paganism especially the curing of their sickness which is beyond science and
human explanation. Egangan added that the dualistic behavior among the Kankana-
eys of Upper Bauko Mountain Province seems to be because they find contentment
and relief in their sickness, which is beyond science and human explanation.
Despite the negative insights of some key informants towards the practice
bogwa, Mila, Bukkaw, Edna and Francis agreed that bogwa is alternative healing
practice of families whose hope for curing the ailment of their family members is
the wisdom of the past. All the post-millennial and young generation informants
agree that bogwa is alternative healing in the barangay because they all
acknowledge that bogwa is primarily performed to cure unexplainable illness.
Casilda 24 years old, Ilokano informant said that

48
Mostly met gamin nga agpabogwa ditoy ayan tayo ket nu adda
agsakit nga haan kaya maagasan ti doctor (mostly, people only
perform bogwa when someone is suffering from an unexplainable
illness which cannot be cured by doctors) (Casilda, Personal
communication, February 16, 2020).
It is also safe to say that bogwa as a healing process is not a priority in
healing because when a person is ill, the family of the ailing person do not
automatically seek for a mun-agba to determine what or who caused the sickness.
Instead, the family members let the patient be checked by medical practitioners. If
the medicine failed to cure the illness or if doctors failed to determine the sickness,
that’s the time the family will seek the help of a mumbaki. This implies that our
physical wellbeing is connected to the realm of the spirits. Sagandoy (2016) when
a person dies, the person’s disincarnated soul remains on earth. He added that the
soul does not immediately go to the spiritual realm or heaven or hell, the soul
wanders and visits the place it used to go when it was alive. During this period,
there is no exact duration until when it remains an earthbound soul. This being the
case allows the spirits to communicate with the living through dreams, visual
manifestation (as ghost) via mediums, or by causing illness. Calde and Ngina
(2004) when dead relatives communicate to a person or naabat (met by an anito),
the person will get sick. Thus, bogwa as alternative healing does not only cure spirit
inflicted illness, it also serves as a channel between the living and the dead to restore
their relationship.

49
Bogwa: Additional Financial Burden
The number of days of bogwa ritual performance depends on the request of
the mumbaki as he interprets his communication with the spirits. But most of the
time it last for 3 days and 2 nights. If the family fails to perform the ritual as soon
as possible, the body of the ailing person deteriorates. However, conducting bogwa
is not simple as cleaning and rewrapping the bones of the dead, it requires money,
time, effort and many more. Fadchoh, 62 years old informant who said that “iti
madi iti bogwa ket mangi pa down iti pamilya” (one bad thing about bogwa is that
it scourges the family).
The statement of Fadchoh is true because in conducting bogwa, the host
family should be financially prepared for the heavy expenditures since they need to
provide for the animals to be butchered, sack of rice, and many more. To support
the claim of Fadchoh, Immay, an informant who was cured bogwa admitted they
almost spent ₱20,000 for the three (3) days ritual
All the informants agreed that performing the ritual is expensive. the
elaborate processes and the required sacrificial animals, are the reasons for
informants to highlight the cost of the ritual performance. On the first day of
bogwa, the family should butcher a native pig that gave birth at least once (a
requisite that needs to be followed to ensure the effectivness of the ritual). Not all
domesticate or raise a pig, a good size one will cost you six to nine thousand pesos.
That is too much money for a simple farmer and laborer to spend. Just like the

50
family of Bo-oy, he is a farmer who only earn ₱200 - ₱250 tangdan- wage per daily
farm work during panag-raraep- planting and panag-gagapas- harvesting rice.
Paid farm labor does not come in a regular basis because rice farming in the
barangay is divided into two or three cropping a year as farmers need to schedule
rice farming with the releasing of water irrigation and during rainy season.
Additionally, since bogwa is a second funeral, the family needs to feed the visitors
from breakfast, lunch, and dinner like the usual wake. Therefore, the need to
purchase sack of rice and butcher pigs every day. Besides that, the family needs to
wrap the bones of the dead with new ulloh (Ifugao traditional blanket), tapis (skirt)
or wanoh (g-string) which depends on the sex of the deceased. The prices of these
garments cost more than five hundred pesos. Thus, families who are hand to mouth
existent are greatly in debt after bogwa. Poor families borrow money to use in
buying paraphernalia needed for the commencement of the ritual which in turn
results to a more difficult living as they need to sustain their daily expenses while
paying the debt incurred by the exhumation ritual. As stated by Lambrecht (1939)
at the death of their relatives, Ifugaos have no intention at all of exhuming him later
because it entails heavy expenses. This indicates that even in the recent past,
families especially the less fortunate are not willing to perform the ritual because
of the undeniable heavy expense they need to provide. Mila an informant, whose
father was exhumed pointed that

51
Mai-utangan ta pay gapu ti bogwa ket problema ti pagbayad (we

need to loan money because of bogwa and naturally the problem is
how to pay it) (Mila, Personal communication, February 16, 2020).
With the expenses in conducting bogwa, it provoked three informants;
Edna, Mila and Rita to say that Ifugao should stop practicing the ritual because
“mangirurumen” - something that pulls someone down socially, financially or
psychologically especially to those who are less fortunate. Anita, a 20 years old
informant whose mother was cured by bogwa recently added that apart from the
distress experienced by their mother, their family was burdened in raising money
for the ritual. Because of the heavy expenses anchored with bogwa, it is
understandable when people call the ritual as “mangirurumen” because people can
barely provide for their living yet they still need to shell out much money for the
ritual. As oppose to the point of view of Edna, Mila, Rita and Anita, Apu Pablo a
mumbaki pointed that
Iti panag bogwa ket maysa nga gundaway a panagisubli iti ayat
dagiti annak ken appuko para iti minatay da. Isu nga haan da kuma
nga panunuten nga paggastusan lang iti bogwa, ken maysa parte
daytuy iti ugali kas Ipugaw nga dapat nga aramiden ken haan nga
lipaten (Performing bogwa is an opportunity for the living relatives
to give back the love of their dead ancestors. So we should not label
it as a financial burden and besides, bogwa is part of Ifugao trait that
we should continue observing and should not be forgotten)
(Bantiyan, Personal communication, July 19, 2020).
At this juncture, it is apt to ask; How come that bogwa earned the notion
additional financial burden shadowing its significance as an alternative healing
ritual? Through social interaction, people make and shape realities like cultural and

52
social norms (Berger and Luckmann, 1966). Additional financial burden as
perception towards bogwa is an example of social reality constructed by informants
like Fadchoh, Mila, Anita, and Rita basing from their own experience of conducting
bogwa. That poor families are hard-up in raising the needed money for bogwa. Rita,
63 years old informant and a vegetable vendor who exhumed their mother recently
admitted that
Iti kina rigat ti biyag, awan pagalaan ti gastosen. Adda met ti

itulong ti kakabsat wennu kakabagyan ngem haan nga umnu kar
karo nu agpapada met nga awan mabalinan, isu mapilitan ta nga
umutang (With our hand to mouth existence, we have no means for
the ritual, though some relatives help financially however, it is not
enough especially if we’re all poor. So we have no other choice but
to loan) (Rita, Personal communication, February 17, 2020).
Exhuming the bones to cure spirit inflicted illness is something that families
want to avoid and are not happy about primarily because of its heavy expenditures.
Most families in the barangay are poor, they are already struggling in raising their
families and yet here comes bogwa, another financial burden they need to handle
to save their ailing family member. Besides that, the agony of the ailing person
brought by the spirit inflicted illness painted a bitter feeling to his or her family
members. Anita, 20 years old informant (daughter of Immay) said that she cannot
help but cry while seeing how her mother endure the pain of the illness incurred by
her grandmother. While the daughter of Bunnag said that during the illness of their
father, she was afraid and at the same time pity her father because every night, their
father cry out loud the excruciating pain he felt. Families like Bunnag and Immay

53
are no longer willing to perform bogwa not only because of the expenses but
because they also believe that when the dead ancestors communicate to them
through illness infliction is a suffering to the living. For the affected person/s, spirits
causing a family member to fall ill is the most unlikeable manifestation because
being afflicted with unexplainable illness causes much anxiety and physical pain
(Sagandoy, 2016). Feelings of discomfort and distress become worse if sickness
would linger for a longer period of time.
Bogwa was able to restore the physical health of the family member.
Nonetheless, the high cost of performing the ritual seems to have created another
problem for the family- debt and along with it, the stress of paying the debt.
Bogwa, as Integral to Healing and Wellbeing
Traditional healing among Igorots is one of many indigenous knowledges
constructed as a product of daily exposure and interaction of people to nature and
to the environment. Traditional healing is part and parcel of traditional belief shared
by people with the same community and culture. As defined by Palaganas (2001)
traditional medicine are methods, techniques, embedded in the matrix of values,
traditions, belief, and patterns of ecological adaptation that provide means of
maintaining health. According to Prill-Brett (2001) indigenous knowledge is part
of a cultural complex that refers to a particular society’s knowledge of temporal
and social space. She added that indigenous knowledge or local knowledge includes

54
technical skills and non-technical insights which are based from unique
philosophies, institutions and principles that defy conventional science. Bogwa as
indigenous knowledge by the Ifugao is an example that is still being observed in
dealing with the environment particularly in healing the sick. The following are
real-life stories of people featuring bogwa as integral to healing and wellbeing. To
protect the identity and for confidentiality, I used Ifugao common nicknames as
pseudo names.
Case 1: Immay- Fixing Strained Relationships
Immay is a 46 years old house wife with three children. She finished a
vocational course in Computer Management in Nueva Vizcaya State University.
As a housewife, she is responsible in managing their home, she feeds their
domesticated animals, and maintain a garden which she routinely cultivates. One
afternoon in February 2019 her daily routine was disrupted.
Immay suddenly felt very weak and was vomiting blood. They rushed her
to the provincial hospital, where she was confined for a day. According to the
doctor, her ulcer is getting worse. Immay was diagnosed with ulcer few years back
and she traces her ulcer to skipping meals when she was still studying. The doctor
then prescribed her medication. Since the doctor gave her medicines to take, the
family decided to take her home so that they can attend to her properly and to avoid
expensive hospital bills. After weeks of medication, her condition did not get any
better. Seeing the situation, her husband thought that there is something wrong

55
because the medicine should have at least mitigated the condition of his wife. So
he decided to consult Apu Manuela (apu- high regard to a person). Apu Manuela is
a known mun agba (a person who has the power to identify who inflicted the illness)
and a mumbaki (native priest).
Base from my personal interview with Apu Manuela, the late mother of
Immay was trying to bring message by making Immay sick. According to Apu
Manuela, Bugan (the mother of Immay) is asking for money for her to play Bingo
in their world. Bingo- is a Filipino card game where players need to fill the card
with the numbers called by the announcer. During her active life, Bugan was known
for her habit of playing bingo every afternoon along with other women in the
barangay. When I probed further on the story, Immay revealed that her mother
learned that she (Immay) sold part of her inherited land and this might be the reason
her mother is asking for ‘money’.
To grant the request of Bugan, they conducted a three-day bogwa which
according to Immay costed them ₱20,000. During the first day, the usual process
of bogwa was conducted, they exhumed and clean the bones then wrapped the
bones with new tapis (skirt). In the afternoon, according to other informants who
participated in the ritual process, they saw how Apu Manuela called for Bugan to
accept the offering by possessing Apu Manuela. Apu Manuela shared that
Napanak idjay ayan da Immay idi ma-ika duwa nga aldaw ti bogwa
ni Bugan (dead mother of Immay). Gapo ta kayat ni Bugan nga
katung-tungen dagiti annak na simmanib kanyak. Malaksid idjay
kwarta nga dawdawaten na, kayat na nga ag-ayus kuma da

56
Dummay (older brother of Immay) ken diyay asawa, nga dapat haan
da agkara-apa ta kaasi dagijay appuku (Bugan) na (I went to the
second day of Bugan’s bogwa. Since Bugan wanted to talk to her
children, she possessed me. Bugan said that apart from asking
money, she also want Dummay (older brother of Immay) and his
wife to fix their family problem and avoid fighting because their
children (grandchildren of Bugan) are the ones who suffer) (Apu
Manuela, Personal communication, July 20, 2020).
Listening to the story of Apu Manuela, it is as if every ‘complexities’ in the
family was known to Bugan, the dead mother. This was another revealing story of
the family problems because I learned during the interview that at that time, the
older brother of Immay was not in good terms with his wife and that they were
living separately. This was an extraordinary story of bogwa- where it appears that
bogwa can become a mechanism for peace settlement for strained family
relationships. I was impressed by the fact that despite being dead, Bugan is
knowledgeable to the matters of her living children. For the witnesses of the ritual,
they say that they were perplexed with the possession of Apu Manuela; this was
an evidence that bogwa after all is still working especially so that few days after
the exhumation ritual, Immay gained her strength.
With the story of Immay, bogwa was used as a means to remind Ifugao
values particularly land inheritance. In the story, Bugan requested for a share from
Immay’s profit in selling her inherited land. Basing from Ifugao world-view that
the dead can still influence the living, Bugan as a dead mother can still affect the
lives of her children by conveying her request through illness and which needed the
intervention of the mumbaki. The story of Immay is a testimony to the connection

57
between the physical and spiritual realm. The souls of the dead remain earthbound
who can affect the lives of its living relatives (Dumia, 1979). Another Ifugao value
expressed in the story is ‘motherly love’ towards her children. Despite being dead,
Bugan wanted to solve the family dispute of her son (the older brother of Immay)
who is having with his wife. This implies that even after death a mother will still
be a ‘mother’ to her children by making sure that they are all in good condition.
Case 2: Bo-oy Don’t Eat the Grass’!

The next story happened sometime in 2005, Bo-oy was in his early 30’s
when the incident happened. As a family man and a farmer, Bo-oy routinely checks
his rice field and clears the grasses along the dike of his field. Besides making sure
that his field is well irrigated, part of his daily work is to pasture his carabao into
the hill or forest to feed and leave it there especially if he does not need animal.
It was five in the afternoon, as expected Bo-oy goes to the hill where he put
out his carabao to pasture. After two (2) hours, it was already dark and Bo-oy did
not arrive home yet. Noticing the absence of his younger brother Ingkuh checked
the neighborhood. According to the wife of Bo-oy, he went uphill to retrieve the
carabao where he put out to graze in this pasture land early in the morning that day.
Ingkuh knowing that Bo-oy is cautious with time, and so to him was unusual.
Having doubts in his mind Ingkuh decided to look for his younger brother (Bo-oy)
uphill.

58
Upon arriving, Ingkuh saw that his younger brother was eating grass along
with his carabao which made Ingkuh worry. This worried Ingkuh so he investigated
the behavior of his brother. According to Bo-oy’s wife, her husband seemed to be
behaving like ‘another person’ for the past days. Looking at his younger brother,
Ingkuh was shocked and startled on what was happening.
In the morning, after learning about the incident, the family sought the help
of a mumbaki. The mumbaki conducted the agba- ritual usually performed to
identify who causes the illness or any discomfort to a family member. After the
agba, the mumbaki told Ingkuh that their great grandmother Ingga possessed Bo-
oy. Ingga has been dead for more than 10 years when the incident happened. Ingga
requested the family to exhume her because her bones were scattered inside her
tomb.
According to Ingkuh, the request of their grandmother for bogwa was
relayed through a dream but the family disregarded it so as a consequence, Ingga
possessed Bo-oy to reprimand the family to perform her request. The relationship
with the dead ancestor was strained as a result of disregarding an earlier attempt to
communicate; hence, they need to restore the harmonious relationship, and to help
Bo-oy, the family exhumed Ingga for three days. For the first day, they butchered
a native pig then the mumbaki recited his ‘baki’- is an Ifugao system of rites and
passage imploring favors of deities. It is divided between ‘rituals for man’, and
‘rituals for rice culture. It is performed by a mumbaki usually male because men

59
are more interested in reciting baki than women, and women are more interested in
agba- ritual to determine spirits responsible for the unexplainable illness and to
determine their request (Bantiyan a mumbaki, personal communication, July 17,
2020). Examples of rituals for man are the following; rituals for childbirth,
diagnosis for illness, healing, protection of health and wealth. While rituals for rice
culture are performed in different times of the agricultural cycle; when sowing,
before transplanting, when rice grow new leaves, harvest time, and stocking rice in
the allang- rice granary. Most baki follow a general pattern beginning with an
invocation to ancestors, messages, cultural heroes and gods; then offering and
divination; chanting (usually myths or legends); and repeat of the invocation and
conclusion. Usually a chicken is sacrificed and its gall bladder read to determine
the efficiency of the ritual (Dulawan, 1985). The mumbaki summoned Innga to
receive the offering. Ingkuh added that their grandmother promised not to disturb
them again. Days after the bogwa, Bo-oy returned to his normal state. Until then
they were not disturbed by the spirit.
Case 3: The Dead Wanting to Raise Hogs too
Backyard hog raising especially in the rural areas is common. Families
usually domesticate pigs as a form of business and investment because having a
piggery serves an important role in settling the family’s finances. It is well
acknowledged that piggery no matter how small, can help financially. The cost of
good size pig ranges from seven (7) to ten (10) thousand depending on the size. The

60
profit from selling the animal can help reduce the amount which the family need to
pay or settle. In Sanafe, pig raising help finance the education of children or pay
for the hospitalization of family members, which is much better instead of
borrowing money. In connection to hog raising, the next story is about the request
for a pig to be raised in the world of the dead. In the literature, it was said that even
the dead maintain animal raising as they remain much more of human endowed
with human features like eating, drinking and live in villages and houses. Ancestor
spirits remain members of the human family and come always to participate during
rituals as the native priest invoke them to partake. Apart from human features,
ancestor spirts also hold social status in the ‘spirit world’ and raising animal helps
them maintain their social position (Lambrecht, 1939) that by offering the animal
through bogwa, it helps settle the health issue of Bunnag.
The incident happened sometime in 2018. Bunnag was badly ill, his body
was very weak that he can no longer walk nor balance his own body. After
consulting the doctor, he was diagnosed of having Tuberculosis. He traces his
Tuberculosis to heavy drinking when he was younger. He was confined for three
(3) days and then was sent home by his doctor. The doctor then prescribed
medicines to be taken for complete treatment. After weeks of medication, Bunnag’s
illness seems not getting any better.
Base on the accounts of the daughter of Bunnag who was taking care of him
at that time, she noticed that their father’s condition is far different from a person

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who has tuberculosis. She was sure that something is odd with their father. She
added that their father seems to manifest the reflexes disorder of their late
grandmother Dud-duli.
After taking his medicines for weeks, Bunnag did not recover. They brought
him back to the hospital as Bunnag requested but the doctor said that there is
nothing wrong with him that he just needed to continue with his medication.
Looking at the situation, the son of Bunnag decided to seek the help of Apu
Manuela. There, he learned that their grandmother Dud-duli was communicating to
the family through illness. On the accounts of Apu Manuela she said that
Idi nakitak ni Bunnag, kunak nu haanen nga maispal ta permi nga

kakaasi, nagkuttong ken nagkapsut isuna, ngem idi kinatungtung ko
ni anti Dud-duli (mother of Bunnag) inamin na nga ung-ungtan ken
bagbagaan na ni Bunnag nga ‘anak haan ka agkaskasta, kitam ta
pamilyam, bay- amun ti arak, nagado ti arak haan mo met lang
maibus nu diket sika kitdi ti ibusen na dayta nga arak (when I saw
Bunnag, I thought there is no hope because he was very thin and
weak, when I talked to aunt Dud-duli, mother of Bunnag, she
admitted that she wants to discipline Bunnag in his excessive
drinking of alcohol, that Bunnag should look after his family and
refrain from alcohol as it endangers Bunnag’s life) (Apu Manuela,
Personal communication, July 20, 2020).
Citing the story shared by Apu Manuela, it is another testimony not only on
the connection between the physical world and spiritual realm but also how
moderly love is express even after life. Apu Manuela added that, Dud-duli
requested one thousand pesos (1,000 Php.) and wanted to raise pigs in their world
which can be done by sending off the linnawa- spirit of the animal by butchering
the pig during bogwa.

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The son of Bunnag was then instructed to conduct a three days bogwa to be
able give the offering. With the problem of money, the family including the
relatives of Bunnag decided to just open and clean the bones of the deceased.
Unfortunately, Bunnag did not get any better. After a month, the family decided to
conduct the request of their grandmother to restore the weakening body of Bunnag.
After raising the needed money by borrowing from relatives, they conducted the
three-day bogwa. After few days, Bunnag recovered from his terrible condition.
In the above story, Bogwa was used to amplify ‘explicit obedience to a
ritual’. The strict compliance of rituals as prescribed by the mumbaki is regarded
as a fulfillment of aspiration like to cure an illness, to ward off misfortune and many
more. In Bunnag’s story, at first, instead of conducting bogwa, the family decided
to clean the bones and butcher a pig. Since it was not the request of the dead, the
initial step of Bunnag’s family failed to cure him. This indicates that Ifugao should
abide by the prescription of the mumbaki to successfully achieve the desired goal.
The story of Bunnag also intensify the Ifugao world view that spirit of the dead are
connected to the living. Apu Pablo, a mumbaki stated that
Dagiti natay, adda da latta ditoy daga, mailalaok da ti angin isu nga
makitkita da amin nga ar-aramiden tayo. Ngem gapo ta han tayo
makita isuda agpat-patagainep da wennu pagsakiten da ti maysa
kanya tayo tapno maamwan tayo iti ibagada (The spirit of the dead
remain earthbound souls, that’s why they can still see all the things
we do however, since we cannot see them, they communicate to us
through dreams or by inflicting illness to a family member)
(Bantiyan, Personal communication, July 19, 2020).

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Case 4: ‘Till Bogwa Do Us Part’
It is common to hear newly-weds promising to stay in love with each other
until death, that only death can separate them. But in Ifugao world-view, death does
not end the marriage, death only cuts the physical connection of a spouse to its
widower but does not terminate the obligation of the widower to the soul of the
dead spouse and the alliance of their families. For Ifugaos, when a widower wants
to remarry, he or she needs to exhume the bones of his or her dead spouse as a form
of gibu’n di nate. The next story further illustrates this Ifugao practice.
The story happened sometime in 2002 where Mong-ngeh, a married man
along with his wife went to visit their aunt. Before going home their aunt insisted
them to get fruit in the backyard of her house. In order not to offend their aunt,
Mong-ngeh climbed the tree to get some fruit (the key informant forgot which fruit
tree). Accidentally, Mong-ngeh fell to the ground. After a few days, Mong-ngeh
had a hard time walking. He has been visiting local masseurs to fix any dislocated
bones if there are. Mong-ngeh was sure that he should not have any difficulty or
broken bones because the tree was short. He estimated that it is not more than 4
feet.
After a few weeks of discomfort due to his leg, the family decided to consult
the doctor. After having an X-ray, it was concluded that he has weak leg bones.
“Imbaga jay doctor adda kano cancer of the bone na” (the doctor said that my
husband has cancer of the bones). Mong-ngeh did not ask for a second opinion

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because he is afraid that he might indeed have bone cancer, instead sought the help
of a mumbaki. After doing his incantation, the mumbaki told Mong-ngeh that their
dead mother communicated his illness and she wants to be exhumed. According to
the mumbaki, Inlamun (mother of Mong-ngeh) is requesting for a three-day bogwa
as a closure between her and his husband (father of Mong-ngeh) because their father
already was living with a new wife without conducting a bogwa. In Ifugao, there is
a practice that when a spouse wants to remarry after the death of his/her spouse he
should conduct a Bogwa as gibu’n di nate, (gibu of the dead) or datok is the
payment made by widower to the kin of his/her dead spouse relatives. The word
gibu means finish, its original sense means a payment to terminate all the relations
and obligations growing out of marriage. Traditionally, when a widower failed to
pay the gibu’n di nate, it would lead to the seizure of his property or a lance
throwing (Barton, 1919). As a sign of respect and to inform the dead that his/her
living spouse will remarry. After doing the request of his mother, the feet of Mong-
ngeh returned to its normal size and he started to walk again. When he returned to
the doctor to consult about his supposed bone cancer, the doctor said that he has no
bone cancer anymore.
Sixteen (16) years later in November 2019, the family of Mong-ngeh
conducted another exhumation. This time, they exhumed the bones of his father.
According to the wife of Mong-ngeh
Idi immuna, hanak namati idi imbaga na nga apan kanu suna kinni
Apu Manuela ta apan naipakita nu apay nga sab-sabali marikrikna

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na, maulaw ngay isuna tapos ag uppa-uppat pangkita na idjay

dalan, ti inbagak kanyana, nasubraam lang ti panag in-inom na ti
arak, ken kailangan na ag diet ta timmaba (When Monggeh told me
that he will consult Apu Manuela to check on what is happening
with him, I doubted him. I told him that what he is experiencing is
due to his excessive drinking (alcohol) and that he needs to go for a
diet) (Monggeh’s wife, Personal communication, February 16,
2020).
But after consulting the mumbaki, she learned that Mong-ngeh’s father
inflicted the illness to her husband. The old man is requesting the family of Mong-
ngeh to clean his grave and change his clothes. According to Mong-ngeh’s wife,
her father in law (father of Mong-ngeh) only requested for one-day ritual so they
did not need to spend much. They only butchered one pig and rewrapped the bones
with new ulloh compared to the previous bogwa.
In the above story, bogwa was used as a means of ‘gibu’n di nate’ (gibu of
the dead). Death does not terminate an Ifugao marriage, neither terminate the
obligation of the widowed to the soul of the dead spouse nor the alliance between
their families. At present, I see that paying of gibu’n di nate is more of social
obligation by a widower because there is no written law or ordinance mandating its
enforcement, but out of pride and loyalty to the customary practice, Ifugao pay it
in the form of bogwa. That by exhuming the bones of the dead spouse and
butchering pigs during the ritual, it symbolizes that the widower is formally
terminating his or her obligation to the dead.

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Case 5: A Request for Relocation
Besides cleaning and organizing the bones in a tomb, the deceased also
requested his or her living relatives to relocate his or her remains. Some spirits
request for relocation if they are disturbed by the noise made by passerby who
passes by their tomb, and also when their grave is frequently infested with insect as
well as rats. In this case, it is believed that these can be irritating to the dead. I also
think that the linnawa- soul of the dead is still connected with their physical body
or bones (in their graves), that whatever happens to their physical bones, they feel
it too. The next story amplifies this observance.
The story happened in 2017 where Duntog’s health condition became
worse. Before bogwa, Duntog already has heart failure and has been medicating for
years now. However, something odd happened to him in 2017, his body weakened
and he grew thinner compared to the healthy body he used to have. Believing that
something is medically wrong with his health, he was sent to hospitals in Baguio to
check what is happening to his body. Despite medication, his condition became
worst.
Until one night, one of Duntog’s granddaughter dreamt of the parent of Ma-
ay (wife of Duntog). According to the dream, Simpling (mother of Ma-ay) want her
bones to be relocated at the back of their house for her to have a peaceful rest. The
bones were originally placed in front of Ma-ay’s house near the road which
according to the deceased its noisy because of passersby. This situation intensifies

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the Ifugao world view that the physical world is connected to the spiritual world as
Apu Pablo (a mumbaki) mentioned, the souls of the dead linger around the physical
world that whenever they want to communicate with the living they can manifest
through dreams, via medium or by inflicting illness to someone. Because of the co-
existence of the living and earthbound souls, a person can be possessed by spirits
inhabiting pannad-flat area which cause someone to do odd behavior like loud
singing anywhere, roaming around, talking alone and any other behavior (Calde
and Ngina, 2004). To ensure that the message of Simpling (dead mother-in-law of
Duntog) was correctly interpreted by the family, they sought the help of a mumbaki.
The native priest advised them to perform the request of Simpling. Since they have
the means, they conducted the three days bogwa to appease the spirit. They
exhumed the bones and place it at the back of their house. After the ritual, the
condition of Duntog improved.
With the story of Duntog, it goes to show that well-off families can easily
perform the ritual knowing that they are financially capable of the expenditures that
comes with bogwa. Unlike to those poor families who need to money or collect
monetary assistance from relatives to raise fund to be used in the ritual.
With the above stories, it goes to show that bogwa becomes integral to
healing and wellbeing of the Ifugao. It shows how bogwa played an important role
in healing unexplanable illness. Furthermore, bogwa became channel for both the
living and the dead. For the dead, they inflict illness to their relatives to remind

68
them that they should not forget their deceased and request them for something
which eventually make bogwa their instrument to get their request from the living.
Spirit inflicted illness disturbs not only the physical health of the living, but the
totality of the wellbeing of the person as a whole. Well-being as described in this
paper is the ‘relational,’ even the psychological, social and emotional health of a
person, borrowing from various literature (Bakken, 2019; Better Health Australia
2018; United States Health & Human Services, 2018).
For the living, bogwa serves as séance for the Ifugao. The dead possess
‘luganan’ the mumbaki to communicate with the living during the ritual. This
agrees with Cannell (1999) in her Bicol study, stated that séances maybe held for
two reasons; either because it becomes clear that an illness is partly or wholly
caused by kalag-soul of the dead, or by the family who needs to speak to their dead
relatives. Meaning, séances by the parabulong- healers (in Bicol) allow the
demands of the dead to be heard and to be reconciled by the living relatives. It also
allows the living to discover the reason of someone’s death. While for bogwa as a
healing ritual, it gives the Ifugao an opportunity to talk to their departed. This
happens when the mumbaki summons the spirit of the deceased who inflicted the
illness, then the latter possessed the mumbaki. During bogwa, when the spirit
possessed the mumbaki, the living relatives usually ask the spirit “Ngay pohchom
an ifaga ta naguni ta ottaom an punligkhaton hitoy tagu?” (what do you want, why
are you oppressing this person?) then the dead answers through the mumbaki. The

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mumbaki serve as a portal which allow interaction between the spiritual and the
physical world.
According to Fadchoh an informant said that the pig sacrifices of the living
during bogwa serves as wealth of the dead in their new world. He further stated that
those who were rich during their life on earth are those who are poor in the world
of the spirits specially if they are not being exhumed by their living relatives.
Bunnag and Monggeh agrees with the statement of Fadchoh because they believe
that the dead also need to have property in their world. As Lewis (1991) suggested,
the dead needed pigs, rice wine, blanket, and even money because they too existed
within a wealth-based, and mutable, social hierarchy. That the soul of the ancestor
could subsequently rise or possibly fall in his social hierarchy in the spirit world
according to the oblations offered by living descendants. Mongeh added that “isu
nga kailangan nga mabogwa dagiti minatay tayo” (thus, it is a must that our dead
will be exhumed). This supports the Ifugao view on the connection of physical and
the spiritual world.
This also explains why the dead in the featured stories asked for animals to
be sacrificed. Thus, the departed need to be exhumed at least once to give them
wealth in their next world. As stipulated in the stories above, the spirits usually ask
for pigs and money to be used in their ‘world’- place where the spirit resides. The
raising of animals by the dead ancestors agrees with the findings of Lambrecht

70
(1957; as cited in Medina, 2000) which the soul of the butchered animals is raised
by their dead ancestors.
Spirit inflicted illness does not only affect the physiological aspect but also
the psychological, emotional and social being of an Ifugao. The psychological
aspect of an individual refers to the mental state or human psyche of a person.
Human psyche is the immaterial soul and mind of an individual where our thoughts
and emotions are constructed. It is also where we base our actions and decisions. In
the case of Bo-oy, he was psychologically disturbed by Ingga (his dead
grandmother). The old woman (Ingga) ousted the linnawa-soul of Bo-oy by
possessing Bo-oy’s body which in turn resulted to the unsound and frightening
behavior of Bo-oy.
While in the context of emotional domain, emotion are the sensations and
reactions that an individual feel inside one’s body which may fluctuate between
being positive, pleasure, love, joy to being experienced as negative emotion like
despair and hatred. Apart from external factors or events, one’s internal mental
thoughts, belief, expectations and pain contributes to the emotional state of a
person. In the accounts of Bunnag’s daughter, their father’s anger management
worsen during the duration of his illness. She said that their father easily got
annoyed and get mad at people. Bunnag’s worsened anger management is a
manifestation of his despair induced by the spirit inflicted illness he has
experienced.

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The social aspect of an individual refers to the relationship and connection
a person established with others. Being physically weak, Immay, Bunnag and
Duntog, stayed home during the duration of their illness. They were only able to
communicate with their immediate family who looked after them and some friends
or neighbors who visited to check their condition.
With the above paragraphs, it showed that the disturbed physical,
psychological, emotional and social state of the individual brought by spirit
inflicted illness resulted to discomfort, weakness, some lost their strength, their
sense of balance and perception towards things which eventually distorted their
physical body. Some can no longer eat, walk and think properly. In the Ifugao
world-view, the loss of the self can lead to ‘maut-utaw’- the soul has left its body
resulting to unsound behavior of the person. As mentioned with the stories above,
patients under the powers of the unseen seem to be possessed by their departed that
cause mental imbalance that are manifested in their actions and rationality. This
further explain that the physical wellbeing of the living is connected to the spiritual
realm.
According to the cured patients as well as their family members who took
care of them during the duration of the sick people who were inflicted by spirit
illness, the sick has no control over themselves and felt like they were ousted from
their body and lost somewhere. While interviewing the cured informants, I
observed that they are not really sure of what had happened to them. Because as I

72
elicit more information on their experience during the duration of their sickness,
they cannot fully verbalize what they have in mind because the lack of appropriate
words to express their experience. I remember Immay saying “basta hanko ma
explain nu kasano diyay marikriknak idi” (I cannot explain what I felt during that
time). One thing is for sure, they know that they were ill and they were cured by
conducting bogwa.
The ritual supports the idea of a parallel existence between the spiritual and
the physical realm. The mumbaki, during the conduct of bogwa, serves as a portal
that allows communication between the two realms. With the co-existence of both
the living and the unseen, the unseen holds advantage over the living by inflicting
misfortune, illness and punishment (Khonen and Khonen, 1986). But if the
‘messages’ are headed through the bogwa ritual, then the health will be restored. In
Bunnag’s case, instead of having a three-days bogwa as prescribed by the mun-
agba, his family decided to just clean the bones and butcher a pig which in turn did
not help improve Bunnag’s condition. This is similar to the case cited in Sidchogan-
Batani’s (2015) work among Kankanaey’s where the ritual to appease the disturbed
spirit was not properly done as it was shortened with ritual paraphernalia
compromised. It is believed that this improper ritual performance resulted to the
prolonged misfortube of the community. It was only when another ritual was
conducted this time with the required solemnity and presence of elders, that the
misfortune of continuing pesticide ingestion among young farmers stopped. This

73
was interpreted as the restoring the relationship of the dead and the living. Cannell
(1999) would forward the theory which holds that ‘that there is a problem with the
permeability of barriers between the living and the dead. As an effect, the dead who
holds advantage of this shared sociality can inflict harm to the living.’ This
observation is supported by Dait (2000) it is an Ifugao belief that their departed live
in a higher world and can influence the course of the lives of the living. Thus, in
order for the living to sustain or restore their wellbeing, they need to abide with the
request of their deceased. Bogwa serves as a reminder that the physical wellbeing
does not rely solely on what you do in the physical world but also on how you relate
to the spiritual world. A worldview that many indigenous communities adhere to.
Changes in the Process of Bogwa
Change is the only constant in the world, so they say. The following are the
observed changes in the conduct of bogwa over time. It is worthy to note that few
of the post-millennial informants are knowledgeable about these changes.
Singing of Hudhud (di nate) During the Vigil
According to Mongeh’s wife, Bunnag, Duntog’s sister in law and Fadchoh,
during the vigil especially at night of bogwa, people especially the in-ina- old
women used to sing Hudhud di nate (the dead) to pass the night. Dait (2000)
Hudhud is a long epic chant that narrates the exploits of Ifugao legendary heroes

74
usually sung by women during rice harvest (hudhud di ani/di page) and wake
including bogwa (hudhud di nate). Dulawan (2000) in singing hudhud, there is
nunhaw’e- a leading soloist who is an expert singer of tales. She added that the nun-
haw’e simply announces the title of the (tale) then the choristers would know the
cue word when they all join in the chanting until the end of the sentences, as these
are all stereotyped phrases of the names of characters, names of villages,
topography and kinship relationships. In the accounts of Dait (2000), chanting
Huhhud di nate ensures the night pass with people still awake until daybreak.
According to Stanyukovich (2013) there are other reasons why people chant the
huhdhud di nate (hudhud of the dead) during bogwa besides passing the night vigil.
Stanyukovich suggested that singing the hudhud di nate during bogwa notifies the
linawa-soul of the deceased of its new status and make it admit it (so they should
stop communicating with their living relatives through illness or dreams that
disturbs the well-being of the living since they are already in their ‘spirit’ world);
to achieve reconciliation of the dead and the living relatives (to send the request of
the dead, to appease them from any grievance through a mumbaki); to loosen the
emotional ties between the dead and the living (when a widower decided to remarry
and wish to cut his or her emotional ties with the deceased); lastly, to ensure that
the linnawa- soul forgets the way back home (by means of singing hudhud it
convince the dead to return to its own world and not to return to the world of the
living). Thus, the focus of singing hudhud di nate during bogwa is on separating

75
the spirit of the dead from their living relatives. Remme (2016) in Ifugao animism,
spirits are believed to inhabit the same world as the living human being, the two
classes of beings exist in different dimensions. He added that the co-existence of
the unseen and the living are actualized when spirits contacts human through
dreaming or illness, or when the living invoke the spirits for favor through baki. He
further posited that spirits are divided into three groups; (1) nun-apuh-ancestor
spirits, (2) Pinacheng- spirits that resides in large stones, river creeks and other
places, (3) Ba’i-spirits associated with specific illness, celestial bodies and
meteorological phenomena as well as spirits who control rice production and
agricultural yields. Because of the shared co-existence between the living and the
unseen, singing of Hudhud di nate ensures that the spirit of the dead departs from
communicating and disturbing his or her living relative, the chant also ensures that
the spirit of the dead forgets its way back home (where his/her living relatives live)
freeing its living relatives from his or her disturbance.
Unfortunately, singing the hudhud di nate during bogwa even during wakes
are no longer observed. According to Mong-ngeh’s wife, Fadchoh, and Bunnag, in-
ina-old women failed to pass the practice of singing hudhud di nate or generally
singing of hudhud because no one is willing to learn and sing it. Prior to the
introduction of education, Christian religion and modernization, people have the
luxury of time and interest to learn indigenous practices as they are bound in
cultivating their farms and participating in communal activities (which are agent of

76
transferring indigenous knowledge and practices). Unlike now, as indigenous
people embraced modernization (including education and religion) priorities of
people changed resulting in abandonment of some cultural practices. This
observation agrees with the point of view of Ngalob (2013), one of the trends that
are happening in every community is the inevitable socio-cultural changes brought
forth by education, religion and economic opportunity.
In exchange to singing of hudhud during the vigil of bogwa, people gamble
to pass the night. The commonly played games are tong-it, bingo, and billiards. In
every round of the game, a tong- money is deducted from the total bet collected
from each participant of the game. They would reason that the conduct of gambling
during wakes is to help the berieved, through the tong. The tong is then forwarded
to the host family. According to Marites an informant, it is one way of helping the
host family because we know that performing the ritual entails an economic burden.
Baki and the Mumbaki
Common to rituals conducted by the Ifugaos highlight the significance and
powers of a mumbaki (native priest) who act as a medium between the living and
the dead. They administer baki-system of rites and prayers imploring favor from
deities, gods and spirit of ancestors. Traditionally, mumbaki play an important role
during the exhumation ritual, they are the ones responsible in agba- a ritual used to
identify which ancestor is causing the illness prior to the performance of bogwa.
Mumbaki also appease the spirits of the dead in sending the offerings of the living

77
to the world of the dead through his incantation. Apart from praying and offering
pigs to the dead, they serve as the medium where in the dead can speak to the living
through them during bogwa.
As mentioned by the key informants, the dead possessed the mumbaki so
that he/she can speak to the relatives, including the openness to express their
grievance and requests from the living. Apu Manuela shared that in the second day
of Dud-duli’s (dead mother of Bunnag) bogwa,
Inbaga da Inday ken Lisa (older sisters of Bunnag) nga kayat da

makatungtung ni anti Dud-duli, ket idjay nariknak nga kayat met ni
anti Dud-duli nga maki katungtung kanyada isu nga limmugan
kanyak isu nga nakatungtung da ken naibagana nu ana kayat na
ibaga ken Bunnag (When Inday and Lisa told me that they want to
talk to their mother (Dud-duli) I suddenly felt that Aunt dud-duli
also wanted to talk to them so she (Dud-duli) possessed me which
give them (Lisa and Inday) the opportunity to talk to their dead
mother) (Apu Manuela, Personal communication, July 20, 2020).
With the above statement of Apu Manuela, it amplifies the significance of
a mumbaki as a channel between the physical and the spiritual realm. In relation to
the matter an observation was relayed by Mila and Bukkaw (both informants who
have conducted bogwa) during the interviews - that only few families conduct
bogwa compared before. Bukkaw said that
Idi gamin awan pay hospital ken do-doktor nga mangkita ken mang-
agas iti sakit isu nga adu ti agpapabogwa kumpara tatta (bogwa
before was common because there were no hospitals nor doctors to
cure the sick which eventually intensified the proliferation of the
ritual all over the province of Ifugao compared today) (Bukkaw,
Personal communication, February 17, 2020).

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Citing from the point of view of Bukkaw, there is no denying that the
number of people performing the ritual to heal the sick in the barangay is minimal
as product of socio-cultural changes. Martin (2017) reported that bogwa is one of
the fast disappearing practices of the Ifugao province. Apart from the disappearing
practice, the number of mumbaki is getting less and less. This can be noted from
the experience of Apu Pablo (a mumbaki) who shared that
Idi kunak ti annak ko nga ipasak kanyada ti panag buni ket haan da
kayat, haan da kano interesado isu nga kunak nga isurat ko lattan
diyay baki tapno nu matayak ket kasapulan da at least adda usaren
da (When I told my children that I will transfer to them how to
perform baki, they are not willing and interested so I decided to jot
down the baki-rite so that even though I’m dead at least they have a
copy when did it) (Bantiyan, Personal communication, July 19,
2020).
From the above statement of Apu Pablo, it can be deduced that his children
are not willing and interested to learn baki. This also indicates that mumbakis like
Apu Pablo are struggling in passing the baki because people nowadays have
different priorities brought by modernization including education, religion.
Collective Sharing of the Food
According to Monngeh’s wife, meals during bogwa were not distributed
through a pila- queue of people who receives their share of food. She described that
people eat in a boodle fight style whereby, the rice is placed in a ligao-large woven
tray, then chunk of meat were distributed, they also share a bowl of soup place in
the middle of the ligao. Nowadays, people no longer eat in a common ligao, instead

79
they serve food through tugwak – a cut sheath of banana plant designed for rice and
viand during meals, some used paper plates, plastic spoon, and cups. For organize
distribution of food, people fall in pila- a queue of people.
People find it practical to use washable plastics and ready to use utensils.
As Abayao (2000) stated, gone are the times when culture can be seen and lived in
its pristine and original form. That culture by indigenous people changed as
modernization influenced their lives.
Sociocultural Significance of Bogwa
To explain the significance of bogwa in contemporary times, structural
functionalism is used to determine the manifest and latent function of the
exhumation ritual as a social construct and structure. Structural functionalism is an
approach that explains that each institution, and relationships including norms
constitute a society which serves a purpose or social function to the continued
existence of the society as a whole.
Radcliffe-Brown (1952) stated that social structures are sort of ordered
arrangements of parts or components, the components or unit of social structure are
persons that occupies a position in a social system. As a social construct, bogwa
has a manifest and latent functions that sustain its continued existence in Sanafe,
Ifugao. Based on Robert Merton (1949; cited in Cole, 2019) manifest functions are
the intended or anticipated by people to be fulfilled by the institution or structures

80
that they have created like culture, education and health. While latent function are
the unexpected function of social structures that have a beneficial effect to the
society.
Bogwa’s Manifest Function
Apart from healing, another manifest function of bogwa is payment for
gibu’n di nate. There is a practice in Ifugao that when a widower wishes to remarry,
he or she should formally terminate his or her obligation to the soul of the dead
spouse as well as the alliance of their family. Just like the story of Mong-ngeh, their
dead mother requested for bogwa before her husband can marry another woman.
This imply that instead of paying in cash (Traditionally in Ifugao culture, the
widower need to pay gibu’n di nate in cash to the kin of the dead spouse prior to
getting married. The said practice of ‘paying in cash’ is no longer observe instead
bogwa-on cha – exhume the bones) the widower exhume the bones of the dead
spouse as gibu’n di nate.
Another manifest function of bogwa is called “ule” (kindness) if the family
decided to do the ritual as a form of remembering their dead relative, they can
perform the ritual. Exhuming the dead is a sign of gratitude to their departed. Most
of the time, well-off families conduct this type of bogwa since they can afford the
expense of the ritual. This also make bogwa as reunion for families. They exhume
the bones of their ancestor then invite their other relatives to join them which in

81
turn solidifies family relations. It is also the time where families get to know each
other as a member of the same clan.
There are instances whereby a resident conducts bogwa not because of
illness nor reunion but because he or she needs to reunite the relatives together.
Fadchoh shared that, sometimes when men (particularly) are drinking liquor or they
are drunk, they tease successful men or person to exhume his dead relatives as a
form of gratitude. “agkikinanchaw da, sika successful ka, bogwa-em met a day
naggannak mo” (they tease each other, oh you! you are successful, you should
exhume your ancestors as a form of gratitude.
If this happen, the man being teased will agree to showoff that he is willing
to do so and a sense of pride. Since the teased man agreed to exhume his dead
relative, he can no longer retrieve his words. Thus he should do it even though he
has no intention to do it. He has no choice otherwise something terrible will happen
to him or to his family. Fadchoh added that once a person says that they will exhume
their dead drunk or not, he should perform the ritual because the spirits are already
expecting the said ritual.
Informal talks like this is usually taken seriously because there is the view
that if one is successful in life one is obligated to perform bogwa. Here bogwa is
performed to express gratitude to the ancestors but also to give reason for the clan
to come together and share in the wealth. This is similar to the findings of
Sidchogan-Batani (2015) in her study of a Kankanaey community where a farmer

82
that chanced on a ‘jackpot price’ is almost always expected to perform the sida, a
thanksgiving ritual where ‘sharing of the plate’ is the main idea and in case sharing
of the wealth realized from vegetable farming, is obligatory. It is on this that Batani
(2015) concludes that the performance of rituals is somehow an observance of
renewing reciprocal relationship between the ancestors and the present day
Kankanaeys
Bogwa’s Latent Function
The latent functions of bogwa are those subtle effect of bogwa to the family
and to community. These are as follows; First, it binds the family closer this is
because bogwa serves as family or clan reunion. Through bogwa, family and
relatives extend their help in kind and monetary form as well as moral support to
the family. Relatives extend their help by providing financial assistance as well as
food like sack of rice, coffee, biscuits and pig. Moral support is also evident because
family members or relatives who live in nearby barangay or municipality extend
their support by attending the vigil and even staying up with the family until the
bones were returned to its tomb.
Secondly, bogwa strengthens the solidarity of the people in the community.
When the neighborhood knows that someone will be conducting a bogwa or even
other occasions like wedding or burial, they automatically help in the preparation.
They help the family by cutting and collecting tree branches to be used as firewood,
others also help in putting up a tent which serves as the pavilion where the bones

83
will be displayed all throughout the vigil of bogwa. Some help in butchering the
pig, cooking and cutting of bananas sheath to be used as plates. The ritual thus
exhibits and intensifies the Ifugao practice of binnadang- a work sharing system
whereby the people in the community partake in any endeavor of their neighbor.
They may not help them monetarily at least through labor or service. The help and
cooperation of people during bogwa helps minimize the job of the families who are
conducting the ritual.
Another latent function of bogwa is the strengthening of Ifugao ‘respect to
the dead ancestors’ because the ritual becomes an avenue for the living and the dead
to strengthen their relationship as part of maintaining and restoring Ifugao well-
being. That bogwa become a symbolism which an Ifugao should not forget and
abandon his/her dead relatives even after death because the departed can still
influence the living by sending messages through illness.
With the above latent and manifest function of the ritual, it shows that
bogwa as an exhumations ritual plays a significant role not only beneficial to the
direct family but as well as the community as a whole. Bogwa as a healing ritual
has become an identity of the Ifugao community. An identity that showcases
indigenous knowledge embedded in the practice of healing in conformity with the
shared sociality of the living and the unseen. That indigenous people in the
Cordillera have own ways in dealing with health that baffles the world of medicine.

84
Amidst modernization, Ifugao’s worldview towards the influence of dead
ancestors to the living prevails. The powers of the dead towards the living by
sending message through illness paved way to the construction of indigenous
healing ritual as a functioning structure shared by the Ifugaos that is still significant
in maintaining the wellbeing of an individual up to the present.
Summary
The salient findings of the study are as follows:
1.There are two prevailing Ifugao notions of bogwa;
a. Bogwa as an alternative healing ritual. This notion is driven by the
fact that people do not automatically turn to indigenous healing practices. People
seek the wisdom of the past usually if the medicine offered by science and
technology is not effective in curing the illness, making bogwa an alternative
healing ritual among the Ifugaos in Sanafe.
b. Bogwa as an alternative healing but also as a source of additional
financial cost to the family who performs the ritual. This notion is rooted in the idea
that the family needs to shell out to provide for the pigs and other expenses in
conducting bogwa and due to changing conditions of the community, they find
these as impractical. From a simple farmer or laborers perspective, spending more
than what they can earn is impractical. With hand to mouth existence, performing
the ritual is another spending that they cannot afford.

85
2. Bogwa as an exhuming ritual play an important role in the health and
wellbeing of an Ifugao. As argued in the literature, the co-existence of the living
and the unseen, dead ancestors send messages to their living relatives through an
illness which disturbs the health and wellbeing of the individual. In the study site,
in order to restore the health and wellbeing of the person, the family of the ailing
person performs bogwa to send off the request of the dead through the mumbaki.
3. There are three (3) observed changes in bogwa;
a. Singing of ‘Hudhud di nate’ during night vigil of bogwa is no longer
observed instead, people gamble. The discontinuity of singing hudhud di nate is
because no one is interested and willing to learn as people embrace modernization
as their priorities changed.
b. Ritual has been simplified and made more practical -people still eat with
their hands with plate but no longer in liga-o; and the ritual can already be
conducted in one (1) day. This again is for practical reasons.
c. The number of people performing the ritual is minimal compared to the
recent past. The number of mumbaki has become less and less.
4. Besides healing the spirit inflicted illness, the following are socio-cultural
significance of bogwa;
a. The manifest function of bogwa are as follows; people perform bogwa as
a way of remembering their dead ancestors. The success of a person with high
status, a successful person or having good fortune is believed to be influenced by

86
their dead, therefore, as a sign of respect and gratitude, the person performs the
ritual. Secondly, bogwa is used as payment for gibu’n di nate wherein, before a
widower remarries, he/she needs to formally terminate his/her obligation to the soul
of his/her dead spouse. To do so, he/she needs to perform bogwa. This also makes
bogwa a symbol of great respect of Ifugaos to the dead. Another manifest function
of bogwa is as family or clan reunion. Ifugaos use the exhumation ritual to reunite
with their families and relatives especially to those who are living far away.
b. The latent function of bogwa includes; where the ritual intensifies close
family ties because family members help each by extending their hand though
monetary, labor/service, and moral support. Bogwa also intensifies the Ifugao
concept of binnadang in the community. With the commencement of the ritual,
neighbors extend their help by helping in the preparation of bogwa which
strengthens the value of brotherhood/sisterhood in the community. It also highlights
the significance of indigenous knowledge like bogwa in maintaining the health and
wellbeing of a person.

87
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
Based on the findings the following conclusions were drawn:
1. For the Ifugaos in Sanafe, the two prevailing notions of bogwa as
exhumation ritual are; (a) as an alternative healing ritual which people always turn
to invoking their dead ancestors when an illness cannot be cured by medicine; at
the same time, some consider it as (b) an additional financial burden to the family
who performs the ritual because of the undeniable cost of the ritual
2. Bogwa as the alternative healing ritual continued to prevail and be
performed among the settlers in Sanafe as the people get contentment and relief
from illness. However, because of the continued observance of the practice, it raise
questions on the state of spirituality of the people in the community.
3. From the original process of bogwa, some changes were made that
accommodated its continued existence. This implies that settlers of Sanafe able to
alter some parts of bogwa for practical reasons.
4. Bogwa’s continued existence as a practice among the Ifugaos primarily
aided and backup its manifest and latent functions. For without this function, it
might have been lost in the sea of modernization. And that bogwa survive because
settlers of Sanafe still believe in the effectiveness of it, the fact that it has also been
proven by informant’s testimonies of how bogwa is able to restore health and well-
being.

88
Recommendations
Based on the findings and conclusions, the following are recommended;
1.Recommended guidelines for incorporating ‘bogwa’ in indigenous knowledge
in Ifugao education which can take the following form:
a. Curriculum development. Bogwa can be integrated as part of the
Indigenous People’s (IP) education. Bogwa and other indigenous knowledge
continuously fading in this fast phase generation. As western concepts and ideas
consume all aspects of the Philippine education including the undeniable
colonization of neighboring countries’ culture through media, it is timely and
relevant for the Ifugao to promote its local or indigenous knowledge.
b. Bogwa can be integrated in the HEKASI discussion in the primary
education as an alternative health care system to the biomedical and western
oriented health care system.
2. Research agenda for future consideration:
a. Find out the status of bogwa in other municipalities of Ifugao.
b. Detailed historical research on how bogwa becomes a healing process
among the Ifugaos and its implications to the social, spirituality and education of
the people.
c. Comparative studies on how the Ayangan and the Tuwali perform the
ritual in Ifugao and its effects on the Ifugaos.
d. Research on local healers.

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https://www.transterramedia.com/collections/936-ritual-exhumation-
ifugao-philippines. Accessed on June 30, 2019.
TUGUINAY, A. 2009. Old Ifugao Customs and Traditions.
http://ifugaocustoms.blogspot.com/2013/02/old-ifugao-traditions-bogwa-
bone.html. Accessed on June 20, 2019.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
2018. Well-being Concepts. https://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/wellbeing.htm.
VENERACION, J. 1992. From Babaylan to Beata; A study on the Religiosity of
Filipino Women.

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3/WIA19963_04CoverStory.pdf. Accessed on March 20, 2020. P.3-4
VIDAL, C. 2008. What is a Worldview. http://cogprints.org/6094/2/Vidal_2008-
what-is-a-worldview.pdf. Accessed on October 29, 2019.
VINNEY, C. 2019. Social Constructionism and Examples.
https://www.thoughtco.com/social-constructionism-4586374. Accessed on
November 1, 2019.
WALLWORK, E. 1984. Religion and Social Structure in the Division of Labor.
https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1525/aa.1984.86.
1.02a00040. Accessed on October 9, 2019.

APPENDIX A
Interview Guide A
Profile of the Respondents

Name (Optional): ______________________________________
Gender: ______________________________________________
Age: ________________________________________________
Occupation: ___________________________________________
Civil Status: ___________________________________________
Highest Educational Attainment: __________________________
I. Questions on the prevailing notion of bogwa

A. Questions on the prevailing notion of bogwa as an exhumation ritual
a. What is bogwa?
b. What are your views about the practice of bogwa?
c. What are the effects of bogwa to the culture of Ifugao?
B. Questions on the prevailing notion of bogwa in relation to the unseen

a. What are your belief about the unseen beings?
b. How is bogwa related to the unseen?
c. How do the unseen beings affects the practice of bogwa?
II. Questions on the practice of bogwa as integral to healing and well-being

a. How does bogwa helps in healing and well-being?
b. What is the connection of healing and well-being to bogwa ?
c. What is the connection of the unseen to the well-being of a person?
III. Questions on the changes of the practice of bogwa among the Ifugaos.
A. What specific step in the procedure of bogwa in the past that are no longer
applied today?
B. What caused these changes?
C. What influence the changes in the original procedure of bogwa?
IV. Questions on the significance of the ritual in contemporary times.

A. What are the manifest function of bogwa?
a. Besides healing, what are other functions of bogwa?
B. What are the latent function of bogwa in terms of?
a. family?
b. community?
c. Ifugao culture?

98
Interview Guide B (Cured patient)

Profile of the Respondents
Name (Optional): ______________________________________
Gender: ______________________________________________
Age: ________________________________________________
Occupation: ___________________________________________
Civil Status: ___________________________________________
Highest Educational Attainment: __________________________
1. When and why did you conducted bogwa?
2. Who inflicted illness to you?
3. What did you feel during the duration of the sickness?
4. What was the request of your dead relative?
5. When did you feel better?
I. Questions on the prevailing notion of bogwa
A. Questions on the prevailing notion of bogwa as an exhumation ritual
a. What is bogwa?
b. What are your views about the practice of bogwa?
c. What are the effects of bogwa to the culture of Ifugao?
B. Questions on the prevailing notion of bogwa in relation to the unseen

a. What are your belief about the unseen beings?
b. How is bogwa related to the unseen?
c. How do the unseen beings affects the practice of bogwa?
II. Questions on the practice of bogwa as integral to healing and well-being

a. How does bogwa helps in healing and well-being?
b. What is the connection of healing and well-being to bogwa ?
c. What is the connection of the unseen to the well-being of a person?
III. Questions on the changes of the practice of bogwa among the Ifugaos.
D. What specific step in the procedure of bogwa in the past that are no longer
applied today?
E. What caused these changes?
F. What influence the changes in the original procedure of bogwa?
IV. Questions on the significance of the ritual in contemporary times.

C. What are the manifest function of bogwa?
b. Besides healing, what are other functions of bogwa?
D. What are the latent function of bogwa in terms of?
d. family?
e. community?
f. Ifugao culture?

99
APPENDIX B
Informed Consent
February 8, 2020
Sir/Ma’am;
I am a student of Benguet State University who is taking up Masters of

Arts in Social Studies. At the present, I am conducting a study entitled Bogwa: A
Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao.
In regard to this, I am asking your consent for the conduct of semi-
structured interview (maki ininistorya) to collect necessary information.
Interview to key informants will be conducted on February 15, 2020 upon
the approval of the conduct of study and signing the letter of consent. Data
gathered through an interview will be transcribed. Rest assured that any
information provided will be used solely for the purpose of this study.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
(Sgd) KE-AL A. ALINDAYO
Approved:
(Sgd)Alex B. Dulnuan Sr.

(Signature over printed name)
Barangay Captain
Date: ___________

100
APPENDIX C
Letter to the Key Informants
Dear Key Informants:
Good Day!
I am a student of Benguet State University who is currently taking up
Masters of Arts in Social Studies. At the present, I am conducting a study entitled
“Bogwa: A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao”.
In the regard, I am asking for your precious time, and effort to answer all
the questions that I’m about to ask, your honest answers are much appreciated and
will be helpful for the study.
Rest assured that all information from you will be kept in the highest level
of confidentiality.
Your positive response in this request will be valuable contribution for the
success of the study and will highly appreciate.
Thank you very much for your cooperation. God bless!
Respectfully Yours,
(Sgd) KE-AL A. ALINDAYO

Researcher
Noted by:
(Sgd) RUTH S. BATANI, PhD.

Research Adviser

101
APPENDIX D
Documentations
Punghan Family Fishpond in Purok 7 Sanafe,

Lamut, Ifugao.
Road leading to the Barangay hall from Lamut.
A stream in Purok 3 where residents use to wash

their clothes during weekends.

102
Some pictures were taken during the data collection procedure upon the approval
of the key informants.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
The author is an alumna of Sanafe Elementary School in Sanafe, Lamut,
Ifugao. He finished his secondary at Hapid National High School in Hapid, Lamut,
Ifugao. In 2016, he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Ifugao
State University in Nayon, Lamut, Ifugao and have passed the Licensure
Examination for Teachers in the same year after graduation.
He taught as an online ESL (English as a Secondary Language) teacher at
abc360 in Cooyeesan, Baguio City for two years. In 2018, he was hired as a social
studies teacher for Senior High School at King’s College of the Philippines (KCP)
Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet. He was later invited as a keynote speaker during the
Philippine Christian School Network teacher’s seminar held at KCP in La Trinidad,
Benguet. The said seminar was participated by different Christian Schools in Luzon
and Visayas. In 2019, he was awarded as the Model Teacher for Private Elementary
and Secondary Schools in the province of Benguet. Presently he is still a social
studies teacher at KCP.

APPENDIX E
Sample Transcribe Interview Data
Profile Reason for 1.Notion of bogwa 2.Practice of 3.Questions on the 4, significance of

bogwa (what is bogwa? bogwa as changes of the practice the ritual in
Belief on the integral to of bogwa among the contemporary
Unseen) healing and Ifugaos. times.
well-being
1.Immay (46) I vomit blood Bogwa is a type of Bogwa help me I think there is no It intensifies
Married, and I was healing ritual gain my difference on the social relationship
Computer really weak among us (Ifugaos) strength. Bogwa procedure it’s the same of the
management (Feb. 2020) inflicted by our was called upon they excavate clean and neighborhood
graduate -I sold a piece dead relatives. The when the doctor rewrapped the bones.
of land I practice of bogwa is didn’t find any
inherited from expensive because irregular to my
my parents. we almost spend body.
According to 29, 000 during the
the mumbaki time. Bogwa is one
(Aunt. way of talking to
Manuela) my the unseen. I
(dead) mother believe with the
want to ask unseen because
money from they are the ones
me for her to inflicted pain on me
use.

2.Mong- My husband I think bogwa was a In 2003, a When I was young I saw Cooperation
ngeh’s wife suffers reunion before doctor, that during meals in among the
(54) hallucination because whenever I diagnosed by bogwa, people tend to neighbors because
BS Biology and was very see family does it husband has a eat in a buddle fight they help during
(under weak. I many of their bone cancer. style whereby they put the ritual.
graduate) thought It was relatives attend so I (bimmasit day the rice on a ‘bilao’ then It intensifies
just because thought it was a maysa nga saka people will be given a family relations
he is alcoholic type of family na) but after piece of boiled meat. because despite
so I didn’t gathering among they bogwa my They will share the rice having
believe him. ifugaos. (dead) mother together and drink the misunderstandings
(No.2019) Now I believe that in law whom soap (which is placed at we are still
My (dead) bogwa is a healing they believe the center) – but now obliged to help
father in law ritual because of its inflicted the people give food to because they are
wants to effectivity. Bogwa illness, his knee people with the use of our family
change his is expensive started to return banana or paper plates.
clothes because we need to back to its I also observe that
provide for the pigs original size. during the second
to be sacrificed. funeral old women used
Bogwa serves as a to sing hud-hud – but
channel for the now people don’t do it
dead to tell us about because during the wake
what they need. people gamble (bingo
and tong-its)
I think these changes is
brought by the numbers
of mumbaki which is
lessening so people no
one passes these practice

3. Bunnag I was very Bogwa is a ritual to I believe in I observe before that Cooperation
(62) farmer, weak, I cannot cure the ill. There is bogwa because women dirge during the among the
undergraduate stand nor walk a positive and it is one way of second funeral they neighbors
on my own negative side of curing the seem to be crying but no
My (dead) bogwa- it is illness that the tears can be seen from
mother wants expensive. doctor cannot their faces- but know
to be exhumed I don’t believe with cure. I believe it people do that because
and change the unseen but I because I was only few are
her clothing believe in the cured and I see knowledgeable about it.
‘alalingaas’ sounds many people Religion changed the
of unidentified being cured by perception of people
being that makes it. about baki.
sounds in the forest.
Bogwa is a calling
to the dead to
express their
request to the living
5.Ingkuh (43) Jaime our Bogwa is really We went to a I believe there is no Medicinal for the
farmer younger helpful for the mambuyun changes in the process people.
brother was Ifugao as it serves according to of bogwa since it is a
possessed by as healing him the bones ritual we should follow
our great especially to illness of our great every step of it.
grandmother inflicted by the grandmother is
lab-ang. dead ones. scattered inside
(2005) We let her tomb.
him fetch the Knowing the
carabao situation of the
pastured on bones we did

the hills not care about it
however, it until our great
was already grandmother
dark but did what she
hasn’t come thought is right
yet so we went for us to clean
to look for and fix her
him there we bones.
found out that
he is eating
grasses along
with the
carabao
6. Bukkaw Bogwa is no longer I don’t believe Before the minimum of
Auto-diesel as big deal as with bogwa bogwa is 3 days but now
Mechanic before because few because I they only clean the
(42) Kagawad people conduct the witness some bones and since life is
said ritual and I who did the hard people are not
believe that the ritual but it willing to spend.
process of bogwa is didn’t take
not strictly effect. Before
followed. I don’t yes because
know the buni is very
connection of strong.
bogwa to the dead


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BOGWA: A SURVIVING TRADITIONAL SOCIAL CONSTRUCT IN

SANAFE, LAMUT, IFUGAO

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao /

Republic of the Philippines

This thesis hereto attached, entitled BOGWA: A SURVIVING

TRADITIONAL SOCIAL CONSTRUCT IN SANAFE, LAMUT, IFUGAO

prepared and submitted by KE-AL A. ALINDAYO in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS (Social Studies), is hereby

GIGY G. BANES, PhD ANN HEATHER P. KIWANG, MAT

RUTH S. BATANI, PhD

Accepted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS (Social Studies).

SAMUEL S. POLIDEN, PhD ROMEO A. GOMEZ JR., PhD

acknowledged or duly cited.

not been submitted for another degree.

KE-AL ABLANG ALINDAYO

BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao /

determination as my main ingredient to succeed in broadening my horizon, I would

with me to attain this goal.

Thank you so much Dear Lord.

I offer my sincerest gratitude to my adviser, Dr. Ruth S. Batani, who has

To my panel members, Dr. Gigy G. Banes and Ma’am Heather B. Kiwang,

for your help.

BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao /

who supported me by giving their insight to improve my manuscript. To Mr. Jemar

my inspiration in writing this thesis, Thank you so much.

BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao /

KE- AL A. ALINDAYO July 2020. BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional

Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao. Benguet State University, La Trinidad,

Adviser: Ruth S. Batani, PhD

The study aimed to document Bogwa as a surviving traditional social

construct in Sanafe, Ifugao. It specifically delved into the prevailing notion of

wellbeing of an individual. It aims to explore the sociocultural significance of the

disappearing traditional culture in the contemporary time.

The exploratory qualitative research design was used to document bogwa

as a surviving traditional social construct. Key Informant Interview in the form of

education. Modernization and education afforded changes in the process of bogwa

BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao /

includes the enhancement of indigenous peoples’ knowledge and practices. The

ritual intensify community relationship by keeping closer community ties, fostering

cooperation and boosting ethnic identity and cultural pride.

Comparing the number of exhumation ritual conducted in the barangay and

exhumation ritual might not be observed as people embrace changes induced by

technological advancement and modernity.

BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao /

Approval Sheet ………………………………………………….................... ii

Certification …………………………………………………………………. iii

Table of Contents……………………………………………………………. viii

List of Tables ………………………………………………………………... x

List of Plates…………………………………………………………………. xii

Background of the Study…………………………………………….. 2

Statement of the Problem …………………………............................ 25

Population and Locale of the Study………………............................. 27

Data Collection Instruments.………………………………………... 40

Data Collection Procedure .. ……………………………………….. 41

BOGWA: A Surviving Traditional Social Construct in Sanafe, Ifugao /