Light a fire for the souls
I noticed since I was young, Halloween here in the Philippines has been greatly influenced by the American culture. Adorned in many houses especially in subdivisions, are numerous decorations from pumpkins, spiders, cobwebs and the usual monsters we grew up liking to fear like Dracula, Frankenstein, witches and the local mix of Aswangs, tikbalan, manananggal and white ladies. Those talk of ghost and other supernatural phenomenon that seems to populate our TV screens and print media whenever Halloween approaches have waned my interest recently. I used to like them growing up.
Twilight cemetery fire
I hope our media feature more on the interesting traditions of our locals and indigenous people. Once such tradition that only a few people knew is the Festival of Lights celebrated high up in the mountains of Sagada. I wrote about this before but I’d like to feature some photos I wasn’t able to post then. It’s a very interesting practice that should be included in your itinerary in case you decide to visit the place during Holloween.
The cross
All Saints day or Halloween has somehow, like Christmas, been reduced to commercialism. Although a lot of people still flock through the cemeteries to visit their departed love ones, I hope that it’s not just a mandatory practice to clean up the graves and socialize with the next graveyard neighbor and catch up on their lives. All Saint’s Day is about remembering our departed loved ones and let us remember in every candle lit and prayer. Happy Halloween!
I wasn’t aware of this Festival. I will keep this in mind for next year. Thanks for the tip.
Nice pictures and account as usual.
How is your new work? Happy?
nice skin! interesting site!
i like the halloween special of gma 7′s reporters’ notebook. they were trying to discover the truth behind some aswang stories but ends up seeing the horror that poverty and prejudice brought to the town’s people.
Very spooky but nice shots! I remember one of my family (in Phils) halloween traditions is to prepare (cook) & offer some food for the dead.Syempre yung mga paborito nila noong buhay pa sila,lol
Wow. Haunting, but very lovely pics… perfect movie set pieces. Works really well with the music I’m listening to at the moment. Hahaha!!! That image of the kid lighting the fire is sooo poignant and poetic.
Well done, matey!
This is a great series.
cool photos…i never seen it before…look like they burn cemetary….kinda scary atmoshere….awesome sereis:-)
[...] 8. Campo Santo The Sagada Cemetery. Ferdz blogged about a tradition of burning bonfires instead of candles during All Saints’ Day. His post here. [...]
I’m a big Sagada fan and I’m ashamed to have never heard of this. I’m coming back soon! YAY!
[...] I hope our media feature more on the interesting traditions of our locals and indigenous people. Once such tradition that only a few people knew is the Festival of Lights celebrated high up in the mountains of Sagada. I wrote about this before but I’d like to feature some photos I wasn’t able to post then. It’s a very interesting practice that should be included in your itinerary in case you decide to visit the place during Holloween… from All Saints’ Day At The Highlands [...]
Hi. Just curious: gaano na kaya katagal itong tradition na ito sa Sagada? Because we know they previously hung the coffins of their dead, di ba? That’s the “old tradition” that is no longer practiced. E itong bonfire kaya? It would be interesting to know how this evolved.
Hi Jeff, I think we can trace this since they have a record of the names of the dead when they first started this tradition. We’ll look into it more when I visit the place again.
[...] managed a short hike up the Calvary Hill and passed through the Sagada Cemetery where some of the converted Christians are already buried six-feet under. From behind the Cemetery [...]
[...] seems to be ablaze. Looking closer, the cemetery becomes a landscape of flames. They call this the Festival of Lights or Panag-apoy. It’s a local tradition where they burn bundles of pinewood on the graves of their [...]