IN Egypt during the time of the pharaohs, death is part of their lives. Because to them death immortalizes their life as kings or even as commoners, hence they prepare their deaths long before they die by building burial grounds and tombs that even up to this day are still around being marveled by the entire world. The ancient Egyptians have succeeded in immortalizing their lives through these burial grounds.
The same is also true here in the Philippines, whose former occupants were also very particular with how their remains should be immortalized. In Sagada, for example, the old Sagada people hanged their dead loved ones on the face of the mountains. They did it for the dead to be closer to the heavens and far from the animals, which used to cannibalize the dead. They did it to preserve the bodies of the people they cared. It was a tradition popularly practiced many years ago, although not everyone who died got the same privilege. According to a tour guide of Sagada, only those chosen by their tribe were allowed to be placed with the mountains citing the tradition as sacred. Those who did not fall for the category were placed inside the caves. This may not be as important as being placed in the mountains but hiding the dead inside the cave was also considered solemn. Up to this day, visitors can still see the old coffins inside these caves most of them dates back to more than 500 years or before Christianity was introduced in the Philippines. More than five centuries have gone yet the coffins are still there like they were just placed or hanged just recently. The ancient Sagada people, despite the absence of technology back then, succeeded in preserving their dead for everyone to see many centuries after.
These old traditions are gone, as not all areas have mountains for the dead to be hanged or deserts to build pyramids for tombs; this is why to preserve the legacy of the dead developers have created memorial gardens. In these memorial gardens are the mausoleums, which are the modern-day pyramids where members of the family can be entombed during death. These can be their second home where they can all stay in one place, forever. There is also the garden burial ground for those who would want to be with nature with their epitaph speaks of how they lived their lives and how they want to be remembered, similar to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, where all the important people were buried. To those who want a more solemn resting place, there is the cremation process where the ashes are placed in a vault properly labeled and preserved.
However one wants to be remembered, the process, like in the ancient Egyptian and Sagada ways, does not happen on the day of their death. It is well-planned, and skillfully prepared, the same way the old folks did during their time.
To know more about the modern-day Valley of the Kings and the pyramid-like entombment, visit Celestial Meadows. They have at least five locations all over Cebu.
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