07/09/2019
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๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐: ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐, ๐๐ญ. ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐๐, ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ
The Bontoc death rite is heavily class-laden and there are three classes in this tradition; The Kachangyanโmembers of the community who usually posses a great number of material wealth(Usually the first born Male or Female), the KetnaโA person who was born Kachangyan but has less property at the time of death, and the Lawaโthe poor.
Upon death, the female Kachangyan is dressed up with the white lamma blouse and fitay in ultramarine blue, finely woven and embellished in Xs and diamond forms representing rice mortar and palay grains respectively. On the day of the burial, a head covering called the safkungโusually of the same material as the lamma; is laid in place. The male Kachangyan has to wear white wakes or loin clothes tightly woven in in the langteb or diamond design. A dead Kachangyan has to have 3 blankets; the fanchala, the pinagpagan and the fiyaong but most importantly the finangurawan for the male and the Lewes for the femaleโThese are black cotton clothes loosely woven like gauze
The Ketnaโusually the second or third or cousins of the Kachangyan has to be dressed up with the prescribed attire of the Kachangyan. For a female, their attire is a white lamma or blouse of coarse yarn and loose weave known as kineter. The kain or dark blue wrap skirt is also woven in kineter and embellished with 7 diamondsโone less to that of a Kachangyan. For the male, the loin cloths are done in plain weave and has ten sets of ridge lines on the rear flap. There are 2 blankets for the Ketna.
For the Lawa, the female blouse is a white lamma in the coarsest and thinnest weave called faw-faw and is strictly plain and devoid of embellishments. The kain for the Lawa is a three-panelled black cloth with a narrow white stripe at each central length of the panels. For the male Lawa, the white loin cloth is done in faw-faw with five and six sets of ridge lines on the front and rear flaps of the loin cloth respectively.
The most important part of a Bontoc death rite is the pot-pototโa tradition the involves apportioning of blankets into one part for the descendants and another for the deceased. This rite ensures a smooth and swift passage of the spirit of the deceased from the mortal world to the world of the spirits. All social ranks perform this rite and it is only usually skipped if the deceased was young or unmarried.
