Dotted throughout the hilly Kabayan municipality in the Philippines , XII of in secret concealed " fervidness mummy " have lain undisturbed for one C of years . experience by local anaesthetic as meking , these well - save corpses belong to the ancient ancestors of the Indigenous Ibaloi , yet environmental change now threaten to destroy these revered remains .
The popular condition " fire mummy " derives from the process by which these bodies were preserved . Though the exact cold gangrene method has never been written down and is now for the most part forgotten , it ’s believed that the meking were smoked over prospicient period of time , resulting in an excellent state of preservation .
Themummified bodieswere then place in caves atop the highest mountains in the Benguet realm . At elevation of almost 3,000 meters ( 9,840 feet ) , the cold flock conditions avail to protect the body from abjection and decay , although climate change , leaks , and human preventive have seen some of thesemummiesbecome infested with mold and insects .
In an attempt to preserve the meking , researchers from the University of Melbourne haveinstalled environmental monitorsin some of the caves that domiciliate these ancient mama . This will permit scientists to track change in moisture and temperature before deciding on the best trend of action to protect the mummies .
And while the squad is hopeful of safeguard the fire momma ’ hereafter , other researchers are still trying to piece together the history of these macabre token . Because the arcanum of the Kabayan mummification mental process have only been passed down by word of backtalk , the discontinuation of the tradition mean that many of the details have now been lost .
For instance , no one knows incisively how many mummies exist or where their caves are located . It ’s also unclear how and when the tradition started , although local legend evoke that the first person to become a fire mummy was a 12th - hundred ruler and superman namedApu Anno .
Like many other firing mom , Apu Anno ’s body was so immaculately preserved that the tattoos wrap up his body are still seeable . Stolen from its resting piazza in 1918 , the legendary leader ’s mummy was later paraded as a carnival attraction in Manila before curve up in an outmoded store , only to be in conclusion return to the Ibaloi in 1999 .
unhappily , Apu Anno ’s mummified body is currently invaded with fungal spores and now lie down in a cave that can not be accessed by the world while scientists attempt to preserve the corpse .
So far , research worker have not accurately dated the remains of Apu Anno , although radiocarbon geological dating of other flack mammy has indicated that some are between 150 and 200 year old . This suggests that Kabayan mummification was exercise all the elbow room up to the 19thcentury .
The process itself is also largely unknown , although it ’s believe that soundbox were strapped to a contraption called a " death chair " while they were cleanse with salt pee and dried with the sens of burning herbs . No one knows for trusted which works were used , although interviews with local endemic elders have indicated that many of the factor – include a native plant life calledEmbelia philippinensis – were specifically chosen for theirantimicrobial properties .
harmonize to local beliefs , the meking were site atop muckle so they could be closer to the god . Unless their destruction is averted , some consider that disaster will betide present and future generations of the Ibaloi .
