By ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The kararwa or spirits of those who perished in the worst Bontoc bus tragedy may have not settled yet due to their untimely death and the villagers of Talubin, Bontoc, Mountain Province hope to prevent such tragedy again through a tengao.

The elders of the community declare a tengao or a village holiday to perform and observe a traditional cleansing ritual. Called vhayo by the I-Talubin (people of Talubin), their elders are required to go to the accident area in Pagang where they call on Kabunyan, the Igorot god, and the spirits of those who reside in the area to partake of their offerings of chicken, salted meat, and tapey or rice wine.

They endear their deity and the spirits to come and listen to their pleas, and grant them and those who come this way their close guidance and protection. So that as in this case, vehicular or road accidents like it may not happen again, and may the spirits so kindly continue to protect the residents from any spill of blood (death or accident).

Five elders or amam-a prayed to Kabunyan: Buwaen Suagen, Paeg Luya, Sinagen, Gakelan Chalcugen, and Pitawen Kita recited the ritual prayers.

After the ritual in Pagang, the elders went back to their Tua ator – an indigenous common house and socio-political center – to perform a continuation of the ritual and a pig was offered or butchered and its meat meat was shared by the whole community.

The vhayo ritual is performed by elders to generally cleanse any incident that has resulted to blood spilled, explained Maurice Baniswal. It is mainly done to make peace and appease the spirits for their protection and to spare anybody from death and accidents.

Edgardo Suagen, a member of the village council of Talubin, added that the vhayo ritual also prays that may the roads and vehicles continue to co-exist without any accidents. He said that the ritual is very important to the community. “Everybody must respect the ritual and observe the tengao, nobody must leave the community – whether to attend their fields or travel outside in the period designated,” he explained.

Tengao

In the performance of the vhayo ritual, the umili (villagers) declared a tengao or community holiday on February 12 where villagers must stay in the community for the day.

In order for the ritual offerings to be accepted by Kabunyan and the spirits, it should not be disrupted by any vehicles or passersby. Hence they coordinated with the Bontoc officials and police to stop vehicles coming from Mount Polis (Banaue area) and those coming from Bontoc for the whole morning of February 12 while the elders were performing the ritual at the accident site in Pagang. The vehicles were only allowed to pass in the afternoon, according to the elders of Talubin.

Talubin is one of the barangays of Bontoc town located along the Bontoc – Banaue Road.

Colorum bus culprit

On February 7 at past 7 AM, a Florida Trans bus line with plate number TXT 872 bound for Bontoc from Manila fell into a 120 meter ravine along the Bontoc-Banaue Road in Pagang, Ab-ab, Talubin, Bontoc. Of its 47 passengers, 15 have died, including one seriously injured and brought to Manila, and 32 others now recupaerating from injuries.

Governor Leonard Mayaen identified the dead foreigners as Alex Loring from Canada and Anne Van De Ven of the Netherlands and Tado Jimenez of the TV industry.

Residents claimed it to be the worst accident involving a bus line which has been illegally transporting the public to and from the province. # nordis.net