Kabayan Mummies

Kabayan Mummy Burial Caves

Location of Kabayan Caves in the Philippines
Alternate name	Benguet Mummy Caves, Ibaloi Mummy Caves
Location	Kabayan, Benguet, Philippines
Coordinates	16°33′N 120°45′E / 16.550°N 120.750°E / 16.550; 120.750Coordinates: 16°33′N 120°45′E / 16.550°N 120.750°E / 16.550; 120.750
Type	Burial Cave
Management	National Museum of the Philippines

The Fire Mummies of the Philippines, also known as the Kabayan Mummies, Benguet Mummies, or Ibaloi Mummies, are a group of mummies found along the mountain slopes of Kabayan, a town in the northern part of the Philippines. They were made from as early as 2000 BC until the 16th century, when Spain colonized the Philippines. Today, they remain in natural caves and a museum in Kabayan.

Scientists believe that the Fire Mummies were created by the Ibaloi between 1200 and 1500 AD in five towns in Benguet and buried in caves. Others believe that the process of mummification began at 2000 BC. What makes the Fire Mummies unique is their process of mummification. That mummification began shortly before a person died, where he would digest a very salty drink. After his death, his corpse was washed and set over a fire in a seated position, thus drying the fluids. Smoke from tobacco was blown into the mouth to dry the body's inside and internal organs. Eventually, herbs were rubbed into the body. Mummified bodies are then placed in a coffin made of pinewood and laid to rest in rock shelters, natural caves or man made burial niches. The practice of that mummification ended, since Spaniards colonized the Philippines in the 16th century.