ORLANDO ABINION doesn't fear the dead, 'only the living'. Which is why the archaeologist has devoted his life to unearthing the mysteries of the Philippines' forgotten fire mummies and protecting the sacred sites from looters. The charred but amazingly well-preserved corpses have been hidden in mountain caves for centuries, their whereabouts known only to ethnic Ibaloi descendants - and a few graverobbers.
With a fire mummy fetching up to US$20,000 (HK$156,000) on the black market, Abinion has spent 30 years fighting to conserve the cultural treasure, for not just the Philippines, but the world. He has spent decades building trust with the Ibaloi tribespeople to put together clues about their ancient rituals and lifestyles.
In Hong Kong to promote a television documentary on his work, Abinion comes alive as he tells of his journey of discovery into the remote mountains of Kabayak on the north of Luzon island. 'It has been hard and slow, but with perseverance I have learned a lot about the Ibaloi,' he says.
The first mummy was discovered in 1918, when one was sold by a Kabayak native to pay a legal bill in a neighbouring province. But it was only when a logger stumbled across a mummy cave in 1972 that the area attracted any attention. The government listed it a national treasure and Abinion set about the tricky task of locating the caves to protect them from thieves.
The Ibaloi people pray to the mummies, believing their souls are intact and interact with the living. If the mummies are disturbed, it may bring natural disasters. 'It is hard to win their trust,' says Abinion. The Ibaloi will only allow a cave to be opened if proper procedure is observed. This involves an elaborate day-long ceremony that includes the slaughter of live animals and can cost as much as US$1,000.
By 1977 Abinion had located up to 100 mummies and 200 caves. But he had not unearthed or even seen one until 1984, when the mummy that was stolen in 1918 was recovered. 'Nobody else would touch it,' he says, 'because they were afraid.' Abinion had no such qualms: 'I am afraid of the living, not the dead,' he says. Unable to display it in the National Museum in Manila where he worked, he kept it in his office for 15 years.