Cleansing rituals to be done in Natonin

NATONIN, Mountain Province:

Local officials and tribal leaders in this town are preparing to conduct age- old cleansing rituals at ground zero of the landslide where 18 people perished in the aftermath of Typhoon “Rosita” to drive away evil spirits and guide local rescuers to locate 11 others missing under the rubble of the four-story building of the Department of Public works and Highways (DPWH).

Mayor Mateo Chiyawan announced the termination of the massive search, rescue and retrieval operations to allow personnel of the Philippine National Police, Philippine Army and Bureau of Fire Protection to return to the their respective beats as residents and volunteers will continue the downgraded operations.

“We have to make a painful decision because we saw the sacrifices made by our men in uniform and other volunteers but we have to call off the operation and leave things to be done by the residents and other volunteers from nearby provinces,” Chiyawan said. the operation.

Among the rituals to be performed by the tribal elders include the “dawes,” a cleansing ritual wherein animals will be butchered and offered to help in driving away the evil spirits in the area, and the “ngilin” wherein people will not be allowed to go out of their residences out of respect to the departed individuals and those who are still missing.

Chiyawan said local rescuers would be deployed in strategic areas within the vicinity to ascertain whether the missing individuals were thrown off to distant areas for the possible retrieval of the bodies.

He also expressed gratitude to over 500 rescuers from various government agencies and local government units who provided the needed assistance in the retrieval of the bodies of 18 victims who were among more than 30 people buried by tons of mud and huge boulders from a mountain slope, as well as the DPWH structure that was undergoing construction at Barangay Banauel.