Hanunuo Mangyans

The past is being forgotten, as well as our culture and traditions. nowadays, people do

what is in the society. People are so fast to cope up with the changes which rapidly happens

nowadays without even thinking of whats being left out. This documentary is all about the

Hanunuo Mangyan tribe in the Mansalay, Mindoro Oriental they do not leave their dead in the

grave for long, digging up the remains of loved ones in an unusual ritual that itself is slowly

dying out. The "kutkot" ritual is a tradition of bringing the dead back to life.

Mangyan peoples old practice which they call Pangutkutan. They dig the bones of

their deceased loved ones to transfer it to a cave because they believe dead ones are not dead but

still there guiding them while they are on their way to the other world that they are saying. I could

only witness this kind of practice in movies but to my surprise, it does exist through Mangyans. As

we head towards modernization, it is a threat that we no longer observe such tradition we

have. Culture is our identity, we must value it is a context that must be passed from generations to
the next.

The first caught my attention in the documentary is the amount of money they spent.

We only spend 1 to 3 thousand pesos every birthday of each member in our family, but, the

Mangyans people spent 10 thousand pesos even there is no birthday celebration for their living

family but for their dead loved ones . That just tells how well they prepared for that occasion.

Even they are not really a rich people, they have saved that amount for the occasion that might be

very special for them.

The whole occasion is very expensive and you really must exert lots of effort. After

digging the bones, they must to walk miles and miles far to reach the cave where they have to

transfer the bones. And, it is not a flat road theyre walking at by the way. I admire Ms. Kara David

for her dedication in her work. She is doing everything to make her documentary real and genuine.

It is really touching to see them gathered as one to not just celebrate but to execute this

kind of occasion for the deceased member of their family. They are so sincere, I can see it through

their faces. Though I never thought of doing the same thing to our deceased family because we
still have differences with our beliefs, but, I will never forget to love them as well as how the

Mangyan people love their dead member of the family.