360The Kabayan Branch
Brief History
The Kabayan Branch Museum was established to ensure the proper implementation of P D. 260 which declares the Kabayan Mummy Caves of Kabayan, Benguet a National Cultural Treasure. The mummy caves are secret niches of the native tribes particularly the Ibalois and Kankanays located in the far-flung mountains of Benguet Province.
Among these caves are:
Timbac located in Singkalsa Mountain 8,000 feet above sea level;
Tenongchol, a man-made burial rock located in Barrio Kabayan, Benguet;
Opdas Burial Cave, otherwise known as the "cave of skulls";
Bangao Cave; and, the Ambacdet Burial Cave.
The Kabayan Museum has been declared an "Endangered Site" by the World Monuments Watch which needs immediate preservation. The American Express Company through the World Monuments Fund extended imancial assistance for the initial conservation and protection of the caves.
Collections
Ibaloi, Ikalahan/Kalanguya and Kankanai material culture: wooden bowls to contain food, baskets to store and contain agricultural produce, a bulbous pottery jar to store and contain a ritual rice wine called tapuy, and a ritual skull of a pig.
(This museum had also exhibited four mummies, which were eventually returned for burial in Timbac Caves on February 18, 2004.)
Category/Type of Museum: Ethnographic
Location, Museum Hours & Contact No.
National Museum, Kabayan Branch, Kabayan, BenguetRegion I
By air via Asian Spirit Airlines. By land through provincial buses going to Baguio City, and then a four-hour travel from the city to the Museum.
Mondays-Fridays / 9:00 am - 4:00 pm;
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays by appointment
Contact Information:
ASBMD, National Museum Central Office; 527-4192
email: nm_asbmd@yahoo.com
