Our Tradition to Honor our Ancestors

When a family member dies, mom says that funerals are part of Ilokano tradition. Even though we are away from our family in Narvacan, we send money home to continue our tradition.

First, the long hearse drives up to the ili's church. When the bell toll its solemn ring for the first time, the birds fly away across the hot sky. At the church door, the pall bearers enter, carrying the casket in. Trail of weeping women follow, wearing black, lace veils. Children follow their mothers, hand in hand. And their men walk beside them with their heads hung low.

When everyone is seated, the voice of the pade echoes in the stone church.

The weeping is a quiet undertone to the solemn speech of the pade.

The family begins their rounds around the casket, saying their last words. Others follow, and when they finish their last words at the casket, they leave a flower, and shake hands with the grieving family sitting at the pew.

After the service, the pallbearers carry the casket out, and the church follows behind. The casket is carried into the hearse again. The hearse leads the way to the cemetary. Women follow behind the pallbearers, holding their umbrellas.

The tomb is uncovered, and the casket is lowered. Prayers, tears, flowers hold down the tomb cover, so the spirit may not wander, in sadness or anger of an improper burial, in the afterlife.