Old women of Bontoc perform indigenous ritual to retrieve drowned boy’s body

Baguio City – Old women at Bontoc Ili gathered on November 22, 2020 to chant 'kapya,' a ritual prayer calling for the ancestors to help search for the body of a drowned boy.

Kapya, according to Bontok Published Text, literally means “cause-goodness” and it is equivalent to the English term “blessing.” Asking for a blessing means requesting for something good to happen.

The performance of the ritual was done to expedite the continued search for the body of a boy who was reported to have been drowned at 10:00am of the same day along Kadchog River at the ili.

Based on the report of Bontoc Emergency Operations Center, the victim is Kyneihner Waggay Sawi, 11 years old, a resident of Chakchakan, Bontoc Ili, Bontoc, Mountain Province, and a student of Bontoc Central School.

He will be turning 12 by December 18, 2020.

According to Gretchen Fakat whose house is overlooking the Kadchog River, the screams of two children prompted her to go to the site to verify.

The two children named Harley, 13 and Rjay, 10, both residents of Chakchakan Bontoc Ili said they were swimming together when suddenly, the victim was swept by the strong current.

Upon receiving the drowning incident, responders, family members, and community volunteers came rushing to the scene.

A backhoe of JBA Construction was borrowed to divert the volume of water at Kadchog River.

As of this writing, the search and retrieval operation is still ongoing.

Responders on the scene includes personnel from the Bontoc Municipal Police, Bontoc Municipal Fire Station, Bontoc Emergency Response Team, Municipal Health Office headed by Muncipal Health Officer Dr. Diga Kay D. Gomez, Mountain Province Police Mobile Force, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Provincial Security Guards, and the community.

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