I really would like to find out who is this guy who claims to know the Igorots and their customes. I am married to a man from the Kankana-ey Tribe (one of the 4 Igorot tribes). I had to learn about their coustoms. With only a few exceptions on the where the women stand in their comunities (the Kankana-ey women are the head of their houses and hold strong positions in the community and are also Shamans). The point I want to get to is this:

The only reasion that the process to make a mummy is held for the elite is because of the expence and not because of the Sex, Ranking or Status of that person. The lowest ranking person could be made to a mummy if they had the money to be able to afford it. The process is almost right as it was told on your show but for the "Salt Water" one week before they die as my Kankana-ey cousin said, "how does any one knows that they will die in One Week".

They do use the Guava leaves to rub the body with as it sets on a chair in the middle of all the fires.

The reason it's so expensive is because of all the wood that must be kept to feed the fires and the animals that must be buchered, the rice and rice wine as well as gin in order to feed the people that will help. All this must continual 24 hours for up to two weeks.

Sincerely Yours
Elizabeth G. Enat