IN FOUR leyang (caves) in Mt.
Maagui-agui in San Marcelino,
Zambales, lie the remains of over 1,000
Aetas swallowed by fire and mud
during the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, 15 km from the caves.
Tribal leaders revisited the site only in June last year on the
eighth anniversary of the 1991 blast.
But in June this year, they will bar visitors from seeing the
caves. At least 10 Aeta communities in San Marcelino want to
secure the remains, mostly of Aeta elders, in a common tomb.
Last year, the Inquirer was shown one cave that crumbled from
the eruption's accompanying earthquake. Boulders blocked the
cave's mouth.
Fearing the desecration of the dead, Aetas refused to let
outsiders see three other caves where most Aetas perished.
''The elders wish to give their dead a decent burial,'' said Rufino
Tima, an anthropologist who has worked with Pinatubo Aetas
since 1972.
Revisiting the leyang and the interests it spawned among
tourists have stirred discord among elders, he said.
''They are not a homogeneous group. Coordinating visits in the
area necessitate consulting all the tribes whose loved ones are
in one of those caves,'' Tima said.
Elders also accused chieftains in Mt. Maagui-agui of receiving
money from visitors.
Tribal dialogues have been held to settle the conflict and from
these, the elders later learned that the accusation, especially
against Parait Tagay, the mountain village's chief, was not true.
After the issue was settled, the Aetas of Abueg, Lumibao,
Itanglew, Buhawen and six other villages wanted to proceed
with rehabilitating their communities.
In June this year, the ninth anniversary of the Pinatubo
eruption, Tima said tribal elders also wanted to hold the
traditional burial ceremony to appease the souls of those who
died during the eruption.
Last week, the Aeta Development Association began its
fund-raising campaign for the construction of a common burial
site.
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