KIANGAN, Ifugao - On Monday, a mumbaki of Kiangan, Rommel Tayaban, presided over a ritual for the safe voyage of Joan Guitoben, an overseas Filipino worker, back to Canada.

The mumbaki -- an indigenous priest -- marked the beginning of the ritual in Guitoben's residence with a prayer in Tuwali, the native language of Ifugao, followed by the offering of rice wine, betel nut, and the slaughter of six native chickens for their ancestors and deities.

The favor of their ancestors and deities is said to manifest in the aesthetic condition and color of the chickens' bile. With the mumbaki's blessing, the chickens were cooked and shared among Guitoben's family.

After the ritual, certain prohibitions must be observed by both the mumbaki and the ritual's subject. For the next three days, Tayaban and Guitoben must remain inside the latter's house, abstaining from seafood, root crops, and from laying with their respective spouses.

The 44-year-old Tayaban is the youngest among less than 20 mumbakis left in Ifugao.

Mumbakis are bound by unusual restrictions; they are prevented from having even the slightest of physical contact with any member of the opposite sex other than their family and spouses. As a mandate, they must always be able to respond to requests of ritual aid -- failure to do so is considered taboo.

According to Marlon Martin, the Chief Operations Officer of Kiangan Culture and Arts Council these challenges make the mumbaki's life unappealing to most, especially to young people immersed in the preoccupations of modern life, mainstream culture, and the influence of other religions -- with many finding better job opportunities in the urban community.

Even the old mumbakis, he claims, are aware of these predicaments and find it hard to see among the youth the mental and spiritual fortitude required of their vocation.

In contrast to the lack of interest in the calling of the mumbaki, they are continually sought out by many in Ifugao for a variety of ritual requests. Still, this puts the fate of the mumbaki at an uncertain future, should their population continue to decline.

Mumbakis like Tayaban can only hope for a restoration of the indigenous faith to safeguard the tradition.

"Maybe the best that we can do is to encourage these few existing mumbakis to go on with their vocation and to convince the younger people to become neophytes or interns, and for the older mumbakis to accept them."