Echoes Beneath the Earth: Cultural and Spiritual Beliefs of Miners in the Mining Industry

Abstract

Mining is a high risk occupation in which danger, uncertainty, and survival are part of everyday work. In many community based and small scale mining contexts, miners rely not only on technical knowledge but also on cultural and spiritual belief systems that guide conduct, decision making, and safety practices. This study explored the cultural and spiritual beliefs of miners in a selected mining barangay in Mankayan, Benguet and examined how these beliefs shape work behavior, readiness, and safety within everyday mining life.Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, in depth semi structured interviews were conducted with ten experienced miners selected through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed thematically to surface shared meanings embedded in miners’ lived experiences. Findings revealed that miners’ beliefs are deeply embedded in daily work routines and are expressed through rituals, taboos, prayer, bodily discipline, and behavioral restraint inside the mine. These belief based practices function as practical safety frameworks that influence readiness to enter the mine, attentiveness during work, and responses to danger. Safety was understood not only as a technical concern but as a moral and spiritual responsibility sustained through collective discipline and shared norms. The study further found that miners actively negotiate traditional cultural beliefs alongside Christian faith and contemporary safety awareness. Rather than abandoning earlier practices, miners integrate and reinterpret belief systems in response to generational change and evolving work conditions. This negotiation allows belief based practices to remain meaningful and relevant within modern mining contexts. By centering miners’ narratives, the study highlights belief as a lived and functional component of safety and work in mining life. The findings contribute to qualitative research on labor, culture, and occupational safety by demonstrating that effective understanding of mining safety must account for cultural and spiritual dimensions alongside technical measures.