"CUTUD, Philippines (Reuter) - Fourteen people were crucified in the Philippines on Good Friday and dozens whipped their own backs into bloody pulp as the country commemorated the death of Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago. [Some people know how to party.] One Japanese and 13 Filipinos were nailed to wooden crosses [What? No Southerners?] under a broiling noon sun while thousands of tourists from the United States, Japan and Europe gawked at the spectacle in Asia's only majority Catholic country. The Catholic Church however frowns on the bloody rites which combine Catholic fervour with traditional primitive beliefs. Schinichiro Kaneko, a 28-year-old Japanese Catholic from Tokyo, screamed in pain as gleaming five-inch nails were hammered into his palms and feet by Filipinos dressed as Roman centurions. [I know what you're thinking: Where did they get their uniforms? Jarnaginicus Maximus?] ``I take responsibility for all these troubles,'' Kaneko said in a statement absolving local officials from any charges in case he died while impaled on the cross. He was taken down 10 minutes later and wept while scores of Filipinos laughed. [The impression obviously went sour. Tough crowd. Some people are hard to please.]
Sham
Some get crucified outside of Cutud to get paid, according to Enaje, who does not approve of the wrongdoing.
And the consequences are really harsh, Castro warns.
"E la mamangat king bie. Guguyud la pa mu rin (Their lives don't improve. They're unable to rise from hardships)," he says, identifying several men who made profits from the crucifixion rite. "Bad karma struck them and their families."
Enaje says quite a few have lost their sanity and have been punished through bad fortunes.
Even flagellation (pamagparaya), the rite of slitting one's back and whipping this until blood profusely spurts, has lost its prayerful features.
Gone are the days when flagellants (mandarame) would devote the entire Maundy Thursday for sakab or salibatbat (embracing the hot grounds) while contemplating on their sins and recalling Christ's sufferings.
Departing from tradition, penitents turn rowdy as they drown themselves in beer and gin, purportedly to let the blood gush freely.
It used to be that penitents retreat into their homes for silent prayers. Starving to atone for their sins, the diet of penitents only consisted of Sarsi cola mixed with fresh eggs.
Enaje, who grew up seeing his grandfather, father, uncles, and brothers whip themselves no end, observes that these days, flagellation is "yabang namu (done to brag)."
He reckons that out of 100 men, only three have religious intentions. The rest, according to him, join it as a rite of manhood.
"Ala king pilubluban da. Itang tapang ing importante karela ali ing pangadi (They're not sincere about it. What's important to them is that they are able to display courage, not prayers)," he says.