Dozens nailed to crosses on Good Friday in Philippines

Mar 21, 2008, 9:47 GMT

Filipino penitent Ruben Enaje is nailed to a wooden cross during a re-enactment of the passion of Jesus Christ in Santa Lucia, province of Pampanga, Philippines, on 21 March 2008. EPA/MIKE F. ALQUINTO

Manila - More than 30 Filipino devotees were nailed to wooden crosses and dozens more whipped their backs bloody in the Philippines Friday in an annual re-enactment of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

Thousands of devotees and tourists flocked to San Fernando City in Pampanga province, 75 kilometres north of Manila, to witness the highlight of Easter celebrations in the predominantly Catholic country.

Nineteen devotees were nailed to wooden crosses in the village of San Pedro Cutud, the main site of the re-enactments, while another 10 were crucified in nearby Santa Lucia village.

Similar re-enactments were also held in other parts of the country, including Manila, on Good Friday, the annual commemoration of Christ's death.

In Bulacan province, just north of Manila, five people, including an 18-year-old woman, were also nailed to wooden crosses.

In many places in the Philippines, dozens of hooded men walked shirtless and barefoot in the streets, hitting their backs with bamboo sticks attached to ropes or whips fitted with broken glass as penance for sins, offerings for wishes or a sign of thanksgiving.

Fernando Mamangon, a 37-year-old father of nine, was one of those nailed to a cross in Santa Lucia. He has been joining the ritual for the past 13 years.

'I started when one of the children almost died from an ailment,' he said in a telephone interview as he prepared for the ritual. 'I do this now for my family. One of my children is sick again, and my wife just had an operation.'

Mamangon admitted the ritual was painful but added, 'After I'm brought down from the cross, I feel so light. I feel cleansed of all my problems and sins.'

In San Pedro Cutud, Ruben Enaje, a 47-year-old carpenter, was nailed to the cross for the 22nd time.

'Everytime I consider stopping, something bad happens, so for as long as my body can bear the pain, I will do it,' he said as he donned a crown of thorns and lead the procession of other 'Kristoses' carrying wooden crosses to a dusty hill.

Thirteen- to 15-centimetre nails soaked in alcohol were then hammered into the palms and feet of each of the Kristoses, after which their crosses were lifted to a vertical position for at least five minutes under the scorching sun.

The Roman Catholic Church officially frowns on the bloody rituals but makes little effort to discourage the highly popular practices.

Earlier in the week, Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto urged his provincemates not to turn Good Friday into a circus for tourists.

Aniceto reminded them 'to thank God for the blessings they receive and never use their devotion for tourism purposes.'

Foreigners used to join the crucifixion in Cutud but have been banned since 1997 after local officials learned that a Japanese man nailed to a cross the previous year was actually an actor being secretly filmed for a scene in a Japanese pornographic video.

More than 80 per cent of the Philippine population are Catholic and mark the Holy Week with prayers, pilgrimages and church visits. Some Filipinos also go on family vacations or visit their provinces during the Easter holidays.