INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.On Friday, over a hundred people
watched on as 10 devotees were nailed to wooden crosses, among them Ruben Enaje, a 63-year-old carpenter and sign painter
The real-life crucifixions have become an annual religious spectacle that draws tourists in three rural communities in Pampanga province,
north of Manila.The gory ritual resumed last year after a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic
crucifixions, Enaje told The Associated Press by telephone Thursday night that he has considered ending his annual religious penitence due
to his age, but said he could not turn down requests from villagers for him to pray for sick relatives and all other kinds of maladies.The
people, especially the young and old, would be affected
have helped send prices of oil, gas and food soaring elsewhere, including in the Philippines, making it harder for poor people to stretch
their meagre income, he said.Closer to home, the escalating territorial dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea has
relief for people in southern Philippine provinces, which have been hit recently by flooding and earthquakes.In the 1980s, Enaje survived
nearly unscathed when he accidentally fell from a three-story building, prompting him to undergo the crucifixion as thanksgiving for what he
He extended the ritual after loved ones recovered from serious illnesses, one after another, and he landed more carpentry and sign-painting
and other religious devotees, wearing thorny crowns of twigs, carried heavy wooden crosses on their backs for more than a kilometer (more
than half a mile) under a hot summer sun
Village actors dressed as Roman centurions hammered 4-inch (10-centimeter) stainless steel nails through their palms and feet, then set them
aloft on wooden crosses for about 10 minutes as dark clouds rolled in and a large crowd prayed and snapped pictures.Among the crowd this
streets and beat their bare backs with sharp bamboo sticks and pieces of wood
the mostly impoverished penitents undergo the ritual to atone for their sins, pray for the sick or for a better life, and give thanks for
superstitions.Church leaders in the Philippines, the largest Catholic nation in Asia, have frowned on the crucifixions and
Filipinos can show their faith and religious devotion, they say, without hurting themselves and by doing charity work instead, such as
donating blood, but the tradition has lasted for decades.Source: Associated Press-Agencies
