John Safran, a comic from Australia, joined three Filipino men and a woman who were each nailed to crosses as part of the Easter celebration. The Australian reportedly did it for "forensic" insight into religion. The ceremony, which took place just outside Manila, is an annual event.
An AFP report from Manila said the Australian, who was half-naked and wearing a long-haired wig with an improvised crown of thorns, joined Filipinos in a procession carrying a huge wooden cross to a crucifixion site.
He could be heard moaning loudly as the nails were driven into his palms and as his cross was hoisted up, allowing him to hang for about five minutes.
When he was taken down, he was rushed by men dressed as centurions to a medical tent for treatment.
Another story about these rituals, including the tale of Ruben Enaje who endured his 23rd crucifixion. Enaje, a carpenter, vowed to undergo the ritual after he escaped unscathed when falling from a three-storey building. Accompanying the Kristos are hundreds of “flaggelants”, or “penitentes” – hooded men who whip their own bloody backs with whips of bamboo and rope, as penance for sins.
Comments