CUTUD, Philippines, April 10, 2009 (AFP) - An Australian and 29 Filipinos were crucified in different parts of the Philippines in gory annual Good Friday rituals imitating the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
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John Michael, a 33-year-old from Melbourne, joined three local men and one woman in being nailed to a wooden cross in Kapitangan town, just outside Manila. Another 25 men were crucified in Cutud town, north of the capital.
Such practices, although not formally endorsed by the Roman Catholic church, are carried out as part of religious vows in return for favours granted or in penance for sins.
Michael, who was half-naked and wearing a long-haired wig with an improvised crown of thorns, joined the Filipinos in a procession carrying a huge wooden cross to a crucifixion site, flanked by men in Roman centurion costumes.
The Australian 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, the centurions rushed him to a medical tent for treatment.
Michael would not say why he had joined the ceremony but an Australian companion merely said "this is a personal thing for him."
In Cutud, where such crucifixions are a 54-year-old tradition, 25 people were crucified in three districts as thousands of foreign and local tourists flocked to the scene.
Many of these "Kristos"-- as the crucified men are called -- have gone through this ordeal a number of times. The leader of the main body of Kristos, 48-year old Ruben Enaje, 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.
Domingo Cunnanan, 38, said had been a "penitente" for 16 years, but had graduated to being one of the Kristos since 2007.
"I wanted to be crucified because I believe this is will keep my family safe, with the help of God," Cunnanan said.
"The pain of penitence is nothing compared with a year of grace given to my family by God," he added.
"I think it's crazy," said British tourist Mirjam Leenhouts. "Why would you want to hurt yourself?"
"That's some kind of extreme devotion," she remarked, as she witnessed the Kristos at Cutud being crucified three at a time.
After crucifixion, each Kristo is taken to a medical tent to have his wounds bandaged while another takes his place on the cross.
"We have precautionary measures such as giving out medicines, sterilising of the nails for the crucifixion, and have first aid kits prepared just in case," said George Dayrit, a medical team member.
Critics say the event has become commercialised and is used for money-making rather than an expression of faith.
Town councillor Jimmy Lazatin, an organiser of the event, said that the crucifixions were a way of attracting tourists who bought hats, sunglasses, soft drinks, snacks and shirts from vendors who converged at the site.
Not all townsfolk were involved and many could be seen drinking and gambling while their neighbors marched in the hot sun, flogging their backs crimson.
Francis Santos, a relative of one of the flaggelants, remarked "they are just selling the 'penitentes' but people still believe in God and that is why they are undergoing this sacrifice."
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