Beyond Bizarre -- Philippines
Documentary television hosted by Jay Robinson focused on exploring great mysteries around the world, from ghost sightings, alien encounters and everything else in between.
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00:00Easter is the most religious day on the Christian calendar, and the ritual observances of the
00:08holiday take a variety of imaginative forms around the world. Many of these colorful celebrations
00:18are often tailored to the particular culture involved. For most modern believers, it usually
00:26involves church services, or perhaps an Easter egg hunt for the children. But in some corners
00:36of the earth, commemorations of the holiday take the form of rites that the world has
00:44not seen in 2,000 years.
00:52The Philippines is a lush land of palm trees and tropical sunsets, a land where Christian
01:00traditions run deep, a legacy of the Spanish occupation that began centuries ago. And while
01:09most of the country is traditional Catholic, there is an annual religious service here
01:16that is as shocking and extreme as any in this civilized world. In the impoverished
01:23villages near Mount Pinatubo, a community devastated by recent volcanic eruptions, Holy
01:30Week is a time of particular importance, a time to reach out for spiritual help in order
01:38to endure the hardships of life. Here, ardent believers seek delivery from sin through public
01:47display of humility. By crawling towards the site of worship, the faithful display their
01:54absolute submissiveness to the will of God. Wearing a decoration symbolic of a crown of
02:02thorns, they invoke the very image of their Lord and Savior, as well as turning an act
02:09of piety into something of a spectator's mort. This arduous feat takes them from church to
02:22church and village to village, delivering a theatrical expression of faith to the peoples
02:30of the region. Another form of expression is self-flagellation, a tradition extending
02:43back many years and practiced by various cults in medieval Europe as well. It is a kind of
02:51homage to the torture experienced by Jesus at the hands of his persecutors. This is a
03:00form of self-flagellation. Believers seek to share the suffering endured by Christ himself,
03:05and thus earn their own eternal salvation. In preparation for this ceremony, their backs
03:22are beaten with a cat-o'-nine-tails to bring the blood near the surface of the skin. The
03:30bodies are bound up as well, another gesture of self-sacrifice. Then incisions are made
03:43into the backs of the participants. This is done not so much to inflict pain as to create
03:50a bloody parade of self-torment, intended to create a vivid display of piety and faith.
04:00And to remind all observers that salvation does not come without sacrifice and travail.
04:08A treatment of alcohol provides a small attempt at hygiene, though bodily health hardly seems
04:18the priority here. But beyond even these incredible practices, we witness one of the most harrowing
04:26details in the Christian world. The faithful actually seek to reenact the crucifixion of
04:34Christ himself in all its ghastly details. Huge crosses weighing up to 300 pounds are
04:44constructed for the believers to carry to the site of their ultimate act of faith.
04:55As crowds follow to witness the strange spectacle, spiked pallets are used to make cuts in the
05:03backs of the participants to recreate the wounds inflicted upon Jesus during his final
05:10hours of life. This is followed by one final flogging for good measure. Ironically, the
05:18event is marked by amused crowds and the festive atmosphere of something more like a county
05:28fair. This is in stark contrast to the moods of those who are about to be crucified. This
05:39is no melodramatic performance. The pain they will feel will be real.
05:47Invoking the image of their savior, the stars of this grim performance prepare for the astonishing
05:54climactic phase of their extraordinary ritual, the actual crucifixion. Clearly this is a
06:02moment of mounting anxiety. Despite this man having been annually crucified 17 times before
06:10today, his hands are miraculously unmarked and they are not pierced ahead of time. This
06:22ritual will be authentic. Every detail has been considered as the final preparations
06:29are made. The belief is to ensure one's salvation, one must come as close to God as possible
06:40to experiencing the ultimate sacrifice. The sacrificial figures are laid on a cross and
06:49bound to it with ropes and cloth. Then, incredibly, the hands are actually punctured with a long
06:58steel spike. Finally, the cross is hoisted up to the vertical and the image is carved
07:09and the ritual is complete. The fascinated crowd surrounding them, these believers relive
07:23the last moments of Christ's life and portray his act of sacrifice for the good of humanity.
07:31It is an astounding vision to see the central icon of the Christian religion brought graphically
07:38to life. Agonizing as it must be, there seems no shortage of interest in both witnessing
07:46or taking part in this extraordinary event.
07:54For many years, this macabre ritual has been performed in the hopes that the struggling
08:11people of these rural Philippine villages will win God's mercy and assistance and assure
08:18their own eternal reward. The sincerity of their faith can hardly be questioned, but
08:26their particular form of religious expression is surely unique in the modern world and is
08:33an exercise in rituals that are beyond bizarre.