Villagers Volunteer to be Crucified

SAN PEDRO CUTUD, Philippines (AP) -- At least 11 mostly impoverished villagers have signed up to be nailed to wooden crosses in a bloody reenactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion that draws thousands of tourists to this northern village each year, an official said Thursday.

The Lenten ritual is opposed by religious leaders in the Philippines -- Southeast Asia's largest predominantly Roman Catholic nation -- but it has persisted to become one of the country's most-awaited summer attractions in the farming village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga province, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of Manila.

Village leader Zoilo Castro said 11 men, mostly poor laborers, have registered to be crucified on Good Friday but added that more might agree to take part in the ritual, which he expected would draw about 20,000 foreign and local tourists. He said 14 penitents were crucified last year.

About 500 policemen would guard the event this year because of concerns over possible terrorist attacks in the country, he said.

Despite its bloody nature, the crucifixions "are a call for peace and a return to religious values in a time where many wallow in sin,'' Castro said.

Most foreigners are drawn by curiosity. "They come here because some don't believe that people really get themselves nailed to crosses here. They want to see to believe,'' he said.

The Catholic devotees will have their palms and feet pierced to crosses with 10-centimeter (four-inch) nails, which would be soaked in alcohol to prevent infection, as a form of penance for sins, to pray for a sick relative or to fulfill a vow, Castro said.

Some of the devotees have been crucified several times. One devotee, 44-year-old commercial sign maker Ruben Enaje, would be crucified on Good Friday for the 19th time, officials said.

"Most of these men are poor. They're either praying for something or maybe wanting to repent for some misdeeds,'' Castro said.

Aside from the crucifixions, dozens of barefoot men, their faces shrouded by scarves and heads crowned with thorny vines, carried wooden crosses in past years around San Pedro Cutud's dusty and scorching streets. Other men, stripped to the waist, cut their bare backs with broken bottles attached to a piece of wood then beat their wounds with bamboo whips to cause more blood to ooze, drawing droves of camera-toting tourists.

Religious leaders discourage the bloodletting, saying it's unnecessary and superstitious because men could atone for their sins by sincerely asking for forgiveness and returning to a sin-free lifestyle.

Aside from becoming a yearly tradition, the crucifixions have given additional income to impoverished San Pedro Cutud, a village of about 9,000 people that was ravaged by the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo.

Villagers instantly turned their front yards into kiosks, offering all sorts of thirst quenchers, snacks and native wide-brimmed hats to ward off the brutal summer sun.