Philippine Penitensya (Mortification of the flesh)

Photo Taken: March 21, 2008 in front of a church in San Pedro, Laguna

Every Good Friday of the Holy Week in the Philippines, some catholics in the Philippines go into a ritual called "Penitensya" (Penitence), where they hurt themselves by crawling in the streets or by self-flagellation. What some do is they let others hurt them by hitting them with whips or sticks. Some even go as extreme as having themselves nailed into a cross. As per tradition, they say this is a way for them to show their repentance for their sins.

Mortification of the flesh literally means "putting the flesh to death". The term is primarily used in religious and spiritual contexts. The institutional and traditional terminology of this practice in catholicism is corporal mortification.