On Friday I dropped by the CD Video store to return my pirated copy of "The Thin Red Line." Some of the scenery in that movie reminds me of the countryside here. (Note: I have since found that there have been a lot of war movies filmed in the Philippines, including "Apocalypse Now".) The CD store assured me they would be open, and of course they weren't. I walked to the MegaCenter but it was closed too. I grabbed a tricycle and headed for lunch. We were near the market (Palange), so the driver took me through there as a shortcut. The market was open and alive.

Suddenly the streets were blocked for some reason. I saw a large group heading my way. The guys in front were dressed like Roman soldiers. A couple of guys dragging brown wooden crosses followed them. But the real point of interest was next. About a dozen shirtless men were walking behind the crosses. They were beating themselves with whips. They were walking along slowly, swinging this whip thing back and forth from one side of their back to the other. Their backs were all bloody with large butterfly-shaped bruises. Little bits of blood and skin were flying everywhere. Everything had little splatters of blood on it. The men had cloths wrapped around their heads so they remained unidentified. Their white pants were covered with splotches of blood -- like in a butcher-shop. They were "flagellants" and they were doing this as a religious rite. Then they stopped walking to lie down in the street. Other men with tight bundles of tall reeds started beating the men on the ground. The flagellants were facedown in the road while other men stood over them, beating their bodies. It was a nasty, unbelievable sight. They slowly stood up and started walking again, swinging their whip from side to side. No words were spoken. No cries or noises were made. I only heard the shuffle of feet as they deliberately marched along.

(Note: In a nearby town, a group of religious men actually had themselves nailed to a cross! One guy had done it seven times before. It's attempted by only the most fervent. I was hoping that no one here would suggest testing the character of the new missionary in the same fashion.)