Good Friday Crucifixions in San Fernando, Philippines

 

In the Philippines section of my “Lonely Planet: Southeast Asia on a Shoestring” guidebook there is a small listing detailing festivals and events.  One of the entries is “Crucifixion Ceremony: Many locations, but the most famous, in San Fernando, Pampanga, sees Catholic devotees actually nailed to crosses every Good Friday.”  I had first heard about this traditional ritual a few years ago on the History Channel television program.  The Philippines, which by last count is more than 80% Catholic, has very deeply rooted traditions that mix Catholicism with their ancient beliefs.  In the town of Sagada north of Manilla they bury their dead in coffins, outside, on high limestone cliffs jutting out across the landscape.  In San Fernando, men volunteer to be crucified.

 

I had heard of this event, but did not specifically plan on attending it.  Actually, I never planned on coming to the Philippines when I started my trip.  But, as I am fully aware by now, things change constantly when traveling long-term.  My travels in Borneo were drawing to an end and I had decided I would explore the Philippines next.  It happened to coincide with the coming of Good Friday.  Once I realized this, I had a strong desire to head north of Manilla to San Fernando and check out this spectacle in person.

 

I arrived in Manilla and met three other backpackers who also wanted to head north.  After an amazing few days checking out the coffins, caves, and rice terraces in Sagada and Bontoc, we made our way back to Manilla on a long night bus journey.  A  few fitful hours of sleep later we hopped back on a bus for the couple hour ride to San Fernando.  What greeted us was a scorching sun and a procession that is unique to the Philippines but that also reminded me in some ways of the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur.

 

Upon arriving in San Fernando we hopped on a jeepney towards one of (yes, there were multiple) the sites of the crucifixions.  We came across men walking the street flogging themselves, the sight and smell of blood pungent in the air.  The men volunteer for reasons that mirror those of Thaipusam volunteers, however, here there are no women participating.  The men who walk the streets, reenacting the Via Dolorosa, are not the same ones who choose to be nailed to a cross.  I don’t know what distinguishes one group from the other, I just know that the day was part gruesome, part spectacle, part solemnity, part carnival atmosphere, and full on intense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we walked the streets we saw a mixture of things that was hard to reconcile in my mind as things that could actually go together.  Men spraying blood everywhere on the street.  People taking pictures of the men.  Families lining the street similar to watching a parade.  Street vendors selling food and toys.  Other vendors enticing children to play a gambling game in which the prize was a live baby chick that had been dyed Easter colors (blue, pink, purple, yellow, etc).  Corporate vendors selling phone cards, others selling food, including a McDonald’s stand.  Children yelling at me in excitement, the white Westerner, to take their picture.  Then smiling with elation when I took their picture, giggling, pointing, and laughing hysterically as I showed them their picture.

 

We finally made our way to the grounds, which had three crosses erected on a small hill.  There the crowd started to swell as the time for the crucifixion reenactment drew nearer.  The combination of a tightly packed crowd and the scorching sun beating down drained me of most of my energy.  However, I did get the opportunity to be interviewed by a Philippines news station concerning the day’s events.  The station was looking for opinions and views of foreigners regarding the reenactment, especially in light of this year’s ruling that no foreigners are allowed to participate in the events.  This was due to a couple incidents, but the most recent being a foreigner participating in the event last year and making a mockery of it.  Another slightly grotesque incident happened a few years prior in which a porn company filmed some scenes of an actor participating in the reenactments.  I happily gave my view, including my advice that this would be a good opportunity to let the outside world become aware of what the ritual means to the people of the Philippines, and why it is so important to them.  Awareness and insight are keys to understanding and gaining empathy.  It felt like a microcosm to my travels as a whole.  We truly don’t know anything about another country until we travel and get to know its land and people on a personal level.

 

 

Then it happened.  The crowd surged forward, a bubble of excitement coursed through as the first group of reenactors, Romans riding horses, strode through the pathway up to the three crosses.  Then came the women of Jerusalem, and Jesus carrying the cross.  The man playing Jesus, Ruben Enaje, is a bit of a local hero here.  This was his 26th straight year of performing the role of the crucified Jesus, and he is one year shy of his vow to do this for 27 straight years.  At the top of the hill they reenacted kicking Jesus down the hill, flaying him.  Then they nailed him to the cross.  With real nails.  Both hands and both feet.  However, there were precautions taken to make sure each man was propped up on the cross and his feet stood on platforms to prevent collapsed lungs.  Ambulances and medical crews stood just a short distance off.  Men held “Silence Please” signs towards the crowd.  The crowd, on the other hand, was filled with gasping, chatter, and the flash of cameras and cell phones.  How do you merge an image such as this into your mind?  A most solemn procession, yet with crowds watching in excitement, awe, and perhaps a bit of curiosity.  There were mostly locals, but a fair share of foreigners dotted the crowd as well.

 

A microphone was set up so that the actors could perform their lines.  Then the microphone was held up to Jesus as he said his lines and the nails were pounded in.  I watched with what must have been an open mouth and increasingly gaping eyes.  I just couldn’t reconcile the spectacle taking place before me.