|
A villager, donning capes mostly of dried banana leaves and covered in mud, attends a mass in a bizarre annual ritual to venerate their patron saint, John the Baptist, Friday, June 24, 2016 at Bibiclat, Aliaga township, Nueva Ecija province in northern Philippines. The “Taong Putik” or “mud people” festival in Bibiclat village dates back to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in the 1940s. Japanese troops gathered many of the male villagers in a Bibiclat church courtyard for execution by firing squad. But after women and children prayed to Saint John to spare them, a sudden downpour saved the men, villagers say. The residents rolled in the mud in jubilation and have carried on the thanksgiving tradition ever since. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)
|
