Penitensya or flagellation in the Philippines

I accompanied my balikbayan cousin Jeremy Baltazar to witness one of what can be  considered  the extreme acts of devotion  during Holy week in the Philippines,  the “flagellants”  or “penitensya”.  We were able to document  the "penitensya" in Malibay, Pasay for this blog
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 During my younger days, I used to wait for the procession of the “penitensya” coming from the malibay/maricaban area . Perhaps due to curiousity as a child , i usually sit in the sidewalk and wonder why they do this practice every Good Friday.

 

Lent is the commemoration of the suffering, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a 40-day-long observance (excluding Sundays) that begins on Ash Wednesday, and ends with Easter Sunday. As Catholics see this season as a time for personal conversion and atonement, various acts redemption are committed by the faithful.

Around the world the devout and non-devout alike flock to churches for confessions and prayers like novenas and the Way of the Cross. Penance and sacrifices such as abstaining from eating meat and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are also observed. In the Philippines, penitents have enacted a much greater mortification on Good Friday since the Spanish era -- flagellation.

Flagellation (penitensya in Filipino) is an extreme act of mortification in which the penitent scourges himself by whipping his own flesh. This art of mortifying was popularized  in the Catholic Church during the 13th and 14th centuries by radicals in the Catholic Church. It began as a militant pilgrimage which the Catholic Church later considered as heretical. The Flagellation refers in a Christian context to the Flagellation of Christ, an episode in the Passion of Christ prior to the Jesus' crucifixion. The practice of mortification of the flesh for religious purposes was utilized by some Christians throughout most of Christian history, especially in Catholic monasteries and convents. and was later condemned by the

Despite the condemnation of flagellation by the Catholic church, many of its devout still practice this extreme form of self mortification every Good Friday in various countries with a dominant Catholic population. As in the Philippines, flagellants - hooded, half-naked men under the unforgiving summer sun -  first cut their backs with a blade or knife then begin whipping their backs with bamboo-tipped burillos or with whips embedded with thorns and glass shards as the blood flows out of their wounds.

Flagellation (from Latin flagellare, to whip) was not an uncommon practice amongst the more fervently religious. As well as flagellation, the rituals were built around processions, hymns, distinct gestures, uniforms, and discipline. It was also said that when singing a hymn and upon reaching the part about the passion of the Christ, one must drop to the ground, no matter how dirty or painful the area may seem.

Some penitents   hope if they beat themselves the loving God will be sorry for them and is less likely to send them to Hell. The question is: does that mean that the goal of flagellation is not being achieved such that they have to do this almost every year?

Watching a Filipino penitent engage in self-flagellation is indeed not for the faint of heart.How much do they cut themselves ?It seems like it might be a little excessive. For health reasons it probally isn't the best idea to have all that blood flying around especially with open wounds for it to land in. Because of their self-inflicted lesions, penitents are at risk of contracting tetanus and other infection. Another disturbing practice of Filipino penitents is using a razor blade or a small wooden plank embedded with glass shards to prick the skin of the back and initiate bleeding before the flogging starts. In most cases, only one such implement is used on several penitents. On the other hand, spectators catching the splatter of a penitent’s blood may be in for trouble. Blood drops that land on mucous membrane like the eyes and mouth pose serious threat. AIDS, hepatitis and syphilis are among the diseases that could be transmitted through this mode.

As the years passed flagellation has for some reasons  become an entertainment  every Good Friday. People flock to the streets waiting for the penitents to pass by as they mimic the struggle and piety of Christ.


For the past few years, in recognition of the show flagellation has become, the church has urged Catholics to focus on self-atonement and conversion rather than engage in .an extreme act of mortification in which the penitent scourges himself by whipping his own flesh.