Catholic devotees in this village covered themselves in the grass and lashed themselves to mark Good Friday.

Male residents in Vinzons in Camarines Norte province, the Philippines, took part in the synchronized self-flagellation as part of their penance on April 19, 2019.

The bizarre ritual, repeated in several cities across the Philippines, sees religious followers whip themselves until they draw blood.

The bizarre rituals are extreme affirmations of faith performed every Easter in the Philippines. Nearly 80 percent of the country’s population of more than 104 million are Roman Catholics, a legacy of 300 years of Spanish colonial rule that ended at the turn of the 20th century.

Catholi devotees in this village covered themselves in grass and lashed themselves to mark Good Friday. Male residents in Vinzons in Camarines Norte province, the Philippines, took part in the synchronized self-flagellation as part of their penance on April 19, 2019. The bizarre ritual, repeated in several cities across the Philippines, sees religious followers whip themselves until they draw blood. The bizarre rituals are extreme affirmations of faith performed every Easter in the Philippines. Nearly 80 percent of the country’s population of more than 104 million are Roman Catholics, a legacy of 300 years of Spanish colonial rule that ended at the turn of the 20th century.