NUEVA ECIJA– Villagers take part in the annual Taong Putik (‘mud people’) Festival as they gather in a churchyard to attend a dawn mass with their bodies covered in mud and dried banana leaves on Monday, June 24 in Barangay Bibiclat in Aliaga town of Nueva Ecija.
The devotees celebrate the Feast of Saint John the Baptist by covering their bodies with mud and banana leaves as they reenact a tradition rooted back in the second world war.
Local folks believe that rain prevented the execution of 14 villagers by Japanese soldiers in 1944, which is incidentally coincides in the feast of Saint John.
Some believers join the muddy ritual as an act of thanksgiving, penance and humility while others seeks blessings and bountiful harvest.
After the mass, some of the devotees join the procession of the image of Saint John while others light candles and offer prayers before washing themselves. (Ang Pahayagan photos / JUN DUMAGUING)
Ang Pahayagan 
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