JOPHEL YBIOSA
The Mud People Festival in Nueva Ecija

The photo depicts the celebration of Taong Putik or Mud People Festival in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija, Philippines on June 24, 2018. Devotees wear dried banana leaves and cover themselves with mud then offer a prayer in a Catholic Mass and also pay homage to Saint John the Baptist. According to a local legend, the Japanese soldiers were about to execute the villagers of Aliaga during World War II. But in the midst of downpour, Japanese soldiers suddenly changed their minds. Afterwards, the villagers celebrated by rolling around the muddy ground. There´s a belief that being saved from the execution is a miracle of Saint John the Baptist.

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