Weird Easter traditions

Perhaps the most dangerous and bizarre Easter tradition is carried out in the Costa Rican village of Ortega. Instead of hunting for Easter eggs the reckless villagers go out and hunt a live crocodile using only sticks, nets and their bare hands.

The tradition, which seems to bear little resemblance to the Christian story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, goes back 150 years and locals call it the “lagarteada”.

The hunt starts on the morning of Good Friday and can go on for hours in the blazing Costa Rican sun. A group called the ‘Lagarteros de Ortega’, or Lizard men of Ortega, wade through a river attempting to surround a crocodile and lure it into a net.

In the past, the crocodile used to be killed following the hunt as the villagers believed the animals fat had the power to heal a number of wounds and ailments. However, the tradition has been slightly modified and now the animal is released into the wild the next day.

The battle of good versus evil is the main theme at the Talciguines Festival in El Salvador where people dress up as demons and viciously lash passers-by with whips.

In quite bizarre scenes, dozens of people dressed as demons gather for a church service and then the participants race out into the streets, where they proceed to whip people. Tourists and locals alike can fall victim to the 'demon's' whips.

However, it’s not all bad because the tradition says that each whip absolves you of a sin.

"It's really weird because I am not a Catholic, but I like it because it's something from El Salvador,” One of the event's organizers Gerardo Carranza said.

“Each whiplash you receive means that one of your sins goes away. I've already received several lovely lashes, so I think I am without sin. It's beautiful to come and see the procession, [to see] what the procession means for people in Texistepeque and all over El Salvador,” Carranza said.

Another hard to explain tradition takes place in Guatemala where, for over 100 years, men have used the celebration of Easter to face off in bare-knuckle boxing contests.

An astonishing 10,000 turned out to watch this year’s round of fights in the town of Chivarreto and around fifty people took part.

The fights are a decidedly haphazard affair with pugilists dressed in street clothes wildly swinging at each other in the hopes of landing a haymaker. Up until 2012, there wasn’t even a ring.

While it may seem lawless there are some basic rules. Kicking and grappling are forbidden and there is no striking if your opponent falls down. Some of the fighters compete several times, returning to the ring despite blood-spattered faces.

Many of the fights take place between men from Chivarreto and the nearby village of Pasajoc. However, the apparent bad blood is just for show. “The truth is that we all know each other. We go to school together, work together, the fighting is just for fun,” one of the fighters said.

Perhaps the tradition that bears the closest resemblance to the biblical story of Jesus’ crucifixion takes place in the Philippines where devotees lash themselves with whips until their backs are covered in blood.

Volunteers then carry a cross as others dressed as Roman soldiers march them through the streets. Stunningly the devotees then go all the way and have their feet and hands nailed to the cross in the ultimate effort of trying to understand the suffering of Jesus.

Footage from this year’s event in San Fernando City shows people wailing and collapsing in pain during the savage celebrations.

"When we suffer here like this, it’s like we are helping the Lord”, local devotee Arnold Castro told Ruptly.

Self-flagellation is also a prevalent theme in the Mexican city of Atlixco where the 'Engrillados' ceremony is held every year.

Like in other Easter ceremonies around the world, the ‘engrillo’, meaning shackled person, is bound with chains and their face covered with a mask while wearing a crown of thorns. However, participants also add a bit of a local twist by sticking numerous thorny cacti into their legs and feet.

They are escorted through the streets, dragging their chains behind them, carrying a crucifix as a band plays mournful music.

Elsewhere in Mexico Catholic inmates of the Santa Martha Acatitla prison in Mexico City performed a very detailed reenactment of the crucifixion this Good Friday, complete with a bloodied Jesus, Roman soldiers, and a Last Supper.

Nicaraguans in the city of Masatepe mark Easter by taking some symbolic, retroactive, revenge on one of the chief founders of the feast, Judas Iscariot.

Brave or foolhardy volunteers play the role of Judas, who betrayed Jesus and set in motion his crucifixion, by wrapping themselves in heavy chains and being dragged through the streets.

People of all ages turn out to watch the spectacle which dates back more than a century. Locals wear colorful, rainbow-like, clothing including miniskirts, stockings, hats and masks.

They jeer as 'Judas' passes by in a kind of inverted homage to Jesus’ journey through Jerusalem carrying the cross. Footage from this year’s festival shows revelers jumping on top of Judas as he is dragged through the streets while other Judases are strung up on trees.

Thousands of people also flocked to London’s Trafalgar Square to see a traditional reenactment of the crucifixion on Friday. However, unlike in other places, the gruesome scene was played by actors and nobody actually got nailed to a cross.

The London performance was brought to life in impressive fashion by live horses, donkeys, doves and over 100 actors. The open air event was organized by the Wintershall Estate production company as a “gift to Londoners”.