Philippines holds Mud People Festival to celebrate feast day of Saint John the Baptist

Hundreds of Catholic devotees wrapped themselves in dried banana leaves and covered their bodies with mud on Wednesday in the Philippine village of Bibiclat, taking part in a display of faith honoring St. John the Baptist (Source: Photo by AP)

The Taong Putik, or Mud People, festival is held annually in this village in Asia’s largest Catholic nation as devotees thank the local patron saint for miracles and fulfill vows made in prayer (Source: Photo by AP)

Village residents link the festival to faith and survival (Source: Photo by AP)

Devotees prepare for the observance before dawn, heading into nearby fields around 4 a.m. to gather soft mud and smear it over their bodies before wrapping themselves in dried banana leaves (Source: Photo by AP)

Once ready, they walk barefoot to St. John the Baptist Church carrying only cellphones and lighted candles (Source: Photo by AP)

As they wait for Mass to begin, hymns are sung near a small fire formed by the candle offerings (Source: Photo by AP)

Local church leaders say the practice began in the 1800s, when farmers smeared themselves with mud as an expression of humility, and covered themselves with the leaves to conceal their identities due to discrimination against the poor during that time (Source: Photo by AP)

According to the Rev. Elmer Villamayor, who led the parish between 2014 and 2021, devotion to St. John the Baptist grew after a group of local men escaped execution during the Japanese occupation in World War II (Source: Photo by AP)