Taong Putik Festival

On 24 June, the feast of John the Baptist, the devotees of Bibiclat in Aliaga get up before dawn, go to the paddy fields, and cover themselves in mud, then drape their bodies in dried banana leaves and vines until they are entirely hidden - taong putik, mud people - and walk to the church for Mass, begging candles along the way. The custom is traced locally to the Second World War: villagers were rounded up by Japanese soldiers and, according to the account, released after a sudden downpour, and the survivors and their descendants have kept the vow since. The mud and leaves are usually explained as penance and as an evocation of John the Baptist in the wilderness. It is a small barangay observance rather than a large festival, held over a few hours in the early morning, and its scale is part of what makes it worth the drive from Manila.

What you actually see

• The mud-covered devotees - figures in paddy mud and leaves.
• The dawn walk - the procession to the church at first light.
• The candle begging - devotees asking for candles along the way.
• The Mass - the service the walk leads to.

When to go

24 June, before dawn - the mudding starts around four in the morning and the whole observance is over by mid-morning.

Honest expectations

It is a small barangay devotion, not a staged festival, and it finishes early - arrive before sunrise or miss it. Facilities are minimal. The participants are keeping a vow; photograph respectfully.

Nearby

Cabanatuan and the Nueva Ecija rice plain are close; Manila is about three hours south.