Show P ol 01 7 1 1 k DV ka 4 6 t A q W I 1 MTV ae e V VA g ni s 71 A xa ar v A AE S I 1 0 M U weird t easter 0 0 rites of the t pe penitentes vitente s A with the approach of holy week the Peril forsake the role of stu ild I ld td peons geons and once more talce up tip their yearly scourging afeei the passing of easter because of abi the rigors each brother has ha accomplished 09 one e more moie not net to be use used for his salvation has haa taken another step that should bring him closer to hemen all the lie year around the penitente are mexicans living in their kaohe adobe huts which they thuve made with their own hands existing in a land of rn anana sometimes rali rah ing little fledda of stunted corn or chill peppers pepper or mexican beans sometimes tending their few sern scrawny InT chickens or goats they are never never hurried never do anything yet haap little time if anyone asks them for something they invariably answer liny hay poco tiempo 11 anve lafile time thus theirs Is a life of poro poco tiempo except during lent rarely nt at any other time line luring during the year do the penitentes become active if they do it Is on all souls adny two days after II In alloween Iloween tinie time then they make a procession to their heir cem tery whipping their heir hacks bucks as th thy they y go occasionally when one of broth ergood has died they convene nt at hl hi house to hold bold prayer rh a strange litany like sons song praying late inte into the night for the departed soul lenten observances all during lent thi though ugh chev hold secluded praying going in small uro iro sessions cessions ces cess lons in the lie right night indulging in some borne self claying flaying fla ying hut but it Is holy fri day which awakens their zeal to in the highest pitch raw haw blistery winds of it march or april blow swaying the blackish green grcen pinion trees dott dotting lii the the liap the land hasi has been named thet Sangre re de cristo range blued of 0 christ aby by the spanish explorers because of me lie red rucks rocks on ih mounta ingles rocks showing a ferric composition on friday after the alt ikid hold the lie greyest tit thelt spectacles neles they aliey hure have been themselves orr off nd tin on all during 1101 week their hacks backs are tit nl con 0 od and outraged ailt nash sh nev erth eless they begin nguan with nug fervor arvor shortly sli otly after noon earning coming out clad only in frim trousers sers and beginning the lilg big the en acting ofhie Crucifix crucifixion fon Grew some ceremonies Cere one of if the Is chwen tu to take abe lie purl part of el crlson and varrie the lie cress criess a heavy crude symbol which M hip 1 usually ran hardly drag sniggering under the weight film con come ifie lie others the singers uni und those who lay themselves with whips made from the yucca or soapweed soap weed weid the plant Is common throughout the southwest st and bears long linicus blades it to la used by the peons geons tv tc make crude soap the tough blade are air airo O used as af j twine usually those scourging themselves take one step forward and then pause bringing down the cutting liters fibers of the iipp their already much bleeding bac backs with a dull thwack the rhythm of the chant aids their regularity of motion it if any lag ing in bla fervor or of laying baying on blows or shrink under them then a master lo in chapp cha pp wui will remis remind d falm by bringing down a on his shoulders of his remissness r the leather whip cuts the air alth a sharp whistling no limit to self torture often these rigors tire are not enough the cholla cactus one needle of which has known to drive horses to fury Is packed about their chests or yet again the penitentes walk across these with their hare bare feet or ling fling the branches of needles on their backs the cholly needles are long and malignant li they stick in the flesh as it if barbed and burn like fire working their way inward where they cause pustules pus tules imagine many of these needles in onen flesh I 1 and yet the Peril with zealous cries con dinue their way to the place selected as el Cal calvario varlo all their pain gated liy by their religious fanaticism amid loud lamentation the pilgrim age 0 of f the cross Is enacted the man staggering ud under er the weight ot th HIP symbol ile he precedes the group hip back Is now bleeding now clotted when he reels showing signs of being about to fall one of the elder brothers in rank helps him once attain ing the spot chosen as calvary el cristo Is usually allT tied with ropes to his cross and raised indeed what n spectacle the sky lowers like a cloud ed oval opal and the raw penetrating breeze fans the trousers of t the lie pen I 1 these people believe thit that had bull weather Is synonymous with holy week that the weather must he be bad because it Is a time when every one mourns and still they worship oh alvious ot of the cold winds lifting thell thel cries and chants whipping vigorous ly rl el cristo hangs hang until he no longet loneer shows much sign of life and then Is taken down wrapped in n a cloth and carried away deaths not uncommon formerly nailing the victim to the cross waa quite common death cama came also as often to their ranks rile corpses were ferreted away and droh ably but hulled led kilt but nothing definitely lias has ever been proved agnime the he cult in the emst rumors have circulated about tills this Peril tente or that not being seen epen after holy week men have been known to tile die from the excessive or of theli ritual NOW the news that one of them lins has been hlll killed d during the crucifixion KIon spreads diw one ne has filed died fron from and tm t rigorous self lint but these stories tire lire short shori lived should a penitente tente betray lil hla brotherhood then the pon pen illy Is to he hurled alive nnie fluently Ine tilly tin no one hits hiis ever tallied talked however ut nt present the mil llllian ismore guarded bifid merely takes me ali form of tying the vl to the eross with bipes even cven now the E EASTER ASTER MORNING 4 e N A k ro w what could be more in season than this spring maldan maiden with her easter sym symbolist ym bolt bolit of tying el cristo Is 13 beginning to be eliminated or else performed at on Thum Thursday dayl 1 evening guards with guns are usually posted at the ceremonies in order to keep away the overcurious stranger any one approaching pro aching too close Is duly threatened boys have taken hikes alk es into the mountains to behold the spectacle of the penitentes whipping themselves many have crouched behind a rock or a bush on a hill watching the ritual closely while expecting any minute to receive from their rear the shot of dreaded rend and doubtful bacon rind such hikes provide great thrills for the youths and also ma material terla for a story which they can recount to theft less fortunate comrades A person not having seen een e the penitentes Is considered unworldly wise and a ninny cult la 13 dwindling thus does the cult nourish flourish in new mexico southern colordo colorado sout southern fiern utah and eastern arizona but each year this sect Is becoming less and less legs conspicuous withdrawing more and more into the fastnesses fast nesses of the mountains undoubtedly have beheld the penitente tente miniature crosses erected along some highways as they have ridden over the rough dirt roads in the neighborhood of the colonies riles of rocks hold these crosses u up p right they are some three feet high but the passing of the holy week m marks arks the cessation of their cere monies and of their greatest activity during the rest of the entire year they are peaceful people who carry on their meager farming an aa a peo pie they are superstitious imbres nuble and are commonly known att a that Is half breeds of in dlan spanish descent but oftener nf tener they are of indian descent alone |