Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1903-06-13
SorrowfuI Sufferings of the Sinful
The Penitentes.
Contributed by an
Old Timer

The Penitentes.
Among the many quaint and queer
sights of the early days, non were
more novel, more interesting nor more
gastly than the ceremony of Los Her
manos Penitentes," which was and is
a nearly complete enactment of that
divine tragedy which initiated the
Christian era. The Brotherhood of
the Penitents and it's public ceremo-
MES was largely in vogue throughout
New Mexico until a YER recent date
and is still existent in remote districts.
The order was established on the
Western Hemisphere by the Francis
can Friars and came into the territory
now known as New Mexico with the
"Conquistadores'' more than 300 years
ago.
| have many times witnessed the
procession of this brotherhood, but at
no time was | so profoundly impress
ed as at my initiatory inexperience
nearly a quarter of a century ago.
Those who visited the Fine Arts
building in Chicago in 1888 will re.
call the painting The Flagellants,"
which many considered as but the i'm
agination of the artist, but which was
in truth a reproduction of the process
sion of the Penitentes as seen in old
Spain. In general detail it pictures
the present day procession. In a little
plaza, but a few miles from Albuquer-
que, l first became acquainted with
the Penitentes. In mid-afternoon,
from out the door of an isolated adobe
house appeared several aged men, or
dinarily clothed, some with books, 9TH
ers without, chanting a mournful relig-
ious chorus in the Spanish language.
Following these were other men, sew
en- in number, each with a hood com
pletely masking his head and other
wise naked of clothing, except for a
scanty cotton breechclout. Around
the calf of each leg, and around each
thigh were tightly bound with raw
hide thong, roughly and crudely per
forated pieces of tin-seemingly takeI
from old cans-the grating side i'm
beded in the flesh. One of these sever
bore upon his head a wreath of cacti
the needles of which are greatly more
penetrating and irritating and more
difficult to remove from the flesh thar
the thorn of any other tree, plant Of
vine. This man carried, as Chris
had carried, a huge cross, the uprigh
beam fifteen feet in length with diam
eter ranging from ten inches at tn,
base to six inches at the top and wit
a corresponding cross beam of a sever
foot length, the weight of which wa
from 300 to 400 pounds.
Each of the other six men carrie,
a peculiarly constructed braided viii
about three feet in length, made froI
plated yucca leaves, a vertical cate
nine tails, with the ends of each beal
ing the sharp tough needle peculiar I
this plant. In the order in which the
emerged this procession moved tC
ward the ADOBE church about a mil
distant, followed Immediately by on
who was clothed and hoodwinked, bu
who had peep holes; then followed tn
populace. In slow measured treaC
to the tune of the dirgeful chant, thre
steps were taken, then a momentar
halt, and back over the shoulder, wiel'
ed by both hands, few the tails OF IN
whip, ~alighting cruely upon the ma
ed back. Three additional PAGES, III
slight hating, and over the opposit
shoulder again fell the whip with fu
force, TO cut open the ridges raise
by the first strokes. Again three mea0