Devotees in the Philippines covered themselves in mud and prayed for world peace

Devotees in the Philippines covered themselves in mud and prayed for world peace in an annual festival to pass on the legacy of World War Two.

The event started before dawn on Tuesday. Participants bathed in rice fields to smear their bodies with mud believed to eradicate bad luck, and dressed themselves in dried banana leaves.  Then they walked in the early light to a Catholic church to offer prayers.

More than 2,000 people flocked to the church in a village in northern Luzon Island for the celebration. Local residents said Japanese Imperial troops were preparing to kill villagers in 1944, but a sudden heavy downpour dispersed the forces. The villagers believed the rain was a blessing sent by Saint John the Baptist.          

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