Those of us worried about our spiritual futures turn to religious rituals to help us prepare for the afterlife, but some believers in the El Salvadorian town of Texistepeque have taken that idea to another level. Welcome to the Talciguines festival, where demons literally whip your sins away.

The Talciguines festival draws tourists and locals alike to stand in the crowd and wait for participants dressed as 'demons' to strike them with leather whips in order to 'banish their sins.' Talciguines is a theatrical tradition that is meant to represent the battle between 'good and evil.' Forty-five men dress up in red robes, meant to represent 'the devil' or 'demons.' Following a church service the participants go out into the streets, where they proceed to whip people. Following the whipping, another man, dressed as Jesus Christ, performs with 'the demons,' walking over their prostrate bodies to represent the cleansing of their sins.

The practice of enduring suffering on earth in order to attain redemption, salvation, or other spiritual rewards is known as asceticism, and has served as a tenet in many religions, including Christianity. However, when people perform bodily harm to themselves or allow others to harm them, this practice is known as unnatural ascetism. The festival is a part of a holy Easter week in El Salvador and attracts thousands of people from all over the world.