ZITLALA, Mexico (AFP) - Seeking to appease the god of storms and end a drought, men and women in tiger costumes whip each other mercilessly into submission in an ancient ritual in southern Mexico.
"They say it s a drop of blood for a drop of rain," Karina Vicente says as she prepares to take part in the annual tradition for the first time.
"I m very excited but nervous," the 22-year-old psychology student tells AFP in the town of Zitlala in Guerrero, one of Mexico s poorest and most violent states.
In the past, the 300-year-old indigenous ceremony to bring rain and plentiful harvests was only for men.
But these days, women also want to help keep the three-century-old tradition alive, even if the lashes do hurt, Vicente says.
According to tradition, blood spilled in the May 5 ritual, called Atsatsilistli, is an offering for the rain god Tlaloc.
The sound of each whiplash represents a clap of thunder, the yellow color of the costumes a drought and the whip a tiger s tail.
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