Domenico Giannantonio

I was in the midst of the last Shia feast of Ashura made publicly
in the city of Carpi, Italy. The scourging in commemoration of the 
martyrdom of Imām al-Husayn ibn Ali and 72 of his followers caused 
by the Umayyad caliph Yazid I. People beat themselves with their hands
until they hurt the skin of their chest and back.
All males, children, young people, adults do it.
And as they beat, they sing hymns. 
I was there in the middle and I could smell the wounds, the sweat 
and the devotion of these people. After this party it was no longer
allowed to do it in public.