This paper applies indigenous research methods to understand the motives of visitors attending Penitensya (a Lenten Filipino ritual involving violent ritualistic performances) which we introduce as a novel form of religious-dark tourism. The paper also examines the tourism product potential of Penitensya as a controversial, yet potentially valuable feature of Filipino public culture. The motives of visitors to the Penitensya ritual in the Philippines during the 2019 schedule of events are examined to understand the touristic appeal of this unique form of religious-dark pilgrimage which involves overt and abject rituals of mortification and self-harm. Analysis suggests that the motives for attending Penitensya resonate with the motives of visitors to dark tourism attractions, and these include the allure of a novel cultural experience, knowledge-seeking and rubbernecking. The findings suggest that Penitensya might have unrealised potential as a legitimate form of intangible Filipino cultural heritage, but in order to authenticate the event as part of the nation’s cultural tourism product mix it must be carefully curated and marketed, and embraced by local authorities and the wider community.
That 'a picture can stimulate a thousand words' aptly summarizes the role of the visual in the field of language learning and teaching. The power of the image to generate language output has been widely acknowledged in the field of second/foreign language acquisition. Posters, diagrams, symbols and pictures are often found in language classrooms; illustrations and photos cohabit with the target language in textbooks. The relationship, however, between the lingual and the visual tends to be one of asymmetry. The visual tends to be held in lower regard and thought of as 'dispensable embellishment' (Millard & Marsh 2001: 55) especially when the learner has acquired a certain level of linguistic competence. Instead of focusing on the 'thousand words', this initial exploration into examining the verbal-visual interplay uses the 'picture', in the form of the selfie, as heuristic device. It draws insights from visual research approaches and digital communication studies to analyse the relationship between the verbal and the visual. Results point to a counter-reading of the selfie. It is suggested that using this digital self-portrait of the 21 st century as talking point in an English fluency exercise has brought about unexpected findings-the strengthening of personal relations in the classroom and self-reflexivity amongst the students-aspects that are not often associated with the traditional use of visual 'aids'. It is proposed that current understanding of the 'lingual' can be enriched by bringing the 'visual' back into the frame.
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