Los Hermanos Penitentes Author:Lorayne Horka-Follick [From back cover] Los Hermanos Penitentes is the story o the secret brotherhood self-exiled in New Mexico since the sixteenth century. The brotherhood follows a cult of personal cruelty--flagellation as a means of atoning for their sins and crucifixion to celebrate Christ's sacrifice. The Penitentes, once excommunicated and often misunderstood, ... more »practice their strange rituals as they did 300 years ago, have defied official repressions, and have even gained power in state politics. Not easily explained in modern psychological terms, this strange religion has terrible beauty that must be judged in its own context.« less