Flaming balls

And you thought the Burning Man festival was weird.

In Nejapa, El Salvador, residents have an annual festival in which they throw fireballs at each other. The Aug. 31 festival commemorates the eruption of a nearby volcano in 1922. Participants take to the streets, throwing palm-sized balls of fire at each other and celebrating wildly as their fellow citizens go up in flames. Dozens of people were hospitalized with severe burns this year, and people have died in past years.

"Nejapa" is apparently local vernacular for "idiot."

Full story (with photos) here.