Not sure if this has been posted already. It's in Arabic.
It seems tatbir was founded by Christians, then the Sufis took hold of it and mixed it up with Shia cultural practices. Then the anti-'irafni Shia pretty much made it wajib, and the pro-'irfani Shia pretty much made it haram. Also practiced by Thai Budhists during their Vegetarian Festival. (Watch 0:37 seconds).
and as most of us know, exported to the Philippines (probably by the Spanish)