Bizarre Rituals and Traditions

Every country have their different cultures, traditions, religions and practices performed by rituals, that lead to injuries or even tragic death. Some of these practices are performed because of their weird and strange beliefs. Some find it funny, scary and gross. Here are some of them I would like to share with you.

1) Philippines Holy Week or Lenten Season (Semana Santa)

In San Fernando, Pampanga in the Philippines every Holy Week or Lenten Season they do the flagellation, for some beliefs that doing this kind of sacrifices means good health and blessings to their families. Some to repent their sins. The so called “petinentes” wound their backs with razor blades before they join the “whipping ” rituals on the way to their stations (station of the Cross). But some choose the crucifixion for their own personal reasons for their sacrifices. Some do the rolling on a thorny bed as in the image below.

2) Vegetarian Religious Rituals, Thailand

This bizarre and strange rituals performed by the devotees are being practice believing to casts the evils from their families and the community. They all believe that this bloodless sacrifices won’t cause them harm from any infections.

Snake-blood drinking, Thailand

Drinking snake fresh blood is believed that can cure any illness and this practices are done in Thailand and some part of Asia like the Philippines.

3) Blood Libel (Drinking of fresh blood)

This Blood libel or drinking fresh human blood from young girls or young lady offered as sacrifices to the gods and goddesses. After the ritual of drinking blood they dismembered the body and burn the body. According to some, a religious group or sects are being accused of murdering muslim and christian young women to drink their blood.

4) Masai Tribe of Kenya

Masai tribes are famous for drinking animal’s fresh blood, just like the Zulu tribes. Not only Masai males undergo the circumcision rituals, also the females have to undergo this painful rituals by mutilating their genitalia. The Masai warriors are trained to hunt lions by their hands using only a shield and spear.

3) Sambia Tribe Rituals

The Sambia tribes in Papua New Guinea, were Sambia males undergo an initiation ritual performed by the village tribes. Male villagers are separated from the females, because they believe that male will be influenced by females and become homosexuals. So at an early age of 5, young Sambia boys are poked with sharp sticks inside their nose and allow it to bleed and they are force to “drink” their blood as they call it “male milk”. This practice is a kind of mentruation for the Sambia males. After many years of repeated rituals then the boys are allowed to marry. After the sex and marriage the Sambian male bathe with mud as to cleanse themselves so they won’t be contaminated by their wives.

4) Satere Mawe Tribes

Bullet ants are inhabitants of the Amazon rain-forest, and according to studies the sting does not only hurt but intense pain like a fire, that can cause injury and death to the victims. It also causes temporary paralysis from the sting. The Satere Mawe tribes, use this ants for their rituals, to initiate their young men into manhood. The ants are sewn into the gloves made of wickers, stinger protruding inwards, and wear on their young men, as young as 12 years old, lasting for maybe half an hour, and repeat the ritual twenty times.

5) Zulu Tribes

Young boys of the Zulu tribes are sent into a secluded area called the “man camp” for their circumcision rituals performed by the village chieftain. The young boys are being “abducted” from the villagers and bring them to a secret place. Only the elderly women are allowed to go near the initiation place to bring foods and give them drinks; the young boys are covered with white dust all over their face and body. They use sharp rocks or spear blades in cutting the foreskin and “dress” the wounds with mud and animal excrement or manure to stop the bleeding. This bizarre rituals causes serious injuries or even disfigured of genitals, happened and if untreated causes death. If ever they ‘survived; this ritual but it takes 3 to 4 months healing period.

6) Traditional Bloody Boxing In Nigeria

The traditional boxing of Hausa people of the Sahara desert in the region of West Africa is called the Art of Dambe.  Shago, is a famous Dambe athlete of all time in Northern Nigeria. Dambe is a kind of boxing sports using their fists, feet and head. “Damben Karfe, meaning ‘iron boxing’ referring to hand-held punching, using “mazagi”, the first layer covering dip in broken pieces of glass, and shape roundly with cloth protruding from the hand. Although this is an illegal sport they continue to practice this dangerous game, which is an ancient sport but not familiar outside continental Africa.

7) Aztecs Indian and Human Sacrifice

Aztecs are famous for practicing the rituals of human sacrifices. Thousand of people lost their lives because of this ritual’s culture. Cannibalism is also their practice, and according to some stories after the human sacrifice rituals the victims become their meal and called ‘ Mesoamerican diet’.

Mayoruna Tribes, Brazil and Peru

The bizarre practice of the Mayorunas or Matses Indians, using the toxin extracted from an ‘arboreal’ poison frog found at the Amazonian rainforest, and inject it into their bodies. This was a practice over a hundred years by Mayoruna and Matis tribes. According to studies, the poison-frog toxins can cause brain damage and can lead to Alzheimer’s disease, depression or Parkinson’s disease. After injecting the poison, one experienced vomiting, trance-like feeling, rapid heartbeat and nausea. Soon the person awake from deep sleep, he can hunt for a long period without even feeling hungry or exhausted. Their beliefs of injecting the toxin increases their strength, stamina and endurance and the “hunting magic” makes them ‘invincible hunters’.

9) Matis Indians, Peru and Brazil

The Matis indians use tattoos, facial ornament imitating Jaguars, but rich in cultures and have various rituals like the Capybara rituals, Dance of Quixada and Poison frog ceremony like the Matses tribes. They cover their face and body with wet clays imitating the cry of Capybara animals; while the Mariwin ceremony they paint their body black, decorated with green leaves and wearing red masks, and bring whip, whipping the children and women of the village, representing ‘ancestral spirits’. This is a practice believing they are transferring the energy to the recipients from the spirits. (www.amazon-indians.org)

10) Varuna Yajna Ritual Prayer for the Rain

Rain prayer offering in Jammu Shrine and Kashmirs Rajouri Dsitrict, between India and Pakistan. The shrine of St Sain Lal Din at Sora Pani-is said to cure all woes of devotees and fulfill their wishes.

Group of Muslim farmers in Satbarwa Village in India, eastern state of Jharkhanda, praying for rains and doing rituals.

11) Worshipping Weapons in Navrati, India

Jharkhand, India a strange ritual is performed, instead of worshiping goddess Durga they worship various kinds of weapons like carbine, Insas rifle, AK47, mortar and grenades. In 1953 this practice was stopped and place the goddess Durga in the ground, commander of Bihar Military Police (now JAP) fell very ill and many of the villagers git sick and some died, and they resumed the Worshiping of weapons in 1954.

12) Tossing of Babies from the Rooftop, India

Harangal Village, Parbhani, western part of Maharashtra, India the people practice a weird rituals of tossing their two-year old babies from the rooftops for “Goodluck” . The babies are hanged over the edge of the rooftop  about 50 feet high. The baby are tossed up and straight down to a bedsheet catched by the people below. The belief of tossing the baby brings good luck for the family and longlife for the baby.

13) Baby dunked in Boiling Water

In a basin full of boiling water they dunked their 3 months old baby but lift immediately, and unbelievable, the baby is normal and even don’t cry. This practice in Jumalapur Village, Bijalapur district of Karnataka was witnessed by an Indian media covering the mysterious ritual done by this couple, saying  that the ritual is to thank the priest who blessed them after a long period of childless married life.

14) Hamer Tribe (Hamer Bull Jumping Rituals)

The women of the Hamer tribe participate in the bull-jumping rituals, but before the rites, they are whipped leaving scars on their backs. They cover their whole body, head and hair with red ochre mix with fats. Scarification are important for the Hamer women to enhance their beauties. Hamer men practiced Polygamy, and can marry as many as four wives. If the Hamer husband dies, his wealth or properties are divided to his wives not the children.

15) Afar (Danakil) Tribe

In Semitic language, Afar means ‘dust’, describing the ancient African tribe referring to their lifestyle of living in Danikil desert as Nomads. Married woman are wearing turbans, dye their face from ochre dye. They are not Semitic people like the Arabs, whose origins are from Asia, they are Cushitic (family of Afro-Asiatic language spoken Somali, Ethiopia, Erithtrea and Northern Kenya.

16) Suri or Surma Warriors

The young males of Suri tribes performed a ritual by covering their faces and body with designed clays, naked and carrying 6 to 8 foot poles use in a ‘donga’ ceremony or rematch in stick-fighting, to fight one another, but not from different tribes, competition. The young single Surma women watch the rituals so they could choose the winner in order to have relation with them.

17) Himba Tribe

The married Himba woman wears ornament on top of her braided hair, accessories around her neck and the shell necklace hanging above her chest symbolizes fertility.Oftentimes they wear plates made of leather with metal surrounding the plate, and hang down their backs. Single women don’t wear ornaments. Married woman of Himba start their morning rituals by covering themselves with butter fats, herbs, ashes and red dye orcher, they use this as to enhance their beauty, not only for the purpose of protection fron the sun.

18) Fire Cleansing Rituals

Group of people of the Cleansing Fire Rituals, believe that suicide is such a heroic act and in that way the soul of the “sacrificed member” is cleansed.

19) Walking on Fire Rituals

The Walking in Fire rituals are performed in Penang, Malaysia on the 7th day of the festival of the “Taoist Purification Rituals”. Hindu performs also rituals of fire-walker and some part of Asia. Some believed that walking on the burning charcoals are protected by the gods if innocent and did not commit any crime.

20) Cannibalism in China (weirdasianews.com)

A weekly magazine from Hong Kong featured the gruesome fetuses are used for popular health and beauty supplement in China. It was reported that high demands of gourmet of body parts of fetuses are so high in Guangdong. It was learned that a Taiwanese businessman hosted a big party, and one of the housemaid, Ms Liu from Liao Ning province, reveals the practice of eating fetus in Liao Ning  province and the worry of health reasons. The Taiwanese women was horrified learning that they were eating body parts of fetus. According to Ms Liu, “male fetuses” are considered the ‘prime’ human parts and the soup are from the cooked placentas. On March 22, 2003 Bingyan police of Guangxi, province seized smuggled female fetuses in a truck in Yulin heading for HouZhou in Anhui province.