Bizarre Indian Rituals

India is a land of cultural diversity with weird Indian rituals being practices in across the country. Its diversity is to an extent that the north of the country remains elusive of the south and vice versa. What happens in one corner of the country is not known to another and in this elusiveness we ourselves remain foreigners in our country.

Media may have become stronger and may have reached the interiors of the country yet there are certain rituals that barely come to the fore. Each one of these rituals must have had a story behind it and when started sounded logical and practical. However, in many cases, the reason behind the ritual has been lost and all that remains are the weird Indian rituals which people continue to follow without giving a thought to its practicality.

Given here are a handful of such rituals but the list goes well beyond the few mentioned here. We can say that these are just a peek into the weird nature of individuals and their beliefs.

1. Marrying a dog: Who would want to agree into marrying a dog? Obviously not anyone but this ritual is practices in the Hindu culture. Sometimes girls born with some kind of physical abnormality are said to be possessed by ghosts. In such circumstances it becomes ‘imperative’ to exorcise the ghost and the only way out is said to first marry the girl to an animal, mostly a dog or a goat. Marrying a dog frees the girl from the ghost and she becomes eligible to marry a suitor.

2. Fire walking: The Theemithi festival in southern India is celebrated by walking barefoot on a bed of burning coal. It is a religious festival performed to please the goddess Draupati Amman. Every person walking on the burning bed has to walk slowly without any sense of hurrying.

3. Garudan Thookam festival: One of the very weird Indian rituals is the Thookam festival of Kerala. It can give you goosebumps merely looking at it. Men are suspended from hooks pierced into their backs and paraded across the city. Before this ritual these men dress up as Garuda, the bird, and give a dance performance.

4. Baby tossing: Babies are tossed down from a 50 feet height and caught in a sheet held by men. It is said that this ritual has been practiced since 700 years and brings prosperity to the family and good health to the child. This ritual is common among both Hindus and Muslims being performed at Baba Umer Dargah in Maharashtra and Sri Santeshwar Temple in Karnataka.

5. Body piercing: Another chilling experience to watch is the body piercing ritual of Tamil Nadu. During the Tamil month of Thai the festival of Thaipoosam is celebrated to honor Lord Murugan. After a 48 day fast devotees pierce their bodies with hooks, lances and skewers. Some even pierce their tongues which impedes their speech.

6. Bani festival: In the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh the festival of Bani is celebrated every Dusshera. Hundreds of devotees with lathis gather at the Devaragattu Temple and start wielding blows at each other’s heads midnight onwards. Blood drenched people continue hitting each other till the break of dawn.

7. Nag Panchami: A festival celebrated across north India where the cobra is fed milk. No wonder India is still known to many as a land of snakes. It is believed that on this day these venomous snakes do not bite.

8. Aghoris: The aghori way of life is rather weird and bizarre. These people are followers of Shiva, smear themselves in ash from cremated, eat remains of the dead, practice cannibalism, engage in sexual practices and are believed to possess tantrik powers. In their world there is no taboo as they believe the lord Shiva created the world and nothing in his world is bad.

9. Cow trampling: In the city of Ujjain, in the heart of India, the respect for the sacred animal cow is taken way beyond limits. During the Govardhan festival people decorate cows and lie down in front of them to be trampled. All those willing to get tramples believe that doing so will compel the gods to answer their prayers.

10. Kesh Lochan: Hair is considered to be an illusion that takes the soul away from god. In order to connect with god and give one’s wholehearted devotion to the almighty certain communities, particularly Jains, believe in getting rid of hair. As a ceremony known as Kesh Lonchan the devotee is supposed to pull out each strand of hair thereby denouncing worldly attachments.

The list of weird Indian rituals can go on. Certain human rights bodies have tried to bring about changes but when it comes to religion little can be done. The only recourse left is to educate people.