Things that many of us would consider weird have been done in the name of faith for eons—but the list below contains some of the most bizarre we could find. From death rituals to soccer rites, this list proves that anything goes in the name of spiritual health around the world—if you look long and hard enough.
Baby Throwing – Grishneshwar Temple, Maharashtra, India
In this Indian Hindu and Muslim ritual that’s been followed for 700 years, two-year-old babies are thrown from a roof and fall 15 metres to a bed sheet held taut by the crowd below. Though the children’s screams can be heard the entire way down, the fall is believed to provide good health and prosperity for their entire families. High infant mortality rates drive Indian Muslims to take this drastic step. Once the baby lands and bounces on the bed sheet, he or she is promptly passed through the crowd to the mother.
Sky Burials – Yerpa Valley, Tibet
Over 80 percent of Tibetan Buddhists choose sky burial as their final act when they leave this earth. The ritual involves chopping up the body (or sometimes leaving it whole) so it can become food for surrounding vultures. This may seem weird and desecrating to us, but it makes perfect sense under Buddhist philosophy; Buddhists see the body as an empty vessel, so they don’t care what happens to it. Plus, they respect all life, so it’s fitting that one’s final act is to use their body to sustain the body of another.
Soccer God – Maradonian Church, Rosario, Argentina
In Rasario, soccer is a religion—literally. The Maradonian church worships soccer star Diego Armando Maradona as a god. Founded by three fans—Hernán Amez, Alejandro Verón and Héctor Campomar—in 2001, the church now boasts more than 200,000 followers around the world, from countries that include Mexico, Spain, Afghanistan, Australia and the Philippines. They wish to preach their love for “El Diego” around the world because, as one founder told Fox News, “[He] has given us so much and has worked miracles.” Their bible is his autobiography, their nativity is his birthday and their Easter is June 22, when Diego led Argentina to victory over England during the 1986 World Cup. According to the founders, most Maradonians are practicing Catholics and only want an outlet to express their love of “El Diego” and Argentinian soccer.
Self-Mummification – Sokushinbutsu, Yamagata Prefecture, Northern Japan
Obviously, the 24 Sokushinbutsu Buddhist monks whose bodies were found in 2010 and had successfully completed this process back in the early 1800s knew they weren’t going to survive it, but did it anyway for their faith. The process began with a strict 1,000-day diet of only nuts and seeds, while undergoing a severe regimen of physical activity. Then, they ate only bark and roots for another 1,000 days, while drinking a poisonous tea. This caused vomiting and bodily fluid loss, until finally the monks locked themselves in stone tombs just barely big enough for their bodies. They would breathe through an air tube and ring a bell for every day they were still alive. After the bells stopped ringing, the other monks would seal the tombs and wait another 1,000 days before opening to see the results. Usually it was just a decomposing body inside, but those successfully mummified would be taken and displayed as the one true Buddha.
Spitting – Maasai Tribes, East Africa
“Hello” in the Maasai culture is spitting on you; it’s a sign that they are greeting a friend. Also, when a new child is born, the child is spit on and told that they are bad—it’s believed that the child is praised, he or she will be set up for a bad life. When greeting elders, a Maasai warrior will spit on his hand before offering it to be shaken as a sign of respect.
Cremation Ash Eating – Yanomamö Tribe, Venezuela and Brazil
To obtain spiritual and psychical strength against the threats of the jungle, members of the Yanomamö tribe ingest the ashes of their dead family members. The body is burned away from the village and the remaining ash and bone is pulverized and mixed into the juice of the plantain and drank by the deceased’s relatives, which is believed to allow the soul of the deceased to enter the bodies of family members.
Shrunken Heads – Jivaroan Tribes, Ecuador and Peru
The Shuar, Achuar, Huambisa and Aguaruna tribes of the northwestern Amazon rainforest once engaged in head shrinking. Shrinking the head of an enemy was believed to trap that person’s soul in their head, preventing the spirit from escaping, and giving its power to the person who killed them. It also prevented the soul from avenging the death of their physical body. The process involves removing the flesh from the skull, sewing the mouth and eyelids shut, removing the fat and boiling the flesh in water. It is then dried on hot rocks and placed over a ball, so it can keep its shape and features. Shrunken heads are rare and prized by western collectors and museums.
Finger Severing – Dani Tribe, Western Highlands, New Guinea
When a loved one of the Dani Tribe dies, the women and children related to that person sever one of their fingers as a way to appease and drive away the evil spirits that contributed to the death, as well as to provide a physical expression of sorrow and pain. Fingers are typically tied with string and then cut off with an axe, while what’s left is then cauterized. The practice is now banned in New Guinea, but the results can still be seen on the older members of the tribe.
Endocannibalism – Wari’ Tribes, Brazil
Apparently no longer practiced today, endocannibalism is the process of eating the corpse of the recently deceased in order to foster a closer connection between the dead and the living. It was also a type of catharsis for the tribes that practiced it in dealing with their own mortality. Along with the Wari’ Tribes, endocannibalism was also practiced by the Melanesians of Papua New Guinea.
Famadihana – Malagasy People, Madagascar
In an effort to speed up a corpse’s decomposition—because the faster the body decomposes, the faster the spirit reaches the afterlife—the Malagasy people dig up their loved ones and dance with their corpse to live music around the tomb. The corpse is wrapped in fresh cloth, but, even still, the local Christian churches are trying to put a stop to the practice. Famadihana fittingly means the “Turning of the Bones.”
http://www.travelandescape.ca/2013/03/10-of-the-worlds-oddest-religious-rituals/
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