India is one of the most religious countries known for its exquisite culture and tradition. A place where we celebrate love, different culture and a variety of religions.
While all that is magnificently great, there are still some people who get stuck on absurd rituals in the name of religion. Today I’m going to list out 10 tragic activities that are still practised in India and neighbouring countries.
1. Walking on Fire
Yes, you read it right, and this is as insane as it sounds. It is a widely practised ritual in many countries to this date. People walk barefoot on the stones that are set on fire and are of extremely high temperatures.
Why, you ask? Well, because it’s believed that it’s a way of paying respect to the Almighty lord. It purifies our soul and also repels evil influences.
We can’t take the heat during summers; imagine walking on hot embers that are of such a high temperature that it reminisces you how death feels like.
Fire-walk is practised in few Hindu communities residing in south Asia, Greece and Bulgaria, Japanese Taoists and Buddhists. Places like Bali, Spain and few parts of Pakistan.
2. Female Genital Mutation (FGM)
This is the nastiest and most brutal practice that still exists to this day. This kind of practice makes us question humanity in people.
So in this practice, they partially or completely remove the external female genitalia, mainly the clitoris, using a razor or blade without anaesthesia. And this idiotic ritual is followed because they want to control “women’s sexuality”. It is believed to be an essential part of raising their daughter and prepare her for adulthood and marriage. It is done to restrain girls from sexual desires or masturbation. I was and am still speechless hearing about this. If you are a woman, you aren’t allowed to live life?
A girl is in constant pain her whole life. Why?
Well, because it is to keep her ‘pure’?
This is the most horrifying, terrible, despicable, most hauntingly awful thing I have ever heard, and it breaks my heart that it’s true. I hope I live to see the day where women don’t have to suffer because they are women.
3. Tossing the baby
Believe me, and it’s literally like it sounds. In December, more than a hundred babies get tossed from the top of the temple every year to a group of men standing below the temple holding cloth meant to catch the baby. Isn’t it just insane?
They believe by doing this ritual, they gain peace in the community, and it’s a sign of good luck. A married couple who are trying for another baby also engages in this ritual.
This solely takes place in India and has been in practice for the past 700 years!
This is the most hazardous ritual so far.
4. Finger removal/amputation
You might be wondering if I’m just making all this up, and I wish I were, but I sadly am not.
This is yet another banned religious ritual, but people still practice it in some places.
In this, a person chops a portion of their finger as a way of mourning to family members who are no longer here.
In some places, it is also believed that it is atonement for the sins of a person.
This is mostly practised in Indonesia.
5. Impaling
Even though this ritual is banned, it is widely practised even today. Impaling simply means piercing with sharp instruments.
And this ritual is exactly that.
In this case, the body parts of a person are pierced with sharp objects like spears, guns, iron rods, swords, needles etc.
It is believed that god enters our body and protects us from evil spirits, and they also believe it brings luck to the community.
This is the silliest ritual of all. Why would God want us to hurt ourselves to make us realise he’s with us. This is most common in India. As a kid, when I saw people like this practising this ritual, I always thought they do it for money, but little did I know they were doing this to bring luck.
This ritual is also practised in Thailand during the annual festival.
6. Self-Flagellation
Flagellation means flogging or beating, as religious discipline or for sexual gratification.
Self-flagellation means the act of flogging oneself in the form of religious discipline.
Hearing about this ritual always tears me up.
People torture themselves as an act of discipline or god knows what. They feel the need to hurt themselves for their voice to be heard. If this isn’t a cry for help, I don’t know what is. And a part of this is also shown in a movie called PK.
This is practised in Mexico and also in Islam countries like India, Pakistan, Iraq and Lebanon.
7. Human sacrifice
This is the ritual of sacrificing people in the name of god. People kill other people to express their gratitude to god. This is like a free pass to murder. And what bothered me when I heard this was how you would decide whom to kill, sorry “sacrifice”. How will you decide which life is less precious? Who would be the judge of that?
This is an outrageous and most disturbing ritual of all.
The ritual was usually done in parts of India and also Africa.
8. Kathmandu (Animal Sacrifice)
This is just like the above ritual, but animals and birds get sacrificed instead of human beings. God created humans and also animals. People fail to understand this.
Thousands of animals were killed as a ritual during festivals. It’s ironic how they call it a festival and mass murder innocent lives.
Buffaloes get beheaded in the name of god.
It makes us question how the human race got dumber over time. Right?
This ritual was widely practised in Nepal.
But the supreme court of Nepal banned this ritual in the year 2016.
9. Dowry system
I think everyone is more familiar with this ritual. This ritual is common in many parts of the world.
In this ritual, the bride’s family gives the groom’s family a lot of money or car or whatever they need to be correct so that they accept their daughter.
Parents spend lakhs together on dowry but not on girl’s education. Because they still believe what girls will do after studying, after all, they are going to have to be perfect wives to their husbands. That’s their only job. That’s their aim and duty. They are kind of confusing rights with rituals.
10. Mensuration
Most of us are unfamiliar with this ritual. But this is the common ritual that is practised in India and Nepal.
It is so stupid how people think period blood is impure. Because they think period blood is impure, girls are not allowed to go to temples, and they are expected to sit quietly in one place and not touch anyone. So if anyone’s keeping records, untouchability is back again. But this time only for 5-7 days.
Women go through such traumatizing pain every month for a week, and people think that they are impure? You should be treating them like a goddess.
In Nepal, women are banished from their homes every month when they are on their periods. This is the worst thing anyone could do to a human being. Who will make them understand if there’s no menstruation, the human race wouldn’t exist.
