Religious rituals are the symbol of our faith, however, there are countless rituals in the world, that are weird to hear about and watch, as well as leave us stunned. These kind of rituals are being performed without restrictions up till today. Throwing a newborn baby from a height of 7000 feet, walking on fire, jumping from a great height, dancing with a dead body…..these and many other rituals are still prevalent today.
We are going to tell you about similar kinds of rituals:
Countries: Amazon, Brazil, and Venezuela
Religious Ritual: Death is not natural.
What happens in the ritual: Eating ashes of a burnt dead-body by mixing in bananas.
Why it is done: So that the dead person lives forever.
Understand it this way: Amazonian tribes are primitive tribes. They believe that death is not natural. These people eat ashes of a dead body by mixing in bananas.
Countries: Madagascar, Africa
Religious Ritual: Funeral
What happens in the ritual: Dancing around a grave.
Why it is done: To make the spirit enter a second body.
Understand it this way: When someone dies people of Madagascar dance-sing around a grave and then bury the dead body.
Country: Mexico
Religious Ritual: Right from the day of death.
What happens in the ritual: Cleaning up the grave followed by picnic celebration.
Why it is done: To always keep the memory of the dead person fresh.
Understand it this way: When someone dies the family visits the grave of the person every day, clean it up, and follow it up with a picnic celebration.
Country: Penang, Malaysia
Religious Ritual: Taoist Festival
What happens in the ritual: Walking on fire.
Why it is done: To finish off evil.
Understand it this way: During Taoist festival people walk on fire. This is done to make oneself pure, and to finish-off all evil from inside oneself.
Country: Thailand
Religious Ritual: Phuket Vegetarian Festival.
What happens in the ritual: Cheeks of devotees are skewered with knives, swords, hooks, pistols.
Why it is done: In order to purify the body and mind.
Understand it this way: By doing it God enters into the soul of devotees and they become pure.
Country: Israel
Religious Ritual: To make the ghosts run away.
What happens in the ritual: Cutting off a rooster’s head.
Why it is done: To finish-off evil.
Understand it this way: In Jewish community in order to make ghosts to leave the body of a person a rooster is placed on that person’s head, to allow the evil spirit to enter the body of the rooster. Thereafter, the head of the rooster is chopped off.
Country: Tibet
Religious Ritual: Sky burial or Jhator
What happens in the ritual: Vultures eat up the dead body.
Why it is done: Faith in life after death.
Understand it this way: Buddhists leave the body of a dead person in the mountains to be gorged by vultures. Dead body is cut into pieces to make it easy for the vultures to eat it up.
Country: Pacific Islands
Religious Ritual: Gkol Jumping
What happens in the ritual: To jump from a tower located at a great height.
Why it is done: To seek blessings of God.
Understand it this way: A man binds a liquor bottle around his ankles, and then jumps from a wooden tower built at a great height. Rest of the villagers sing-dance and beat drums.
Country: South Africa
Religious Ritual: Sakpata
What happens in the ritual: Escort a person into the jungle.
Why it is done: To unify the soul with the body.
Understand it this way: The man is escorted into the jungle to let him unify with the soul. The soul enters the body, and the man becomes subconscious. He stays there for three days without eating or drinking, and when he regains consciousness it’s believed that the ritual is completed.
