1 – The Gadhimai Festival
The festival is held at the Gadhimai Temple of Bariyarpur, in Bara District, about 100 miles (160 km) south of the capital Kathmandu in the southern Nepal.
As for today, The Gadhimai festival is considered as the biggest ritual slaughter in the world.
2 – Vegetarian Festival – Nine Emperor gods Festival
Impalement is a form of torture which involves piercing with a sharp stake or point. This religious ritual is practiced in many parts of the world under different names.
In China, Myanmar, Singapore, the ritual is called The Nine Emperor Gods Festival (Nine Emperor Gods), and celebrated as a nine-day Taoist celebration, beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar.
In Thailand, the festival is called Tesagan Gin or the Vegetarian Festival. Although the celebration is observed throughout the entire country, the main place of the festivity is Phuket, where about 35% of the population is Thai Chinese.
During the festival, participants push spears, knives, swords, hooks, and even guns through their cheeks. Why you may ask? They believe some form of gods enter their bodies during the ritual, protecting them and the entire community from misfortune or back luck.
3 – Kaningara Body-modification
Kaningara is a tribe that lives in Papua, New Guinea. They believe that this ritual bloody body-modification strengthens the connection between men and nature. The more they scarify their body the more spiritual strength they obtain to connect them with their natural environment.
The main reason of the ceremony is what we would call a passage from Boys to Men in order to prepare and welcome new boys to manhood. The ceremony is usually performed in Haus Tambaran, or “The Spirit House.”
The preparation requires the adolescents to stay in seclusion in the “The Spirit House” (Haus Tambaran) for two months. At the end of the 60 isolation, they get prepared for an initiation ceremony which recognizes their transition to manhood. Each of the adolescent can play the role of a man in the society.
During the preparation, a priest or an artist cutter marks their bodies with sharp pieces of bamboo in schematic way, will resemble the skin of a crocodile after the tattooing is complete.
You may ask why they choose to represent the image of crocodile? They believe crocodiles are makers of humanity. The marks on the skin were made by the spirit of the crocodile while it (the spirit) was chewing or eating the adolescent body to then expel him as a grown and mature man.
4 – Voodoo Rituals
During Voodoo ceremony, individuals are usually possessed by different spirits, Zandor, Danbala…, depending on the song sung or the sound of the drum. The spirit has full control of the possessed, overcoming them so that they become completely unconscious until the evil spirit leaves…
Voodoo is still practiced today in West Africa and many other counties such as Haiti and Jamaica. In country like Haiti, each priest (HOugan) has to perform the ceremony at least once every year, mostly in December to feed their gods.
They sacrifice mostly pigs, goat, beefs, and chicken. The blood of the sacrificed animals can be spread over participants for protection or good luck…
Certain Evil priests called “Ougan Champrel” go further to secretly sacrifice human beings for more power and riches.
5 – The Sun Dance
The Sun Dance ritual has been practiced by some indigenous people of America and Canada in honor of the Earth’s spirits. The ceremony was estimated barbaric and banned by Canada and United States in 1895, after European colonization.
The indigenous who tried to continue the practice were imprisoned or sentenced death.
However, some practitioners have continued to practice the ritual until today in order to preserve the Indigenous culture for future generations, most ceremonies went underground and are practiced in secret.
During the ceremony, participants offer their prayers to the “great spirit”. They dance and sing, around a sacred fire, using a traditional drum.
Some torture themselves while retaining a direct contact with the Tree of Life. The chests of some participants are pierced with a skewer, which connects to a pole, using a rope. The pole represents a deity or the Tree of Life.
6 – Self-Flagellation
Self-Flagellation is a Catholic ritual performed to refer to the flagellation of Christ, prior to his crucifixion. It started in the 13th century by a group of Roman Catholics, known as the Flagellants.
During the ceremony, participants march on roads, carrying heavy wooden crosses and whipping their backs until they bleed. The ritual has no biblical foundation, but it has been practiced by some Christians throughout most of Christianity history, especially in Catholic monasteries and convents.
The participants believe by practicing mortification of their flesh they please Jesus Christ who was flagellated for them.
Today, some of the countries best known to practice Self-Flagellation include Philippines, Mexico, and Peru. Self-flagellation during Muharram (which means forbidden) is celebrated the first month of Islamic calendar, precisely the day of Ashura, the 10th day of Muharram.
7 – Finger Cutting (Amputation)
Finger Cutting is a way of the Dani Tribe to mourn the death of their love ones. The ritual is performed as it sounds, Cut Fingers. In Dani tribe from Papua, Indonesia, some individuals don’t just cry or weep to express their sadness after the death of a family member.
Instead, they cut off their fingers as a way of displaying their grief at funeral ceremonies. In addition to the amputation, they also smeared their faces with ashes and clay, as an expression of sorrow.
Generally women are more interested about their beauty. You think they would be the least to amputate their finger? Ironically, the women are the strongest believers of the rituals.
