2000 women whipped for 5 hours by priests in Tamilnadu: video

More superstition. Once again the target is women. Massive whipping of women and even young girls. They are getting whipped like this as part of some ritual. Really dont know how many such rituals are still existing in rural India. People watching this say nothing absurd about what they saw. "Tradition is tradition", they say.

Read On and also have a look at the video..

Like every Dussera, thousands gathered to pray at a 300-year-old temple in Tamil Nadu's Namakkal district. What followed next was unspeakable horror.

Two thousand teenagers and children, some as young as 10, were whipped by the temple's priests. For five hours. The priests' explanation: This whipping is a cure-all. Some 10-year-olds were lashed for not studying enough. Others were attacked for being slow to attain puberty. And menstruating teens were hit for being impure. The priests say this is nothing new. "We have been practicing this ritual for 300 years" declares Thangavelu, a priest.

The shocking scenes were filmed by local channels, none of whom called for help. Like others in this area, they find nothing absurd about what they saw. Tradition is tradition, they say.

The women can be seen gasping for breath, many are sobbing their hearts out. But the faith is unshakeable. Radhika, a devotee, says, "We believe that when we are whipped, we will get rid of all our mental and physical ailments and evil spirits."

Source: NDTV, September 30, 2009

New born babies thrown off roofs to thank God : Video

How can anyone throw their new born baby from a roof of 50 feet height just for following some of their bizarre religious tradition. If by mistake the head of the child bangs to the ground directly, the child will be spot dead. Still, people in india take this risk.

Read On.. and have a look at the video also.

Religious traditions are diverse and sometimes as bizarre as they can get. A village in Solapur, Maharashtra, has a dangerous tradition of throwing newborns from a height of 50 feet onto a sheet, which is held by devotees.

The infants are thrown off the roof of the Baba Sheikh Umar Saheb Dargah in Musti village in Solapur. This is an age-old tradition practiced by couples who are blessed with a child after taking a vow at the dargah. The devotees also believe that this ritual is good for the health of the child.

“People have been following this tradition for almost 500 years now. They believe that if they throw the child from the roof then it does good to him or her,” deputy sarpanch of Musti village, Ravikiran Mehta said.

While the practice may seem dangerous and superstitious to others, the devotees strongly believe that the fall will not harm the infants. The reason given is that there has been no recorded evidence of any physical disability to the infants.

“It’s our family tradition and so we follow it,” a devotee said.



Source: IBNLive, Apr 27, 2008

Girl married to a Dog in a bizarre ritual

This is as bizarre as it gets. A young indian girl was married to a stray DOG this january for whatever silly reason. Heights of superstition. See how the little girl is sitting without knowing what is happening to her.
Read On..

VILLAGERS in India have "married" off a young girl to a stray dog to ward off an evil spirit which they believed was threatening the family.
The locals at Munda Dhanda village in Jharkhand state, performed the ceremony as they believe it will overcome any curse that might fall on the family.

Interestingly, the girl is free to get married later in life to a man without even seeking a divorce.

Superstitions are widespread in India, especially in rural areas where literacy is scarce.

Source : www.news.com.au, January 27, 2009