Weird Cultural Rituals

This is the one of the most weird festivals, as compared to the rest of the world and is celebrated in Spain. This festival has a weird way of purifying the souls of the new born babies. In this festival, new born babies are laid down on the road and are wrapped in mattresses and some grown up Men, dressed like devil, jump over those new born babies. The festival takes place on the first Sunday after Corpus Christi so its date may vary accordingly

Love it, hate it but you can't ignore the custom of marriage in a civil society. This is probably the most strange and craziest wedding tradition in the world. In this festival, friends and the family member of the bride show some affection by putting every nasty thing on the bride. This is the funny and somewhat disgusting ritual in Scotland related to the institution of marriage where the to be bride is soaked in all kind of trash objects, possible from stinking curd to rotten eggs. Aptly called Blackening of the Bride, this custom is by all means, poles apart form the conventional wedding scene we are used to.

If you think Spanish ways are bizarre, then come to Amazon rain forest in Brazil where Satere Mawe Tribeinhabits. Here, a ritual called after Bullet Ants is observed in which a male child has to go through pain like hell to prove that he is deserving to be a man! Boys in their pre- teen wear a pair of gloves filled with bullet ants for more than 10 minutes at least 20 times to 'qualify' for a manhood! The neurotoxic pain of the bullet ants sting is no child's play however. 

An important period of religious observance for followers of Shia Islams across the world, this ten-day period of mourning marks the anniversary of the battle in which the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein ibn Ali, was killed. In what can only be described as a gruesome display, the men whip their bodies with blades attached to chains. In their state of religious trance, they apparently do not feel the pain and Shia Muslims commonly believe that taking part in Ashura absolves them of sin.

In Tibet, Buddhists practice a strange sacred ritual called Jhator, or sky burial. As most Tibetans follow Buddhist traditions, the goal is to provide resources to the world, even after death, i.e. the bodies of the dead are taken to open grounds-usually at very high altitudes-and then left as alms for scavengers such as "vultures". When China first stepped in and quelled most of the local practices, sky burials, were illegal. Since the 1980s, however, it is still possible to observe a jhator with the permission of the family.

One of the purification rituals involves walking barefoot on burning embers. Fire is believed to overcome impurity and repel evil influences-so walking over the fire signifies a man's strength, and his resolve to free himself from evil. In Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples of Japan, monks, priests, and lay people can walk barefoot over smoking embers to attempt to achieve a sudden moment of clarity, overcome their fears, and get the energy flowing. A handful of firewalking customs exist in North Africa, Haiti, the Carribbean, and southeast Asia.

A colourful event held over a nine day period in late September/early October in Phuket. People here, refrain from eating meat for nine days. The festival highlights, however, are its incredible masochistic rituals: men and women puncturing their cheeks with spears, knives almost anything you can imagine, they've shoved through their bodies. It is believed that gods enter their bodies during the ritual, protecting them from evil and bringing good luck to the community.

These are just a sort of trailer to a bevy of weird, bizarre, crazy and mad rituals that are observed in different parts of the earth. So, set out for a cultural vacation with a twist in the tail!