Inhumane rituals still in practise today
In a shocking incident, 21-year-old Sunil Kumar from the Hebbal village in Belur taluk, Karnataka, died after a wooden pole, collapsed and hit him. The young man was participating in the Sidi ritual, a practise that takes place during the Doddamma-Chikkamma jatre, an annual fair. The ritual is performed in the interior parts of the state, where a person is tied to a wooden pole, with a hook that is inserted into his body. The pole is then rotated by a group of people at a height of 20 feet above the ground. This inhumane ritual is usually performed by Dalits, and is listed in the Karnataka Prevention of Superstitious Practices Bill, 2013.
The Sidi ritual is just one among a number of atrocious and inhuman practices that are still conducted in many parts of the country for cultural and religious reasons. We take a look at some of these brutal practices:
Fire walking: Called theemithi, the firewalking ceremony is practised in parts of Tamil Nadu, and other countries which have a significant south Indian population, such as Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, etc, during the Aipasi month of the Tamil calendar, to honour Draupadi Amman. During the ceremony, devotees walk barefoot over a fire pit filled with burning wood or charcoal, in the hope that they become free of ill health and possible disasters. There have been many instances of people suffering from burns on their feet, or falling down and burning other parts of their bodies. A number of children are also subjected to the brutal practice and have been known to suffer from severe burns.
Female genital mutilation: One of the most inhumane rituals practised in parts of India and around 27 other countries in sub Saharan Africa, north-east Africa and some parts of Asia is female genital mutilation, or the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia. The ritual is performed usually between infancy and 15 years of age, before puberty starts, and is done to control the girl child’s sexuality. Girls are usually forcefully restrained and people without any medical training, and without any medical aid, carry out the circumcision.
Witch hunting: The practice of hunting down and killing women who are labeled as witches, is still practiced in some parts of the country. According to reports around 2,100 people, mostly women, have been killed in India between 2000 and 2012. Jharkhand tops in the number of number of murders related to witches, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In many cases women are branded witches over property disputes, or because a woman would have rejected a man, and in some cases the accusation is also used as a pretext for rape.
Thaipoosam: Prevalent in parts of Tamil Nadu, and some other south Asian countries, the ritual involves piercing the body with sharp objects such as iron rods, spears, blades, needles and swords. According to the practitioners of this ritual, God enters the body through the piercing and protects them from evil.
Baby tossing: In an extremely bizarre and barbaric practice, babies are tossed from the roofs of temples or other religious establishments onto a group of people standing below, holding a blanket. Practised by both Hindus and Muslims, in parts of India, especially Karnataka, the ritual is believed to bring good luck to the community.
Bani Festival: A gruesome scene is carried out at the Devaragattu Temple in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, every Dusshera, when hundreds of lathi wielding people hit each other on the head at midnight. Reports of people getting injured are quite common, and while the police and medical personnel are deployed, in most cases, they remain mute spectators.
Human sacrifice: Though the atrocity is not as prevalent as before, cases do emerge ever so often of humans, in many cases small children, being sacrificed to appease some god. Between 2002 and 2013, there were three reported cases of human sacrifice, and as recently as October 2015, a four year old boy was reportedly beheaded as part of a tantric ritual.
Images courtesy: Reuters
