Some bizarre traditions around the world...

We have many rituals and customs we practise around the world. Some have logical explanation while for the rest we follow it with deep faith. I have taken some time to make a list of some weird random rituals we practice. I hope this Blog does not hurt anybodies sentiments. Kindly take it in good spirit and read it with a smile. Happy reading people.

Ritual 1: Masai Spitting

Actor Satish Shah character in the famous Bollywood movie “Main Hoon Nah” as the Professor who talks less and spits more on his students is definitely inspired from the Masai tribe of Africa (this is an ethnic African group found in Kenya and Tanzania).  We use are saliva mainly to digest the food we intake but the people from the Masai tribe of Africa have a very different purpose for it. These people spit on one another while greeting their friends. Before greeting elders Masai people spit on their hand before offering it for a handshake. They also spit on their newborn baby, and avoid praising as they believe praising will curse the child to a bad life.

Ritual 2: Pre-planned Crying

Every girl feels sad and very bad to leave their near & dear ones and get married. All girls do the emotional rona dhona during their good bye moments with their family during their marriage ceremony. In case of the brides of the Tujia people in China take matters to a whole new level. Starting one whole month in advance the bride starts to cry for 1 hour every day. Ten days into the ordeal the mom joins the picture, and then ten days after that, her grandmother. By the end of the month every female in the family is crying alongside the bride. This is thought to be an expression of joy as the women cry in different tones. I am so sure the men will have a gala time watching their wife’s crying daily :P

Ritual 3: Hanging Coffins

I have seen hanging gardens but hanging coffins that is so creepy. In many locations of China, Indonesia and Philippines you might find hanging coffins. The limestone caves surrounding Sagada in Philippines are also known as home to the region’s dead. Hanging coffins are an ancient tradition. It is believed that hanging the coffin could prevent the dead’s body from being taken by beasts and will also bless the soul.

Ritual 4: Feasting with the Departed

Fairly recent discoveries in the Vatican of old Roman burial grounds have uncovered a fascinating tradition that was previously forgotten the Romans would eat with their dead and even feed them. Many of the graves found contained pipes that led from the outside of the grave to the body within – this was used to pour honey, wine, and other foods into the dead. Similar pipes in Roman Graves have also been found in England. Ancient Romans would often picnic at the graves of the dead as they believed they were feeding the soul of their departed loved ones. The inscription on the grave above describes the location of a food shop nearby so mourners and visitors can buy food for themselves or the dead.

Ritual 5: Eating the Dead’s Ash

Don’t get shocked! Death and funerals are part of one’s Life, but the tradition of eating the ashes of your dead is shocking and bizarre tradition that is being followed. In the Yonamamo tribe from Brazil and Venezuela, the tradition forbids keeping any part of the deceased body. The body of the dead is burned. Bones are crushed and mixed with the ashes, is divided amongst the family and eaten by all.

Ritual 6: Finger Cutting

The Danis tribe of Africa follows a weird tradition. Women on the tribe must cut off a part of their fingers when a member of the family dies. I wonder when and how the allotment of finger space for a particular family member would be conducted. The women of Danis tribe were forced to suffer physically with the emotional pain of losing a family member. The tradition was performed to satisfy the ancestral ghosts.

Ritual 7: Baby Tossing

There is a shocking tradition followed in India, mainly in the Maharashtra region. I think this tradition is definitely inspired from people tossing rumali rotis in the aIr. Infants are tossed from the top of a temple, from around 15 meters. According to this tradition, it is believed that this will bring good luck to the child and strengthens the intelligence.

Ritual 8: Wedding Cake on the Baby’s Forehead

Some couples save a bit of their wedding cake for an anniversary, but Irish couples traditionally hold on to theirs for another occasion: the first child’s christening. The parents serve the top tier of the cake to guests and sprinkle a few crumbs on the child’s forehead to bless it with good luck. A proper Irish wedding cake generally has a fair bit of whiskey. But since a few crumbs of whiskey cake is hardly enough alcohol for an Irish child, couples often save some champagne from the wedding along with the cake. I know after reading this all of us would love to have Irish parents.  They open it at the baptism and use it to wet the happy baby’s head.

Ritual 9: Blackening the Bride

To celebrate the happiest day in a woman’s life, friends and relatives of the bride will show affection by putting every nasty things you can imagine like curdled milk, dead fish, spoiled food, tar, sauces, mud, flour, sausages into a bucket and throwing it over her. She is then tied to a tree and after taken for a night of drinking. The belief is that if you can handle this you can handle anything, including marriage. In short blackening the bride is to prepare her for any humiliation or problems she’ll come across during her marriage. Now this kind of training should be encouraged worldwide for all would be brides because marriage is definitely not bed of roses.

Ritual 10: Bathroom Ban

Weddings in the Indonesian Tidong community have traditions that are truly unique. Perhaps the most adorable of their customs is the one where the groom isn’t allowed to see the bride’s face until he sings her several love songs. I really pity the brides of the men who have voices like crows. The curtain separating the couple is raised only after the musical requirement is met, and then they can see each other on a dais. But the weirdest of them all is this – the bride and the groom aren’t allowed to use the bathroom for three days and nights after the wedding.  Tidong people believe that not practicing the three-day and night ritual would bring terrible luck to the couple – a broken marriage, infidelity, or death of their children at a young age. So the couple is watched over by several people, and allowed only minimal amounts of food and drink. After the three days are up, they are bathed and then permitted to return to normal life.