India is a land of the oldest, most magical cultures, religions and
customs. People of different religions live in the vast country. It is a
land that has fascinated the world with its snake charmers, peacock and
elephants on one side, and with the works of Aryabhatta, Shusruta and
Tagore, on the other. It is a land of festivities and traditions that
leave the world in awe with all the colours and pomp. There are some fun
rituals prevalent among Indians, such as the Dhinga Gavar in Rajasthan,
where women have their own fancy dress parades, or the Juta Churai
Rasam in the weddings, where the bride’s side takes the groom’s shoes
hostage, and only releases them on being paid a handsome ransom. There
are many more such enjoyable rituals and customs. But, then again, there
are some customs and rituals strange and even harmful.
Let’s take a look at 10 Shocking Rituals in India.
Ten Most Shocking Rituals in India:
10. Arranged Marriage
The world dropped the practice of arranged marriages in the 18th
century, India is still going strong with the tradition. It’s simple:
instead of people selecting their own life partners, everyone else does
it for them – parents, distant relatives, friends of relatives, etc. It
is not hard to understand, just hard to accept. While people are
gradually changing their ideas marriages, for some families, selecting
one’s own partner is one of the shocking things that can be done,
especially if it is a girl. Class, religion, tribe, horoscope, etc.: on
the basis of these, the third party is sure to find you the perfect
match. Who cares if your mentalities don’t match and you don’t talk for
the rest of your lives?
9. Honour Killing
Honour killing, one of the most shocking Rituals in India. Marriage is
more than bringing two people together in India. It is about the union
of two families. Particular attention is given to ensure that a person
does not marry outside his caste, community, religion, social status,
etc. While the rigidity has diminished largely, many communities or
families are extremely strict about these things. Apart from marriage,
there are many other things they are strict about, like what to wear,
whom to talk to, etc. In case a member of their family goes against the
rules and regulations, they may be disowned by the family, or worse,
killed, for bringing dishonour on the family or community.
8. Dowry
Traditionally, at the time of marriage, a family said goodbye to their
girl with gifts mainly in the form of gold jewellery. This was called
Stree-dhan: the property of the woman. However, with time, the practice
changed. Families started paying dowry in cash, properties, and even
education, to the groom, as a sign of gratitude for taking
responsibility of their daughter. This illegal, shocking rituals in
India practiced by people irrespective of their religion, is not only
demeaning for the woman getting married as her value is measured in
terms of money, but puts a great deal of financial pressure on the
family. Many brides are killed or tortured for dowry, while their
helpless families commit suicide.
7. Female Foeticide/Infanticide
With many families under the pressure of dowry, is it strange that women
are considered a burden? Besides, she may be a threat to the family’s
honour, by not being pretty or fair enough to be married, or by getting
raped by some perverted beasts who are looming around. Boys, on the
contrary, are the torch-bearers of the family, as they carry forward the
name and bring dowry. Hence, they prefer female foeticide, which is
seen in cities and educated families, too, who choose medical abortion
in place of feeding the lady with pregnancy-terminating herbs. They even
opt for infanticide by drowning the baby in milk, feeding her salt or
oversized sweets, or burying her alive.
6. Child Marriage
In India, the legal marriageable age of a woman is 18, and that of a man
is 21. However, this shocking rituals in India is something that is
still practised, especially in the rural communities throughout the
country. Child marriage was outlawed in 1929, and since then, preventive
laws and their revisions have been promulgated. But these have often
met with protests, particularly from Muslim communities, who prefer that
the decision best be left to their personal law. It is an active
political issue in the country. While most of the focus is on underage
girls getting married, we often forget to consider those underage boys
who are given the responsibility of marriage, much too early.
5. Baby Dropping – Tossing infants from the roof for good luck
One of the most horrifyingly shocking rituals in India is that of baby dropping,
mainly performed by Muslims, though Hindus practice it, too. At Baba
Umer Dargah near Sholapur, Maharashtra, and Sri Santeswar temple near
Indi, Karnataka, this ritual has been prevalent for about 700 years. To
be blessed with children, people partake in this ritual, where an
infant, two years or even less, is dropped from a tower of about 50
feet, with crowds standing at the foot of the tower to catch the baby.
It is believed to bring good luck to the child being thrown down, too.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is looking to put
an end to the potentially dangerous rite.
4. Exorcism by Marriage – Human-Animal Weddings
Indian believe in spirits, and lots of them. They are a superstitious
lot, with many prejudices. Horoscope is pretty elaborate in India, with
several aspects taken into consideration line day, date, time, etc.,
down to probably the very nanosecond of birth. Accordingly, some women
are said to have “mangal dosh”: such a women are said to endanger the
life of her husband. To exorcise her, the shocking ritual in India is to
get the woman married to a tree. Another way to exorcise a manglik woman is to get her married to an animal
instead of a tree. This mindless ritual is also used to rid the woman
of spirits which she believe to possess, if she is born with a
deformity, cleft lip, tooth, etc.
3. Kesh Lochan – Plucking hair out by the hand
A very popular ritual in India is to sacrifice one’s hair and offer it
to God. People somehow believe that to thank or please God, it is a good
idea to make Him wake up with shedloads of hair dumped for Him. So, it
is a wide practice to offer locks to God. Some people even take it a
step forward, and go bald, to offer all the hair to God. But, even then,
they got beaten by the Jains, who have quite a painful and shocking
Rituals in India. The Jain saints and monks practice the ritual of going
bald by plucking the hair out. They either do it themselves, or have
someone do the plucking for them, once or twice a year, as a mark of
renunciation of worldly pleasures and to teach endurance of pain.
2. Self-Flagellation – The Mourning of Muharram
Self-flagellation is something that is practiced not just in India but
also Pakistan and Bangladesh during Muharram. Muharram is the first
month of the Islamic calendar, and it marks the anniversary of the
Battle of Karbala, during which Prophet’s (PBUH) grandson, Hussein ibn
Ali, was killed, along with 72 warriors. Shi’a Muslims in the country
participate in mass mourning as a remembrance of their sacrifice and
martyrdom. A part of this ritual is self-flagellation,
where the mourner flogs his own body using chains called Matams, which
are often have razors attached to them. They mercilessly whip themselves
till they are soaked in blood, but claim to feel no pain in a trance.
1. Cannibalism, Necromancy and other practices of Aghori
The formidable Aghori saints of Varanasi are members of a Hindu sect
who worship Lord Shiva as the supreme god. They are known for their
post-mortem rituals. Also, they consider nothing to be taboo: drugs,
alcohol, extremely unconventional practices, etc. They dwell in
cremation grounds, smear their bodies with cremation ashes,
and use bones of human corpses to make bowls or jewellery. Unlike most
Hindu saints and monks, they consume meat, and are openly cannibalistic,
as they consume the meat of the corpses. In addition, they are believed
to be capable of dark magic.
There are several other shocking
rituals in India. For instance, polygamy is an illegal practice that is
exercised among Muslim Indians under Personal Law, while polyandry is
practised by a small sect called the Kinnauris in Himalchal Pradesh. In
Tamil Nadu, Timiti is practised as a sign of respect for Draupadi by
walking on fire. In Kerala’s Kali Temples, a terrifying ritual of
hanging the participants from a shaft, hooked by the skin on their
backs. Piercing, bull-fighting,
cracking coconut on the head: there are many. Once upon a time, young
widows were burnt alive in her dead husband’s funeral fire. This
practice has long been stopped. Hopefully, as the majority of the
Indians are already turning against these shocking rituals and practices
in India, these will not only be legally banned, but socially boycotted
too, to be replaced with reason, and more equality in rights and ideas.
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