Last week, we featured 8 weird rituals from around the world. Many readers are fascinated and we received a request to do one more! With millions of cultures around the world, it’s not difficult to write another one. And we are as fascinated as you are!
So, here are the part two of Wierd Rituals From Around the World Pt. 2
8.) Penis worship in Japan
The Kanamara Matsuri or “The Penis Worship”, devotees carry a variety of large sculptures in the shape of a penis and paraded through the streets of Kawasaki in Japan.
According to Japanese folklore, a demoness with vaginal deadly teeth seduced men to their deaths until temple priests used a metal d**k to destroy her deadly secret weapon. It is said that the shrine offers divine protections for business prosperity and for a good and happy life.
This festival has become a tourist attraction and the money raised here is used for HIV research.
7.) Tribal Cannibalism in Amazon
As strange as it sounds, the Yanomami tribe who live in the deep Amazon rainforest believe that no physical trace of a dead body should be left behind in order for its soul to rest in peace.
So, instead of burying the dead, they prefer consuming them. The ash and bone powder that is obtained after performing the cremation is mixed into a plantain soup and is consumed by the deceased’s family.
They also believe that consuming their dead body will cleanse the soul of their lost and loved ones will reside within them.
6.) Spending a night with an unmarried woman in Bhutan
In the eastern parts of the Himalayan kingdom, young men looking for love and marriage head out at night for a different kind of hunt.
Single men secretly enter a woman’s house to spend the night with them. If they are caught with the girl, they have to marry her or work in her father’s field as a punishment.
It’s very bizarre because it is legal for them but very problematic because women are subjected to rape, physical abuse, and an invasion of privacy.
5.) Blackening the bride in Scotland
In Scotland, before the wedding, eggs, spoilt milk, and all things disgusting are thrown at the bride. The ‘blackened bride’ is then paraded around the town.
In Scotland, before the wedding, eggs, spoilt milk, and all things disgusting are thrown at the bride. The ‘blackened bride’ is then paraded around the town.
The blackened bride is not literally to paint the bride black, but a metaphor for the difficulty life that a bride may have to go through after in their marriage life. So basically, is a welcoming tradition for the new chapter of her life.
4.) Prohibiting newlyweds to use the bathroom in Borneo
In the northern parts of Borneo, The Tidong tribe newlyweds are not allowed to use the bathroom for three days after their wedding.
Yes, this means no urinating, no shitting, or bathing. It is believed that by performing this custom, the couple leads a happy married life. They believe that forcing them to hold their bladders and poop for three days strengthens the bond between the couple.
3.) Dancing with the dead in Madagascar
In the Northern highlands of Madagascar lives the Malagasy tribe and they literally dance with dead bodies of their loved ones before burying them.
After bringing the bodies of ancestors from their burial place, they re-wrap them in fresh cloth and dance around the tomb to live music. This tradition is done once in seven years.
The family members are requested to abide by the rule of “no sadness.”The day is meant to be all about the bright side of life, realizing that the dead ones are not gone; they are instead just in another world.
2.) Women’s giraffe’s neck in Thailand
Starting at an early age, women of the Padaung tribe wear a coil of brass rings around their necks. This collar, and the elongated appearance it gives their necks over time, are Padaung symbols they wear proudly.
In their native Myanmar, the Padaung people often faced persecution over these visible tribal symbols. Now, having relocated to a Thailand refugee camp, these Padaung women continue this centuries-old custom, memorializing the struggles of the past and maintaining a link to their tribe’s history.
Women from the tribe wear huge rings around their necks to elongate the shape of their necks as they see it as a symbol of beauty and elegance. Girls start wearing rings around their necks when they are 5 years old. And, more rings are added as they grow up.
1.) Cutting of fingers with Dani Tribe in Indonesia
This tradition is followed by the Dani tribe in Indonesia where women have to cut off a part of their fingers after a family member passes away. So, besides suffering from emotional grief, women also have to suffer physical pain. This ritual is done to supposedly ‘satisfy ancestral ghosts.’
