We Are, Who We Were.

TABOO

1)SELF-FLAGELLATION
Selg-flagellation is a ritual brought out by Syiah followers.This ritual is held every year every holy Month of Muharram in order to remember their leader named Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.The men will whip their bodies with blades attached to chain.However,they do not feel any pain eventhough there are so much blood running out of their bodies.

2) DANCING WITH THE DEAD.

Famadihana, meaning “The Turning of the Bones,” is a traditional festival which takes place in Madagascar. The participants believe that the faster the body decomposes, the faster the spirit reaches the afterlife. They thereforedig up their loved ones, dance with their corpses to live music around the tomb, and then rebury them. This bizarre ritual is carried out every two to seven years.

3)SACRIFICATION

A tribe in Papua New Guinea called Kaningara practices a bloody body-modification ritual that is intended to strengthen the spiritual connection between them and their environment.

One of these ritual ceremonies is carried out in Haus Tambaran, or “The Spirit House.” The adolescents live in seclusion in Haus Tambaran for two months. After this period of isolation, they prepare for an initiation ceremony which recognizes their transition to manhood. An expert cutter marks their bodieswith sharp pieces of bamboo. The resulting patterns resemble the skin of a crocodile; this is based on the notion that crocodiles are the creators of humans. The marks symbolize the tooth marks left by the spirit of the crocodile as it ate the young boy’s body and expelled him as a grown man.

4)IMPALING

The annual Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand, is host to a most extreme ritual. This intensely masochistic event requires the participants to push spears, knives, swords, hooks, and even guns through their cheeks. It is believed that gods enter their bodies during the ritual, protecting them from evil and bringing good luck to the community.