Mass whipping of women to cast away ‘evil spirit’

[FarCenter]

In a strange ritual, more than 2,000 women including school-going teen-aged girls, who were believed to be ‘possessed’ by evil spirits were given vicious whip lashes to “free them from these bad elements” at the annual festival of the ancient Sri Achappan Temple at Bavithram Vellalapatti, a remote village situated on the border of Tiruchi and Namakkal districts, on Monday, the Vijayadasami Day.

The men priests, dressed in traditional attire, cracked whips on the ‘possessed’ women, the salvation seekers, who sat in a half-kilometre-long queue for nearly five hours on a sprawling open space called ‘lashing ground’ near the temple.

Many of them were young school and college-going girls, who winced when they received the lashes and writhed in pain on the ground. The long and wieldy whips, which descended on them in full ferocity, had left them gasping for breath, causing burning marks of wounds on them and forcing them to sob and cry in searing pain. Many were given three to four flogs to drive away the ‘multiple spirits’ that possessed them.

Vanita, a twelfth standard student from a nearby village, who received the lash, was holding both her hands in pain. Sobbing uncontrollably, she told The Hindu that she had to sit on the queue as her parents insisted. As she was not showing interest in studies, they believed that an evil spirit had possessed her, preventing her from scoring high marks. "They forced me. Now my friends will look at me suspiciously once they know that I attended the festival, known for curing mental disorders,” she said.

<SNIP>http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article26542.ece

[madeline_con]

1. They need a similar ceremony for men. n/t

[G_j]

3. unbelievable,

reminiscent of the Taliban..

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. apparently men don't have these evil spirits.

:sarcasm:

[Nay]

13. You noticed that too? Funny how it's always we women who need

the beatings....and there's always some men who eagerly step up to the plate to beat us. disgusting.

[thunder rising]

2. Oh this is in India. Fucking 3rd world.

[G_j]

4. huh? nt

[Liquorice]

5. This is just so awful. Nightline also did a story about a country

in Africa (I can't remember now which one), where children were beaten and abandoned in large numbers because their families thought they were possessed by the devil. It was so sad--the parents apparently truly believed their kids were evil. It sounds like that is happening in this case too. What is wrong with this world!

[ezgoingrl]

6. Another win for religion.

n/t

[Skittles]

7. it's always religious garbage

:puke:

[JordanSmith73]

9. Interesting

Interesting

[Vickers]

10. Is that the only fucking word you know?

You've posted it about, oh, 20 times in your 20 posts.

Got a real barn-burner of a thread you want to start or something?

:rofl:

Welcome to DU yadda yadda yadda...

[Hubert Flottz]

12. LOL!

:hi:

[TorchTheWitch]

11. fucking sickening

:grr: