Transcript 15 Birth Ritual of the Sifudu (Africa)

#15 Birth Ritual of the Sifudu
(Africa)
 The birth of a baby is an important occasion in
all cultures around the world. The occasion is
marked by prayers and blessings to welcome the
new member in the family. But sometimes,
these blessing ceremonies can go to strange
limits. Sifudu is an important custom practiced
in different African tribes.
 On the third day of birth of the child, relatives
gather at the hut, picking leaves from the Sifudu
tree. A small fire is made at the centre of the hut
and the Sifudu leaves are burnt to produce a
thin pall of smoke.
 The leaves have an extremely pungent aroma
that irritates mouth, nose and eyes. Then the
baby is carried by a woman with his head
downward in the smoke and is passed several
times through the smoke and is then handed
back to the mother who quickly passes the child
under her leg. It is believed that the ritual
ensures that the child is never subjected to
fright or shyness.
#16 Bullet Ant Gloves
(South America)
 Initiation is the ceremony marking the
entrance into a group or community.
Initiation rites are held in all cultures in
order to transform a child into an adult. The
most common examples include the
Christian ceremony of "baptism" or the
Hindu "diksha". While it may not sound like
much to many people, many cultures have
quite painful ways of initiation.
 One of the most extreme of these initiation
rites are found among the Mawe people of
South America. They use intentional Bullet
Ant stings as part of their initiation rites. The
stings of these Bullet Ants are so painful that
they are compared to bullet shots; this is
where the name comes from.
First the ants are collected and are
rendered unconscious by keeping them in a
natural sedative. Then hundreds of them are
woven in pair of gloves made out of leaves.
The boys are then asked to wear the gloves
for at least 10 minutes. The neurotoxin of
bullet ants paralysis the hands and cause
intense pain, even more than the sting of a
tarantula. The boys have to repeat the ritual
for 20 times before they become a "warrior".
#17 Sutee Death Ritual
(Hindu culture)
 Suttee or self-cremation involves
widows who voluntarily lie by her
dead husband's side on his funeral
pyre to be burnt alive with the
corpse.
 Suttee is a very old Hindu
custom practiced in India for many
centuries until the British banned it
in 1829.
 The widow is considered a bad omen
in the Hindu society. She is not
allowed to attend social gatherings
and everything from her touch to her
presence is considered extremely
impure. Although the core idea
behind this strange custom is to
reunite the couple in afterlife, most
of the outsiders and even many
Indians see this as just inhumanity.
#18 Extreme Body Piercing
(India & Singapore)
 During the celebration of the religious holiday
Thaipusam, Hindus throughout the world declare
their devotion to Lord Murugan by piercing various
parts of their bodies.
 The piercings are usually done with skewers, lances,
large hooks or a small spear called a vel. Although the
tradition of piercing started out relatively simply, as a
small hole in the tongue created by the vel as a
reminder to remain silent during meditation, it has
evolved over the years to include all parts of the body,
especially the back, chest and face. Some devotees go
as far as attaching several large hooks to their backs,
then pulling heavily loaded chariots down streets or up
hills.
 During the hugely popular three-day Thaipusam
festival (which attracts more than a million people
each in India and Singapore alone) each February,
Tamil Hindus celebrate the birthday of Lord Murugan
and his killing of the malevolent spirit Soorapadman
with a spear. The lances can reach two meters long and
are often attached to elaborate headgear or other
decorative apparatus. The pierced devotees march in
festival parades both to demonstrate their devotion
and to have their wishes granted.
#19 I Feel (Dress) Like a Woman
(Kenya)
In Kenya it is the custom by which the first
month after the wedding, the groom should
wear women’s clothes to fully enjoy and
understand how hard is being a woman.