7 unusual cultures around the world

omotolani

May 5, 2023 2:37 PM

You haven't witnessed shocking cultures until you read this article.

7 unusual cultures around the world/El Colacho Baby Jumping. [amusingplanet]

From baby-throwing to living with dead bodies, below is a list of jaw-dropping cultures from around the globe.

Many weird cultures happen around the world.

Walking Dead: The Toraja people of Indonesia. [theguardian] Pulse Nigeria

1. Walking Dead

The Toraja people of Indonesia practise this absurd culture of putting a body in a temporary coffin before resurrecting 'it'.

In villages located in the mountains of South Sulawesi in Indonesia, shamans have reportedly been raising the dead for centuries.

According to the religious beliefs of the Toraja people, in order for a deceased person to reach the afterlife known as “Puya” or “The Land of Souls”, their corpse must be returned to the place of their birth for burial.

The corpse is raised from the dead and walks to its new resting place.

2. El Colacho Baby Jumping

The residents of Spain have been taking part in this dangerous and weird culture called El Colacho since 1620. El Colacho means baby jumping and is organised to keep the Devils away. In this festival, infants are laid on the mattresses in the street and the jumpers wear traditional costumes to look like the Devils.

3. Living with Dead

Can you imagine yourself living with dead bodies? But, it’s very common practice for some ethnic groups in Indonesia to wrap the deceased up in special garbs and keep it safe in the house they live. It is believed that the soul of their loved ones will be preserved until burial.

7 unusual cultures around the world/Hanging Coffins. [atlasobscura] Pulse Nigeria

4. Hanging Coffins

You can witness the countless suspended artefacts and occult phenomena on the chillingly steep cliffs along Yangtze River, China.

Some cultures in China bury their family members and hang them over some cliffs after death. Coffins are generally hung 33 to 164 feet high and some even as high as 328 feet above the ground. It is still not known for sure how the coffins were placed at such great heights. Records of hanging coffins date back almost 2000 years.

Throwing babies i’s a common practice for the people in Solapur village, Maharashtra, India. [edtimes] Pulse Nigeria

5. Throwing babies

It’s a common practice for the people in Solapur village, Maharashtra, India, to toss newborn babies off from the terrace of 50ft tower. People at the foot of the tower hold sheets to catch the baby safely. This is believed to give their children good luck and a long and healthy life.

6. Carrying women on hot coals

In Chinese culture, a husband should carry his bride over a pan of burning coals before entering their home for the very first time.

Myth says that this strange custom is performed to ensure she will have an easy and successful labour.

7 unusual cultures around the world/Mourning of Muharram. [aljazeera] Pulse Nigeria

7. Mourning of Muharram

Every year Muslims from around the world hold religious mourning ceremonies for the third Shia Imam who achieved martyrdom in the desert of Karbala in 680 AD.

On this day, a number of groups consisting of Shia Muslims go out with whips attached to knives and blades and start beating them up unstoppably. This tradition has been passed over to their descendants for generations

omotolani