Ten Of The World’s Most Interesting Cultural Rituals

There are cultures all around the world that we are not familiar with. Unless you have gone out of your way to learn about these other cultures, you are probably completely oblivious to what goes on with other people. Most people probably are only familiar with their own cultures and maybe the cultures present around them. All around the world, people from different cultures are eating different things, dress and talk differently, and do different practices. Some might wear certain robes or dresses, or some may cut their hair in a certain way, or have interesting body piercings. What may seem unusual to others, is the norm for some group of people. They in fact, might think the way you act or do certain things is strange, when you consider it normal.

This video discusses 10 of the world’s most interesting cultural rituals. There will definitely be things in here that will shock you, but it is very interesting to see what is going on in other parts of the world!

Coming in at number 10 is something called El Colacho. This is an annual festival in which men dress as devils and jump over babies that are lying in the street! This festival is held in Castrillo de Murcia, Spain and dates back to the 1600s. It is meant to absolve the babies of sins; the babies were born in approximately the last 12 months since the last event.

The next ritual on the list is known as sky burial. This is practiced by Tibetan Buddhists who take their dead ones to the top of a mountain to be feasted on by vultures. They do this to honor nature with the passing of their people. Monks are very spiritual and because of that, a lifeless body is not that sacred since it is just an empty vessel. They give it back to the elements by placing the body on the mountain top. The dead corpse is either scavenged upon and goes back to the living things, or decompose naturally, and goes back to nature.

A very interesting ritual on this list is called Kanamara Matsuri. It is actually known as the “Penis Festival” and is basically what is sounds like. A festival of penis inspired things, parades, snacks, penis shaped things, etc. This would be unusual to see a phallic shaped float being paraded down the street! This event is meant to bring fertility and prosperity. It is also supposed to bring harmony to relationships, and this event is practiced in Kawasaki, Japan.

Another interesting ritual is Sokushinbutsu, which is the live mummification process done by monks. They have a very strict diet of only pine needles and seeds which keep them from decomposing since they keep them dehydrated. They get extremely skinny and boney, and they look like a living mummy. They must be extremely dedicated to practicing this!

There are more rituals in this video that you should check out. They are quite surprising and some are pretty shocking. It is interesting to learn about other cultures in the world and see the things they practice. This video does a great job showing you some interesting practices!