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Monday December 23, 2024

8 'weirdest' traditions in world that will shock you

These bizarre cultural practices from around globe continue even in today's modern world

By Web Desk
February 20, 2024
A collage of pictures from different traditions. — Wander On/File
A collage of pictures from different traditions. — Wander On/File

From throwing babies to monkey buffets, it's safe to say that some rather weird and wonderful traditions are practised around the world.

Here's a list of just eight of the most bizarre cultural practices from around the globe that are still carried out today, Expatriate Health Care reported.

Smashing coconuts on people’s skulls in India

This Hindu ritual has been around for a long time in southern India where a priest smashes a coconut on the heads of devotees as a sign to the gods, asking for good health and success.

Throwing cinnamon in Denmark

In this 100-year-old tradition, when a single man or woman turns 25, they get splashed with water and then covered with cinnamon from head to toe.

Monkey buffet festival in Thailand

The image shows a group of monkeys sitting. — Wander On/File
The image shows a group of monkeys sitting. — Wander On/File

On the last Sunday of November in Phra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi, a feast is held to honour macaques that supposedly bring good luck to the area and its occupants.

The festival includes performances by dancers in monkey costumes and towers of fruits and vegetables in which the monkeys climb, jump and indulge.

Polterabend in Germany

The image shows guests smashing plates at a party. — Wander On/File
The image shows guests smashing plates at a party. — Wander On/File

Polterabend, meaning "wedding shower", is generally held a day before a bride and groom are due to wed.

Friends and family gather at the front of the house and smash things on the floor, such as plates, flowerpots, tiles, or anything else that makes a lot of noise, to bring good luck.

Shoving faces in cake in Mexico

Known as "La Mordida", it is a birthday tradition in which the birthday girl or boy will have their face pushed into the cake while having their hands tied as party guests shout "Mordida! Mordida! Mordida!" — the Spanish word for "take a bite".

Finger-cutting of Dani tribe in Indonesia

Everyone grieves differently after the loss of a loved one, but the women of the Dani tribe in Indonesia have quite a unique and severe way of dealing with grief.

When the women of the Dani tribe lose a loved one, they cut the top part of their finger to symbolise the pain suffered and to keep the deceased person's spirit away.

Baby-tossing in India

When a couple gets married in Karnataka's Sri Santeswar temple, they have to return there with their newborn babies. This tradition is followed in certain parts of India. 

According to tradition, the priest shakes the baby and throws them down from the 50-foot-high temple or mosque as Hindus and Muslims hold a cloth below to catch them.

The soup of the dead relative's bones in Venezuela

The image shows a woman pouring soup into a bowl. — Wander On
The image shows a woman pouring soup into a bowl. — Wander On

The Yanomami tribes in Venezuela and Brazil believe that their loved ones can only get peace in the afterlife if they make soup out of their bones and ashes and consume it.