Weird Beliefs
by Barry Wilson
Published by Barry Wilson at Smashwords
www.smashwords.com
Copyright 2012 Barry Wilson
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Note about Images
Unless otherwise attributed, all images in this book are public domain works reproduced courtesy of the WikiMedia Commons website (commons.wikimedia.org). The image on the cover shows a Mesoamerican sculpture thought to depict a god named Quetzalcoatl.
Introduction
Almost every religion contains ideas that can seem strange to outsiders. But as the people of the world learn more about each other, we have a chance to gain a better understanding of other viewpoints and become more tolerant of everyone's beliefs and practices.
The Temple of Rats
Everyday about 20,000 rats roam through the Karni Mata temple, located in the city of Deshnoke in northwestern India. These rats are believed to be re-incarnations of some dead people who will eventually be reborn as higher life forms. The rats can move freely throughout the entire temple complex, and they are always provided with all the food they can eat, including milk and special sweets. Pilgrims and other visitors must remove their shoes and let the rodents run across their feet.
The temple is dedicated to a 15th-century female sage named Karni Mata, who is now considered to have been an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga. The temple complex is mostly made of marble, but has some gold and silver decorations. A small shrine inside the inner temple may have been built about 600 years ago by Karni Mata herself.
The vast majority of the rats are brown, but occasionally a white rat is seen. Some people say that four white rats live in the temple, and that they are incarnations of the four brothers of Karni Mata. The brown rats are thought to be incarnations of her descendants, relatives, and most devoted followers.
The above photo shows a group of the rats that live in the Karni Mata temple. Some visitors to the temple are afraid of the rats, but the animals are accustomed to the presence of humans and seldom bite anyone.
Jivaro Head Shrinkers
Up until recent times, warriors of the Jivaro people of South America would cut off the head of a slain enemy and then shrink it down to a much smaller size. The warriors believed that this would trap the soul of the dead enemy inside the shrunken head and prevent it from taking revenge against the killer. For additional protection against attempts at revenge, the head would be soaked in a sacred liquid that would remove all hate from the trapped spirit and transform it into the supernatural slave of the warrior. The shrunken heads were displayed as trophies and used in religious rituals that celebrated the past victories of the tribe.
According to the reports of anthropologists, the first step in shrinking a head is to remove the skull, bones, brain, and facial fat. The remaining skin and attached flesh is then shrunk by boiling it in a brew of special jungle herbs. After drying, it is wrapped around a small clay or wooden ball and molded into the proper shape. The outer surface is then coated with charcoal ash, because the Jivaro believe that this forms a supernatural barrier which prevents the trapped spirit from getting out.
The Jivaro tribes live in a remote section of the Amazon rain forest of South America. Because of their ferocity and independent spirit, they have been less affected by outside influences than most other native peoples of that region. However, recent reports indicate that they no longer practice head-hunting and head-shrinking. Most of the shrunken heads sold in regional tourist shops are either replicas or fakes.
Note: Members of most Jivaro tribes call themselves "Shuar" and resent the use of the name "Jivaro", which is of Spanish origin. However, many books and articles still use the word "Jivaro".
This is a photo of a shrunken head.
Cargo Cults
A group of unusual religious movements known as "cargo cults" appeared on several small Pacific islands during the early decades of the 20th century. These islands had been claimed as colonies by various industrialized countries, and small numbers of foreigners had come to live on them. Most of these foreigners were missionaries, government officials, soldiers, or businessmen. After they began arriving, ships would sometimes deliver supplies to them, and the native people would usually help unload the cargo.
Many of the items in this delivered cargo amazed the natives. Because they had never seen any modern manufactured goods, they thought that the items must have been created through miracles or supernatural effects. Not surprisingly, they began looking for ways to acquire such items themselves, and this is what led to the formation of the cargo cults.
The beliefs and practices associated with these cults varied from one island to another. For example, the natives on some islands thought that the manufactured items in the deliveries must have been created by gods. Another explanation, which appeared on at least one island, was that the items had been made by the natives' own dead ancestors. In this case the natives believed that the items were intended for them, but that the foreigners were intercepting and stealing everything.
Several of these cults appeared on islands that were temporarily occupied by American military forces during the Second World War. As the war progressed, the natives on these islands witnessed deliveries of large quantities of equipment and supplies. Sometimes they were even given gifts, such as candy and cigarettes, that came from the cargo. After the war ended, the Americans left and the deliveries stopped arriving. But on several islands cargo cults were formed to try to get the deliveries resumed. For this purpose, the members of these cults tried to use a form of sympathetic magic in which they imitated the earlier activities of the Americans. For example, on one island they dressed in clothes that resembled U.S. army uniforms and conducted military drills under an American flag. On another island they built a landing strip to try to attract airplanes. Of course, no cargo miraculously arrived, and on most islands these cults eventually disappeared.
The Black Stone of Mecca
According to Islamic traditions, the Black Stone of Mecca fell directly from Heaven thousands of years ago. The traditions also say that the stone has the power to cleanse a person of his sins by absorbing them into itself. In fact, some Muslims believe that the stone was originally a pure white color, but that it has gradually turned black because of all the sins it has absorbed since it fell.
The stone is roughly oval in shape with an average thickness of about 10 inches [25 centimeters]. It is probably either a meteorite, a piece of volcanic lava, a chunk of agate, or a fragment of glass created by the impact of a meteorite. It was broken into a number of pieces at some point in the past, perhaps accidentally, or possibly during an attempt to destroy it. What survives now is an assemblage of pieces held together by an external frame. This assemblage is embedded in a corner of an ancient structure called the Kaaba, which is located in the courtyard of the Sacred Mosque of Mecca.
The exposed surface of the stone has been polished smooth by the hands of millions of Muslim pilgrims, who try to touch it, or even kiss it, during their visits to Mecca. All Muslims hope to make at least one pilgrimage to the city, and during a visit they are supposed to walk around the Kaaba seven times and touch or kiss the stone each time they pass it. But usually the crowd around the Kaaba is so dense that most pilgrims can't get near the stone, and they have to be satisfied with merely pointing toward it.
According to the traditions about the stone, it fell from Heaven to show Adam and Eve, who had left the Garden of Eden, where they should build an altar. The location of this altar was submerged during Noah's flood, but the stone remained at the original site and was eventually found by the Hebrew patriarch Abraham during a trip to Arabia. After he found the stone, Abraham told his son Ishmael to build a temple at the location, and this temple was the original Kaaba. Later, when the structure was remodeled, the stone was embedded in one of its corners. Some people believe that the stone originally had a gleaming white color, but that it has been made black by the sins it has absorbed.
This photograph shows a crowd of Muslim pilgrims circling around the Kaaba. Because the crowd is usually very dense, most pilgrims can't get close enough to the structure to be able to touch the Black Stone.
Self-Flagellation
Self-flagellation is a weird religious ritual in which a person repeatedly whips his or her own body. Usually it is intended to be a self punishment done out of remorse for sins, and the whipping is often so harsh that blood trickles from the wounds. Actually, most self-floggers believe that their suffering helps pay for the sins of everyone, not just for their own sins, so that they are performing a service for all of humankind. In addition, a small percentage of people secretly get pleasure from the practice, and in some individuals the pain can even induce a mental state of religious ecstasy.
Very pious people usually whip themselves in private, but others normally only do so as part of a group activity. Thus, in some Christian countries many people gather to whip themselves publicly as part of a penitential procession during Lent's Holy Week. And some Shia Muslims flog themselves every year during commemorations for the 7th-century martyr Husayn ibn Ali.
Hungry Ghosts
One notable aspect of Buddhism is the unusual role played by imaginary creatures called Hungry Ghosts. These are phantom-like creatures, only half-alive, who are constantly tormented by an intense hunger. Their bodies are so starved that their arms and legs have shriveled down to mere skin and bone. But they can't eat anything, because their mouths are the size of a pin hole, and their necks are extremely long and thin. The only part of their bodies that isn't thin is the huge bloated belly. But this belly is always empty, and because it is so big, it produces intense hunger pains.
Buddhists believe that a very greedy man will be punished in his next incarnation by being reborn as a Hungry Ghost. This punishment can result from various kinds of greed, such as a gluttonous appetite for expensive food and drink, or an obsessive lust for money and power, or a hedonistic quest for sensual pleasures. Harmful emotions such as anger, hate, envy and jealousy can also cause a person to be reborn as a Hungry Ghost. But in Buddhism no punishment lasts forever, and after a Hungry Ghost has endured enough suffering, it will be reborn into another life form.
Hungry Ghosts live in a kind of shadow world that is sometimes described as a hidden reality. Because they live in this hidden realm, they normally can't be seen by humans. However, some descriptions of them say that they can become momentarily visible under certain circumstances. They have supposedly been seen trying to nibble on corpses, or wandering around in deserts and waste places.
Note: Beliefs about Hungry Ghosts vary slightly from one region to another. Also, imaginary beings that resemble Hungry Ghosts can be found in several other religions besides Buddhism.
This depiction of a Hungry Ghost was copied from a 12th-century scroll. Lack of food has caused its arms and legs to shrink down to nothing but skin and bone. But its belly has remained very large despite being empty.
Chinese Spirit Money
In one traditional Chinese view of the afterlife, the souls of dead people continue to pursue many of the same activities that their living counterparts pursued before they died. For example, these souls continue to eat, drink, wear clothes, read books, play sports, go to parties, etc. To help ensure that they can do whatever they want, their still-living relatives may try to send them gifts, including money. Normally this isn't real money, but instead is a special "spirit money" that supposedly can be used for transactions in the afterlife. This special money is "sent" to the souls of dead people by burning it, for fire is thought to transform a tangible object in our world into a corresponding spiritual object in the other world. After the souls of the dead receive this money, they can use it to buy the things they need to make their afterlife more enjoyable.
Spirit money is also called "hell money' and "heaven money". The use of these other names came about because many Chinese misunderstood the teachings of early Christian missionaries, and thought that hell and heaven were English names for their own imagined world of the afterlife. The mistake was eventually recognized, but only after the new names were in common usage.
Most spirit money has the form of a printed bank note or paper bill. It comes in various sizes and denominations, and many of the designs are very elaborate and colorful. Some of the bills have denominations that are equivalent to billions of dollars, which suggests that prices in the afterlife could be very high.
People in China sometimes try to send other things besides money to the souls of dead relatives. To do so, they burn paper replicas of items such as clothes, watches, cars, and even houses. It is thought that the soul of a dead relative receives the real item when the paper replica is burned. Some modern Chinese have even used this method to try to send credit cards to the souls of their dead kin.
Witch Smellers
During past centuries the people of some societies would often blame witches for sickness, famine, accidents, and other misfortunes that occurred in a community. This belief in the evil powers of witches has appeared in many parts of the world, and each society has developed its own methods for protecting itself. But in order for a community to protect itself from witches, it first needs to identify them. In some parts of Africa, especially among Bantu-speaking tribes, this identification has traditionally been carried out by individuals known as Witch Smellers.
These Witch Smellers, who were almost always women, would be called upon whenever members of one of these African tribes suspected that witches were living among them. To begin the process of identification, the chief would summon all the tribe's people to a meeting and tell them to gather into a large circle. Then the Witch Smellers would assemble in the middle of the circle with long switches in their hands. They would begin to dance wildly, repeatedly spinning and leaping, until they worked themselves into a frenzy. Eventually they would reach out with their switches and touch one or more people who they had identified as witches. In some tribes anyone who was identified in this way was immediately dragged away and killed.
Many Witch Smellers were powerful and important members of their tribes. When performing their duties, they always wore flamboyant costumes and decorated their faces with brightly-colored paints. Most of them also dyed their hair red and twisted it into elaborate designs. In addition to their switches, many also carried ceremonial spears and shields.
Most people in modern societies doubt that witches even exist, and organized hunts for them rarely take place anymore. But in a few countries there are still sporadic reports of witches being blamed for misfortunes, and occasionally someone is killed either by a mob or by relatives of a supposed victim. We can only hope that these dreadful incidents continue to become less common, and that eventually all superstitious beliefs about witches will completely die out.
Snake Handlers
The worship services of some American churches regularly include a ritual called snake handling, in which members of the congregation pick up poisonous snakes, often raising them into the air and sometimes even allowing them to crawl on their bodies. The most commonly-used types of snake are rattlesnakes and copperheads, both of which can be caught wild in the forests of the southern United States. Participation in the ritual is voluntary, and some worshipers may remain in their seats and just watch. In addition to snake handling, the services normally include praying, singing, and speaking in tongues.
Members of these churches believe that snakes are incarnations of demons, and that handling them demonstrates God's power to protect true believers from the forces of evil. Unfortunately, more than 100 deaths from snakebites in religious services have been documented in the United States. As a result of these deaths, six southeastern states have passed laws against snake handling. But this hasn't stopped the practice, because most of the churches are located in remote rural areas where people tend to live by their own rules. Many of the bitten people believe that God will heal them and don't seek medical help, so that some cases may not be reported.
Snake handlers say that they are following instructions from the bible, particularly a verse at Mark 16:18 which says that believers "shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them" [King James Version]. In fact, in addition to snake handling, some members of these churches regularly drink poison (usually strychnine) during worship services. If someone is bitten or gets sick from poison, other church members may attribute it to the person's lack of faith and failure to receive the Holy Spirit.
The total number of these churches isn't known, but is probably less than 100 congregations. Many of them require their members to follow strict dress codes, including the stipulation that women must not use any cosmetics and must always wear ankle-length dresses. Most of the ministers also preach against the use of alcohol and tobacco.
Some ministers and church leaders own small collections of snakes which they keep in cages at their homes and carry to the services in small boxes. The snakes are not drugged before they are handled.
This photograph was taken during a church service in which snakes were handled. Portable snake boxes are visible at the bottom of the photo.
Egyptian Crocodile Worship
One of the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians was that a god called Sebek (or Sobek) could appear on the earth in the form of a living crocodile. At one time some people even believed that this god had taken the form of a particular crocodile named Petsuchos which lived in a large pool of water beside a temple in the Fayyum province. Because this crocodile supposedly was a god in disguise, it was fed the best cuts of meat, and was pampered so much that it became quite tame. The priests at the temple even put golden rings in its ears and gold bracelets on its legs.
Bull Worship. Another animal worshiped as a god in ancient Egypt was a bull named Apis. Considered to be a physical manifestation of the god Ptah, it lived in luxury at a temple in the Egyptian city of Memphis. It was given a harem of cows, and was sometimes paraded through the streets of the city decorated with jewelry and flowers. Inside the temple the bull was used as an oracle, with its movements being interpreted as prophecies. When it died, it was given a very lavish funeral and then its mummified body was placed in a large expensive tomb. The new bull chosen to replace it was recognized by certain markings on its body.
Zombies
As depicted in modern movies, zombies are re-vitalized corpses that have no souls and very little intelligence. They hunger for the flesh of living people, and they tend to gather in groups to search for victims. Because most of them can't run, or even walk fast, they have to shamble slowly across the ground. But they pursue their intended victims relentlessly, and they can break through doors to reach a hiding place. If one of them gets hit by a bullet, it pauses for a moment but soon starts moving forward again. They can't be killed because they're already dead.
Modern film makers got their ideas about zombies from strange stories that originated in the country of Haiti. According to these stories, Voodoo sorcerers in Haiti can revive dead bodies and turn them into mind-controlled slaves to work as laborers in the fields. Some people in rural areas of the country believe that these zombie-slaves are still being created today using black magic. The people of Haiti use the name "Bokor" for someone who has mastered black magic, but outsiders usually call them sorcerers, wizards, or witch doctors.
Several theories have been put forward to explain the various beliefs about zombies. According to one theory, stories about zombies arose from observations of people who have schizophrenia or other mental disorders that cause them to be unresponsive and out of touch with their surroundings. Another possible explanation is that certain plant-derived drugs can put people into a trance-like state in which they obey outside commands. A third theory is that an unknown virus spreads a rare disease that causes zombie-like behavior. Another idea, used in a film called The Night of the Living Dead, is that an unusual form of radiation can turn corpses into zombies.
The modern Voodoo religion in Haiti developed from the beliefs of black people who were captured in Africa and transported to the island to work as slaves on sugar plantations. After they arrived, the plantation owners forced them to convert to Christianity. But they secretly kept some of their old beliefs, and they also adopted some religious ideas from the native Amerindian people. As a result, modern Voodoo is a mixture that includes elements from all of these religions.
Some modern films depict a scenario called a Zombie Apocalypse, in which an army of zombies threatens to wipe out civilization. In some films people bitten by zombies are turned into new zombies, so that their number multiplies very rapidly. The growing army of zombies overwhelms police and military forces, and panic spreads through the general population. These films often end with isolated pockets of survivors fighting to hang on in the rubble of a destroyed civilization.
Devil Worship
Almost everyone has noticed that evil people often have great success in life, whereas many good people suffer terrible misfortunes. One explanation for this injustice is that it is work of the Devil. With his help, even a weak inferior person can gain great wealth and power. But the price for Satan's help can be very high. Not only must you worship him, you may also have to give him your soul.
Many people have wondered why God allows Satan to carry out his evil activities. In fact the bible says that the fiend will eventually be defeated and punished with eternal torment in hell. But in the meantime he has already enjoyed thousands of years of freedom, and during that time has brought misery and suffering to millions of human beings. Because he has so much influence over what happens in the world, he can appear to be very powerful. Evil people often notice his apparent power and begin worshiping him in hopes of getting his help.
Some people worship him secretly, but others prefer to participate in some form of organized worship. One example of organized worship is a service called a Black Mass, which is usually held in a large room decorated to resemble the nave of a church. During the service people shout obscenities at God, curse Jesus, and act out a parody of the Holy Communion. They may also worship a black cat under the pretense that it is the Devil in disguise.
Another form of devil worship, said to be practiced by witches, supposedly takes place at a meeting called a Sabbat. Most descriptions of these Sabbats say that they begin at midnight at a secret location in the countryside. Purported activities include dancing naked around a fire, trampling on a cross, drinking human blood, and sacrificing newborn babies on an altar. According to some accounts, the Devil himself comes to many of these gatherings, often appearing in the form of a horned goat. Demons may also be present. The festivities usually culminate in a lewd orgy before finally ending at dawn.
In modern times some new groups of "Satanists" have appeared, especially in the United States. Each group has its own beliefs and performs its own special rituals. But members of several groups deny that they actually worship Satan, and some even claim to be atheists. These groups have names such as the Church of Satan, the Temple of Set, and the First Satanic Church. Note: Contrary to what many believe, modern Wiccans do not worship the Devil, and most of them doubt that he even exists.
This painting by the 19th-century artist Ary Scheffer shows the Devil with Jesus on the top of a mountain. Their trip to the top of this mountain is described in the bible in a passage at Matthew 4:8-10. As they stood on the summit, Satan tried to get Jesus to worship him. Of course Jesus refused. But although the fiend failed in this case, many of his other efforts to get worshipers have succeeded.
Animal Sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal in the belief that the action will win favor from a god or goddess. The sacrifice is often intended to be a substitute punishment, with the sacrificed animal being killed instead of the sinful person who actually deserves to die.
One of the oldest descriptions of a sacrifice can be found in the biblical story of Cain and Abel. As described in Genesis 4:2-8, Abel sacrificed an animal to God, and Cain made an offering of some of the crops he had grown. God accepted Abel's animal sacrifice, but rejected Cain's offering of crops. The story suggests that an offering won't be accepted unless blood is shed. Note: When Cain's offering of crops was rejected, he got so angry that he killed Abel. This was the first murder in history.
Human Sacrifice
Although the idea of human sacrifice is abhorrent to most modern people, the practice was widespread in earlier times. According to one theory, animal sacrifice gradually replaced human sacrifice as people became more civilized. But humans were still being regularly offered as sacrifices in some societies as late as the 18th century, and even today there are occasional reports of isolated instances.
One of the oldest references to the practice can be found in a biblical passage at Jeremiah 7:31-32, which says that children were sacrificed at a place called Topheth, which was near modern Jerusalem. Many scholars believe that this was a sacrificial site of a people called the Canaanites who were living in Palestine when the Israelites arrived. These Canaanites worshiped many of the same gods as the neighboring Phoenicians, and several ancient writers say that children were ritually sacrificed at the Phoenician colony of Carthage in North Africa. Thus the child sacrifices mentioned in the bible and the child sacrifices at Carthage may have been part of the same religious tradition.
Another account of human sacrifice in ancient times was provided by Julius Caesar. In his book Commentaries on the Gallic War, he wrote that the Druid priests of ancient Gaul (modern France) would prepare for a sacrifice by using sticks to build a giant humanlike figure called a "Wicker Man". After they finished building this figure, they would place people inside it and set it on fire to pay tribute to the gods. Caesar said that the Druids normally used criminals for this purpose because this was more pleasing to the gods, but that they would use innocent people when no criminals were available. A 1973 horror film called The Wicker Man is based on his report.
Actual remains of sacrificial victims have been found in South America. For example, in 1995 the mummified body of a young girl was discovered on a mountain peak named Ampato in southern Peru. The location is about 6200 meters (20,000 feet) above sea level, far too high for permanent human habitation. The body had been naturally preserved by the freezing temperatures and thin dry air. Scientists believe that the girl was sacrificed more than 500 years ago, probably as an offering to the Inca god or goddess associated with the mountain.
Frozen mummies of sacrificed children have also been found on other high peaks in the Andes mountains. According to some sources, young children were chosen for offerings because they were considered to be purer and more innocent than adults. Healthy good-looking children were selected, and they were usually fattened up on a special diet for several months before being led away to be sacrificed. In most cases the trek to a high mountain summit would have required at least a week of arduous climbing. When the summit was reached, the child was given an intoxicating drink intended to dull the senses. Most likely a ceremony was performed in the desolate surroundings, and then the child was killed. At least one victim appears to have died from a blow to the head. Others may have been killed by strangulation or by being abandoned to freeze to death.
Some of the most horrifying descriptions of human sacrifice can be found in the reports of Spanish soldiers who participated in the conquest of Mesoamerica in the 16th century. These soldiers were especially horrified by the scale of the practice. For example, some of the Spanish who fought against the Aztecs saw a giant "skull-rack" structure which by one estimate contained about 100,000 skulls of sacrificial victims. Based on this report, as well as other evidence, some scholars have estimated that the Aztecs sacrificed at least 20,000 people annually. Human sacrifices also took place on a large scale in regions occupied by the Mayas, Toltecs, and other native peoples of Mesoamerica. In fact, some societies in the region would regularly start wars for the purpose of capturing enemy soldiers to serve as victims. However, there is evidence that members of noble families were also sometimes sacrificed.
Descriptions of Aztec sacrifices say that they took place on a flat area at the top of a tall pyramidal temple. Here the Aztec priests would first perform various ceremonies while accompanied by musicians playing conches, horns, and trumpet-like instruments. Then, with the musicians still playing, the priests would lay the victim on his back, cut open his torso with a stone knife, then grab the still-beating heart and rip it out of the body. After the heart was pulled out, it was placed in a bowl held by a nearby idol of an Aztec god. The victim's head was then cut from the body and taken to a Skull Rack for public display. Some accounts say that the rest of the body was later cooked and eaten.
The native peoples of Mesoamerica believed that human sacrifices were required to maintain the orderly workings of nature. Thus, unless offerings were regularly made to the sun god, the sun would supposedly stop shining. Similarly, if the rain god wasn't frequently appeased, no rain would fall. The most precious offering was a human, but the gods were so difficult to please that just one human wasn't nearly enough. As a result, at some shrines the sacrifices were so frequent that blood often flowed down the sides of the structure and soaked the ground around it.
This is a depiction of the Aztec rain god Tlaloc. The Aztecs feared that rain wouldn't fall unless they made frequent human sacrifices to this god. The image is from a 16th century manuscript known as the Codex Rios.
The Sex Slaves of Paradise
One of the most controversial aspects of Islam is the belief that a devout Muslim man will find female sex slaves called Houris waiting for him in heaven after he dies. Islamic writings describe these Houris as young virgins with sparkling eyes, firm round breasts, and fair skin. In their behavior they are very modest and submissive, and always ready to do anything a man desires. Unlike normal women, they don't menstruate and they never get pregnant. They are like programmed zombies whose only purpose is to give pleasure to men.
According to some Islamic writings, every man who goes to heaven will be given 72 Houris for his own exclusive use. In other words, he gets a heavenly harem of 72 sex slaves. Oddly, even after he acquires this harem, he may still maintain a marital relationship with his earthly wife, provided that she also makes it to heaven. The man, his wife, and all of his Houris never have any disagreements, and everyone lives harmoniously in a state of eternal youth, beauty, and perfect health.
Note: Some sources say that each man in heaven gets 70 Houris instead of 72. Of course, as a practical matter this would make little difference.
Non-Muslims frequently criticize the idea of a heavenly harem as being degrading to women. It reinforces beliefs about male authority, and it contributes to the discrimination against women commonly found in Muslim countries. Fortunately, many modern Muslim men don't believe in the literal existence of Houris, but instead regard the traditional depictions of them as a metaphor for heavenly bliss. Partly for this reason, movements to improve the status of women are starting to achieve success in some Islamic societies.
Muslim ideas about Houris became especially controversial after modern Islamic terrorists began carrying out suicidal attacks in several parts of the world. According to news reports, some of these terrorists were motivated by a belief that martyrs who die for Islam are rewarded with an automatic ticket to heaven and a personal harem of beautiful virgin Houris. Actually all devout Muslim men, not just martyrs, are supposedly rewarded with a gift of Houris when they reach heaven. But if any man is motivated to kill innocent people by hopes of receiving such a reward, then he deserves to go to hell, not to heaven.
Weeping Statues
A weeping statue is a statue which appears to be shedding tears by supernatural means. Most modern cases involve statues of either Jesus or the Virgin Mary. Some of these statues only produce one or two teardrops per day, and some only weep on certain days of the year, such as Christmas or Good Friday. In many reported cases the tears resemble blood or scented oil.
Some Christians believe that these tears have miraculous healing powers. If a statue becomes well-known, it may attract sick and lame people who hope to be cured. One well-known statue of the Virgin Mary, located at a shrine in Sicily, is surrounded by dozens of crutches supposedly left there by cripples who were healed by the tears.
Note: The insides of some statues may have been secretly rigged to produce fake artificial tears.
Nukekubi
In Japanese folklore, the Nukekubi are strange creatures who look like ordinary humans during the daytime, but whose heads detach from their bodies at night. After a head separates from its body, it flies around looking for human prey. When it sees a potential victim, it flies toward the person and tries to frighten him or her by emitting a series of loud shrieks. When it gets close enough to attack, it plunges its teeth into the victim's throat.
The head of a Nukekubi always waits for nightfall before it leaves the body. Then it detaches smoothly from the neck and flies away. After the head leaves, the rest of the body is no longer under the control of a brain, and it sits sluggishly at the original location throughout the night. Unless the head returns and re-attaches itself before sunrise, both it and the body will die. Thus, one way to kill a Nukekubi is to hide the body after the head flies away.
During daytime the Nukekubi use their resemblance to humans to try to blend into society. Sometimes a small group of them will pretend to be a human family. If examined closely, they can be identified by a line of red markings around the base of the neck where the head separates. But these markings can be easily hidden under clothing or jewelry.
Note: Nukekubi are sometimes confused with another Japanese folkloric creature called a Rokuro-Kubi. The two creatures are similar, but the heads of the Rokuro-Kubi don't completely detach from their bodies. Instead, their necks can stretch to enormous lengths, allowing their heads to search for prey over a large area while their bodies remain in one spot. Like the Nukekubi, they look like normal humans during the day and only hunt at night.
This depiction of a Rokuro-Kubi was drawn by the 18th-century artist Sawaki Suushi. Note the extremely long neck.
The Rope to Heaven
The Dagba people of central Africa believe that a glowing rope once dangled down from heaven to the surface of the earth. Humans could climb the rope to the upper realm and socialize with the gods who lived there. But the gods eventually got irritated because people kept asking them for favors and complaining about the hardships of life down below. The gods finally became so annoyed that they destroyed the rope and scattered the pieces across the sky. The remains of these pieces can still be seen, but they are now known as the Milky Way.
Self Mummification
In past centuries some Buddhist monks in Japan were able to turn their own bodies into mummies. To do so, these monks slowly starved themselves to death by a prescribed method that gradually transformed their bodies into the physical state needed for mummification. The method of starvation was so slow that it usually took at least six years for the monk to die.
The practice of self-mummification by this method was known as Sokushinbutsu. During the first stage of the process, the monk had to perform rigorous physical exercise everyday while eating nothing but seeds and nuts. He had to maintain this lifestyle for exactly 1000 days, which is a little less than three years. At the end of this period, his body fat would be almost completely eliminated, a necessary step toward the anticipated later mummification.
In the second stage, the monk had to adhere to an even stricter diet, for he was only allowed to eat small quantities of bark and roots collected from pine trees. He had to follow this diet for another 1000 days, after which he was virtually a living skeleton. Toward the end of this period he also started drinking a toxic beverage made from the sap of the Urushi tree. Not only did this cause vomiting and a loss of body fluid, it killed any maggots that might damage the body after death.
The final step was entombment. With his body now free of nearly all fat and moisture, the monk would allow himself to be sealed up inside a stone enclosure just big enough to let him sit in a lotus position. Air could enter the tomb through a small tube, and he would ring a bell once a day to show that he was still alive. When the bell didn't ring for several days in a row, the tube was removed and the tomb completely sealed.
During the centuries when self mummification was practiced in Japan, there was a general belief that the process wouldn't work unless the monk was very holy. This may be why many of the tombs were opened later to see if the attempt at mummification had been successful. In fact, although hundreds of monks tried to mummify themselves in this way, only about twenty mummies are known to still exist. All of these surviving mummies date from the 19th century or earlier, and the practice of Sokushinbutsu is not advocated by any modern Buddhist group.
The Scapegoat
Once each year the priests of ancient Israel would perform a special ritual that supposedly transferred the sins of all the people to an animal called a scapegoat. This animal was then driven into the wilderness to die, taking the sins with it. The purpose of the ritual was to free the people from their sins and allow them to make a fresh start. It was repeated annually to get rid of all the accumulated sins everyone had committed during the previous year.
The ritual was performed in early autumn on the annual Day of Atonement (also called Yom Kippur). The procedure actually required two goats, both of them males. One goat was chosen to be killed as a sacrifice, and the other was designated to be the scapegoat. After the first goat was killed, the high priest laid his hands on the head of the scapegoat to symbolically transfer the sins of the people onto it. The animal was then driven into the wilderness and abandoned there.
It isn't clear what happened to the sins after the scapegoat died in the wilderness. Possibly they faded out of existence as the body of the animal disintegrated, but some accounts suggest that they were transferred to a demon named Azazel.
Note: The word "scapegoat" is often applied to an innocent person who is unjustly blamed and punished for the misdeeds of other people. A whipping boy or fall guy is also a type of scapegoat.
Stoning the Devil
Every year more than a million Muslims make a pilgrimage (called the Haij) to the city of Mecca during the holy month of Dhu al-Hijjahto. Most of these pilgrims stay in the vicinity of Mecca for at least four days, during which time they participate in several traditional religious activities. Perhaps the best-known traditional activity is to walk seven times around an ancient structure called the Kaaba. But most pilgrims also participate in several other activities, including a strange ritual called the Stoning of the Devil.
The Stoning of the Devil takes place outside Mecca at a place called Mina. The purpose of the ritual is to give people an opportunity to defy the Devil. In past centuries the pilgrims showed their defiance by throwing rocks at three ancient stone pillars. But by the year 2000 the annual crowds had gotten so large that there wasn't enough space around the pillars to accommodate everyone who wanted to participate. To provide more space, the government of Saudi Arabia replaced the three pillars with three long walls. Elevated walkways were also built to provide additional standing room within throwing distance of the walls.
The ritual is intended to be a symbolic re-enactment of an ancient story in which the Devil successively tried to tempt the Hebrew patriarch Abraham, his wife Hagar, and his son Ishmael. The three original stone pillars supposedly marked the three spots where these temptations took place. However, many of the pilgrims regard the ritual as an opportunity to symbolically throw rocks at Satan himself.
Before the pillars were replaced by walls, the crowds at the site sometimes got so dense that people were crushed to death. Some were also injured, or even killed, by rocks thrown from the opposite side of a pillar. But the most deaths have been caused by stampedes. For example, 270 people were trampled to death in a stampede that occurred in 1994, and 251 died in a 2004 stampede. It was tragedies such as these that prompted the government to replace the ancient stone pillars with long walls.
Sacred Mushrooms
The religious use of certain mushrooms has been reported from many parts of the world, and was already widespread during prehistoric times. The mushrooms contain psycho-active drugs which can produce religious-like experiences, including vivid hallucinations that appear to be supernatural visions. Many people who consume the mushrooms feel that they have entered a hidden spiritual world where they are in touch with the divine. The experience can be very powerful, and can cause permanent changes in a person's views of the world and feelings about life.
Using mushrooms to produce psychological effects is now illegal in most countries. But old religious practices often don't die easily, particularly in remote areas, and ritual ceremonies involving the consumption of mushrooms still take place in several parts of the world. The practice is especially common among the descendants of the Aztecs, Mayas, Toltecs, and other native Amerindian tribes who live in rural areas of Mexico and Central America. These people were forced to convert to Christianity after they were conquered by the Spanish, but in many villages they didn't completely abandon their old beliefs.
According to a report from one Mexican village, the sacred mushrooms are collected from the surrounding forest by a young virgin. They are then taken to the village church, where they are placed on the altar to be blessed by the Holy Spirit. They are eaten in front of the altar in the evening, and the visions usually continue throughout the night. The villagers believe that the visions take them into an invisible world where all the spirits live, and where they can obtain divine knowledge and understanding.
But the effects can sometimes be frightening. Outsiders who consumed the mushrooms have had visions in which they seemed to fly through the air or were transformed into weird beasts. Many species of mushrooms are poisonous, and eating them can lead to an excruciating death. Although sacred mushrooms may be safer, they can still cause very unpleasant effects, including vomiting, shivering, blackouts, and nightmares.
Various other plants besides mushrooms can also produce trances and visions. For example, a species of cactus called peyote, which grows wild in the southwestern United States, is used in the religious ceremonies of some native Amerindian tribes that live in that area. Also, the sacraments of some South American peoples include the drinking of a psycho-active brew called Ayahuasca, which is prepared from certain jungle plants. During the Middle Ages, a small Islamic sect known as the Assassins reportedly smoked a concentrated form of marijuana called hashish. The modern Rastafarian sect in Jamaica also uses marijuana in its religious observances. And the medieval tales of witches flying on broomsticks may derive from visions of flying induced by a European plant named mandrake.
Hallucinations and other strange psychological effects can also be produced by chemical compounds found in the opium poppy, the deadly nightshade, jimsonweed, morning glory seeds, salvia, cocaine, khat, absinthe, kava kava, and even some forms of tobacco. Also, some scholars think that the mysterious Soma mentioned in the ancient Vedic scriptures of India may have contained a psycho-active substance.
Incorruptible Bodies
This term refers to a weird belief that divine intervention preserves some dead human bodies from normal decomposition. Most dead bodies gradually decay after they are buried or placed in tombs. But some Christians believe that the bodies of very holy people are miraculously preserved indefinitely without any change at all. This isn't due to artificial preservation or mummification, but instead is a divine supernatural effect. However, it only happens to the bodies of saints and people who were very holy. Some Christians think that these preserved bodies will be resurrected to life again during the End Times.
Many incorrupt bodies produce a distinctive scent known as the "Odor of Sanctity", which resembles the fragrance of rose blossoms. Some of these bodies also have a miraculous power to heal sick people who touch the preserved flesh.
The above photograph shows the incorrupt body of Saint Virginia Centurione Bracelli, who died in 1651.
Towers of Silence
The ancient religion known as Zoroastrianism is based on the teachings of a Persian prophet named Zoroaster (also called Zarathustra), who probably lived at least 2500 years ago. One of the unusual aspects of this religion is the practice of placing dead human bodies on top of a structure known as a Tower of Silence, and then allowing the flesh to be eaten by vultures and other birds. These "towers" are actually solid structures, made of stone, which resemble a circular building with a flat roof. After a corpse is placed on the roof, vultures usually eat all of the flesh within a short time, leaving the bones picked clean.
Zoroastrians consider earth, water, air and fire to be sacred, but regard the putrefying flesh of a dead body as unclean. They have traditionally avoided burial because the decaying body would defile the sacred earth. Similarly, they oppose cremation because the burning flesh would pollute the sacred fire. They can avoid these desecrations by using Towers of Silence to dispose of their dead.
The roofs of these towers are divided into three concentric rings. The bodies of men are put in the outer ring, bodies of women go into the middle ring, and dead children are placed in the inner ring. Vultures often sit on a tower waiting for a new corpse to arrive. After the bones of a body are picked clean, they are collected and put into a pit sunk into the center of the roof, where they eventually disintegrate.
After Muslim invaders conquered Persia in the 7th century, the new rulers discriminated against Zoroastrians, and during the following centuries a large majority of the population gradually converted to Islam. Many of the remaining Zoroastrians migrated to other areas, including India, where they are now known as Parsis (or Parsees). According to most estimates, less than 25,000 practicing Zoroastrians still live within the area of ancient Persia, which roughly corresponds to the modern country of Iran.
During the last decades of the 20th century, the government of Iran began making attempts to prohibit the use of the towers for disposal of the dead. Also during this period, vandals began stealing corpses from the towers. As a result, the Zoroastrians in Iran have started burying their dead in graves that are lined with concrete to prevent direct contact with the earth. Many Zoroastrians in India still use the towers, but have run into difficulties because of a drastic decline in the population of vultures. According to some reports, more than 99% of the birds have died from exposure to a drug given to livestock. With fewer birds available, a corpse may lie on a tower for several weeks before all of the flesh is eaten.
The Firebird
In Russian folklore the Firebird is a magical glowing bird whose eyes sparkle like diamonds, and whose feathers gleam like silver and gold. These feathers continue to shine even after they are plucked, and a single one can light up a big room. During the night this bird can illuminate the area around it as brightly as a thousand lights. When it sings, pearls fall from its beak, and anyone who finds them can use them to buy food. Its song can also heal sickness and give sight to blind people. It is an immortal bird with eternal youth and beauty.
Demonic Possession
When a demon gets inside a human body and gains control over it, the resulting condition is called demonic possession. Because demons are spirits, they normally aren't visible, but they can produce visible effects. Thus, when a demon gains possession of someone's body, there are usually major changes in the person's behavior. For example, possession can cause fits and convulsions, disorientation, weird facial expressions, and sudden violent actions. The condition often resembles mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder. In some cases the demon gets control of the victim's vocal cords and uses them to talk to nearby people. Demons who talk in this way can usually be recognized by their foul language and strange tone of voice.
The traditional treatment for demonic possession is to try to force the demon to leave the victim's body. A successful expulsion is called an exorcism, and in most cases it is performed by people who have special knowledge and skills. Because a demon will usually resist the attempt to expel it, the process can take several days, or even longer. At the moment when the demon finally leaves, the victim may give a loud shriek and then go completely limp.
According to the bible, Jesus sometimes encountered possessed people, and he always took time to cure them. For example, in Matthew 9:32-34, he restores speech to a man who had been made mute by possession, and in Mark 5:1-20 he expels multiple demons from a single man. Because Jesus had supernatural powers, demons never tried to resist him. When he ordered a demon to leave a body, it always obeyed without delay.
Some descriptions of demons say that they were originally angels, but that they were thrown out of heaven after they supported the Devil in his rebellion against God. Although this rebellion failed, they are still loyal to Satan and help him pursue his evil activities. They are sometimes blamed for certain types of bad behavior, including drug addiction, sexual perversions, serial murder, and adultery. Some Christians believe that the Holy Spirit will protect them from any demons that try to cause these kinds of problems.
This image shows a demon leaving the head of a possessed woman after being expelled by Jesus. The image is taken from a medieval book called Les Tres Riches Heures du duc de Berry, which is a Book of Hours created for the Duc de Berry during the period from 1412 to 1416 AD.
The Ghost Dance
In the late 19th century, most Indian tribes in the western United States were in a desperate situation. Many Indian warriors had been killed, and the surviving members of most tribes were freezing, starving, and dying from strange diseases. But in the year 1890, just when all hope seemed lost, the Indians' spirits were suddenly revived by reports of a new ritual dance called the Ghost Dance. According to the reports, performing the new dance could potentially cause all white people to miraculously vanish from the earth. In addition, the dance also might be able to bring all dead Indians back to life and re-unite them with their old tribes. The final result of these changes would be a world in which the Indians could return to their old way of life in a restored environment completely free of war, disease, suffering, and death.
It was called the Ghost Dance because the spirits (ghosts) of dead ancestors sometimes appeared in visions to Indians who were performing it. Visions had also played a role in the original creation of the dance, which was first performed by members of the Paiute tribe in Nevada. Knowledge of the dance began spreading from Nevada to other areas in the spring of 1890, and within a few months it had reached most parts of the American west. According to the predictions of Indian prophets, the dance would produce its miraculous effects in the spring of 1891, but only if it was performed regularly by many different tribes during the intervening months. The expected effects included the disappearance of all white people, the resurrection of all dead Indian ancestors, a miraculous transformation of the earth, and a return to the old way of life in an unspoiled environment.
Although the Ghost Dance was new, it had similarities to the traditional circle dances that most tribes had been performing for centuries. But the Ghost Dance was unusual in that men and women performed it together. They circled counter-clockwise around a tree or pole, chanting and singing special songs. The dances of some tribes had several hundred participants and lasted up to five days, although there were occasional breaks to allow the dancers to rest. Despite these rest periods, some people would become so exhausted that they collapsed on the ground. The visions of the ghosts of dead ancestors usually occurred during these collapses from exhaustion.
When U.S. government officials heard about the new dance, many of them became alarmed. They feared that the excitement created by the dance would lead to an uprising. But the Indians themselves viewed the dance as a substitute for an uprising, since it was supposed to miraculously transform the world without any fighting. However, because the Indians had been attacked so many times in the past, they felt a need to protect themselves until the dance could produce its final effects. Somehow a belief arose that a specially-designed cloth garment called a "ghost shirt" had a supernatural power to stop bullets. During the last months of 1890, many Indian men began wearing these "ghost shirts" to protect themselves in case they were attacked.
The desperate situation of the Indians had been brought about by the destruction of the great buffalo herds. White people had wiped out the herds because the buffaloes were the natives' main source of food. The strategy worked so well that many Indian tribes were soon facing starvation. With no other alternative, most tribes finally agreed to live on reservations in return for promises of food and other provisions. But many government officials were greedy, corrupt, uncaring, or incompetent, and the promised provisions frequently never reached the reservations.
In December of 1890 some U.S. officials began to suspect that the Sioux Indians in the Dakota Territory were planning an uprising. When these officials learned that some of the Sioux were preparing to perform the Ghost Dance, a unit of the U.S. Cavalry was sent to monitor their activities. The Indians resented the presence of the soldiers, and fighting soon broke out. The "ghost shirts" didn't stop any bullets, and many Indians were killed. After this defeat, Indians everywhere began to lose faith in the Ghost Dance, and in most areas performances soon ceased.
Temple Virgins
During past centuries, young girls in India were sometimes sent to live at a Hindu temple, where they went through an initiation ceremony which "married" them to the god or goddess associated with the temple. These girls, who were known as Devadasi, were often only eight or nine years old when they left their families. After they went to live at a temple, they were trained in arts such as music and dance so that they could take part in the elaborate rites performed during most Hindu worship services. Some of the women may have also had other duties, such as working on temple decorations or helping to grow the flowers used in the ceremonies.
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