It is good to keep the traditions alive and guide the future generation about the centuries old rituals and ceremonies. But, what if these traditions harm others and can pose death risk. The death of 6-week old baby in Romania during the baptism ceremony is raising questions on all such hard-hearted rituals around the world.
Here’s the full story.
Newborn’s Death Put Romania’s Church Under Fire
via: moldova
According to the baptism, a person’s head is immersed in the water which is said to purify the soul and takes them to the Kingdom of God. However, some believes in partial immersion as well. But, one of the orthodox church of Romania conducted the full-body immersion on the newborn baby.
The baby was dipped thrice in the water from a height as a part of ritual. Water entered into his lungs due to which he got cardiac arrest and later he died in the hospital. Autopsy has confirmed that water clogged the lungs of baby which caused death.
Also Read: Must Read: 9 Bizarre Indian Superstitions with Scientific Explanations
Here’s the video of priest performing the ceremony:
The incident has raised several questions on the Church and priest. Several locals and more than 56,000 people have opposed the tradition and signed a petition to rule out the brutal ceremony.
Many are asking for the changes and said pouring water on the baby’s head can be done instead of immersing the baby completely. However, there are some orthodox churches who are not willing for any modification and said, “we will never change the ritual as it has been followed since thousand years.”
But, the recent incident is a huge tragedy and raises the need of immediate reforms. Police is investigating into the whole matter.
There are several such bizarre rituals around the world Have a look below:
- Garudan Thookkam– Shark hooks are pierced at the back of devotees and they are hung on the metal pipes to form the chariot of Lord Vishnu. This is Kerala’s eagle hanging ritual.
- Scarfication- Young boys who are entering into the manhood have to undergo scarification. Small needles are used to form crocodile skin on their back. Papua New Guinea’s Chambri Tribe are known for this ritual.
- Teeth Chiseling– A beauty tradition is practiced by one of the tribes in Indonesia where the teeth of women are chiseled without giving them anesthesia to enhance their looks.
- Throw the baby– Another weird Indian ritual is from Karnataka performed to bring good luck in the family when a newborn arrives. They go to Sri Santeswar temple for the ritual where the baby is thrown from a height and caught by the parents.
- Cut the finger– Indonesia’s Dani tribe follow a very painful ritual on the day when someone from their family dies. Women sacrifice their fingers in the name of ghosts.
- Eat the Placenta– Giving birth to a baby is the best feeling for a woman but what if she is asked to eat her own placenta. So, weird! Few countries practice this believing it would protect the mothers from post pregnancy depression. Chinese used to eat human placenta as a form of medicine to treat anemia. Even countries like US, Jamaica has history of placentophagy.
Though there are spiritual reasons behind these bizarre traditions, any religious ceremony or ritual that put one’s life in risk should be discontinued.