A video has surfaced of a temple priest in Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal district thrashing women who were suspected of being “cursed by black magic”. It was reportedly a ritual held as part of the temple festivities.
A priest is flogging a woman on suspicion of being “cursed by black magic” in Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal district.
In Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal district, a video has surfaced of a priest thrashing women who were suspected of being “cursed by black magic”.
In a ritual held at Narayaninar village near Rasipuram in Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal district, a priest dressed as Kateri (a form of deity prayed by villagers to ward off evil) struck several women with a winnow and whip .
The ritual is taking place after 20 years and the belief of the ritual is that the priest would strike women who were suspected of being “cursed by black magic”.
India Today is using the video because of its violent nature.
People blow whistles, women cheer as priests
In the video, the priest, dressed in black, carrying a whip and being cursed by “black magic”, can be seen killing women. People watching the rituals can be heard whistling in excitement as the priest is about to attack the women.
An eagerly watching crowd can be heard saying “Podu.. Podu..”. [thrash, thrash]The priest then proceeds to lift his whip, and at that very moment, the woman folds her hands in reverence. She folds her hands and then the priest proceeds to whip her.
People from 18 nearby villages participated in the ritual. Since it was happening after 20 years, there was a huge crowd to witness this ritual.
The video of the priest beating up the women shocked. At the same time, people believe that great things will happen to them, which is why they are organizing this event.
The event had not been held for the last 20 years due to clashes between the two groups.
The incident took place at Varadarajaperumal Chelliamman Mariamman temple in Namakkal district. The temple festival lasts for a month. It started on 29th April and will end on 30th May.