Unusual customs from around the world

[JasonBegheFanGirl]

Every culture has customs and traditions that are considered normal by locals because they're used to it, but some of them seem ridiculous to outsiders. From having your babies spat at in the street to hiding from your new husband on your wedding day, here are some practices (not all of them common) that are likely to surprise tourists…



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[Jazzy]

Very interesting and some bizarre customs. The three that really got me were:



Baby bouncing in India

A surprising yearly ritual is held each year in Sholapur, India, in which babies are dropped from a 15m tower. Even more surprising is that there is no safety string tied to their bodies – they just free-fall straight into the hands of the people who wait below with a bed sheet. More surprising yet is the fact that the people of Sholapur seem to be somewhat clueless about the reasons they throw their young off a building – some say it’s for good health whilst others argue it is for good luck for the child’s future.



Blackening the bride in Scotland

An unexpected odd custom on our home turf. Following one tradition (whilst breaking from another that says your wedding day should be the happiest day of your life), in some area of the Scottish highlands the bride is drenched with a smelly mixture of eggs, sauces, flour and feathers, before being paraded around the town. Meanwhile her friends and family make much beat sticks and bang drums noisily. But who says weddings have to be the happiest day of your life?



DEATH

Feed the vultures in India

Certain Zoroastrian sects, such as the Parsis of India, place their dead atop dokhmas – known as ‘towers of silence’ – to be devoured by vultures. That’s the idea anyway, although in recent years, India's vulture population has declined (the construction of modern high-rise buildings near enough finished the job that diclofenac poisoning started) but the bright sun tends to do the trick.

 

[Evil Eye]

At least they're thinking of the vultures...

Throwing babies off buildings just for the heck of it seems a bit wrong though.

Getting cash is nice