In a bizarre religious ritual, villagers in India jumped into a huge pile of thorns from a rooftop on December 13.<br /><br />The thorns cushioned their fall but sliced into their skin, causing punctures and bleeding<br /><br />People of Lebageri village near Koppala in South India perform the thorn ritual every year to worship a local deity Marutheshwara. <br /><br />A day prior to the festival, the villagers go to a nearby forest and pull out branches of various thorn-trees such as thorny acacia, thorn mimosa and gum arabic with their bare hands, and make a huge pile near a local temple. The next day the ritual is held. <br /><br />This year several men climbed the rooftop of a house and leapt into the pile of thorns, while a few just waded through the pile. <br /><br />A local resident Ramesh Patil, 36, said during a time of crisis the villagers take a vow to perform the thorn ritual if the local deity Marutheshwara helps them overcome their problems.<br /><br />“Once they get over the crisis, it is payback time,” said Sandesh.<br /><br />Villagers say they have been performing the thorn ritual for generations but no one has been seriously injured so far.
