Weird Beliefs
By Barry Wilson
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About this ebook
In this book you can explore many fascinating subjects, including:
Devil Worship ... Doomsday Cults ... Zombies ... Hungry Ghosts ... Fire Walking ... the Grim Reaper ... Witch Smellers ... Human Sacrifice ... Holy Mud ... Dervishes ... Sacred Mushrooms ... the Dance of Death ... Snake Handlers ... Weird Mythical Beasts ... Sin Eaters ... Demonic Possession ... the Antichrist ... Golems ... the Temple of Rats ... Head Shrinkers ... Weeping Statues ... the Wandering Jew ... Incorruptible Bodies ... Ritual Crucifixions ... Ghouls ... Pillar Saints ... Prayer Wheels ... the Black Stone of Mecca ... Temple Virgins ... Towers of Silence ... the Devil's Mark ... Heavenly Omens ... the Ghost Dance ... Idol Worship ... and many more.
The book also contains many interesting images, including reproductions of some famous works of art.
Barry Wilson
Barry Wilson graduated with Honours in science from the University of Western Australia (zoology and geology majors) and was awarded a PhD from that university in 1965 with a thesis on the reproductive biology and ecology of marine molluscs. This was followed by a post-doctoral appointment as Fulbright Scholar and Research Fellow in the School of Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Barry has published many research papers on molluscan systematics and coral reef biology and six reference books on Australian marine molluscs. Barry is an experienced scuba diver (initially self taught in the 1950s when there were no instructors around) and a proficient undersea photographer. He has had extensive marine field experience in the Australian, Pacific and South East Asian regions. He led a biological survey to the Moluccus in 1970 aboard an American research vessel. In 1973, he participated in an American survey of crown-of-thorns seastars in Micronesia and followed this with a three-year research program on crown-of-thorns infestations on coral reefs in northern Western Australia. Barry has held positions as Curator of Molluscs at the Western Australian Museum, Director of the National Museum of Victoria (Melbourne) and Director of Nature Conservation in Western Australia. He served for 9 years as Chairman of the Western Australian Marine Parks & Reserves Authority (responsible for the establishment and management of that State's extensive marine conservation reserves system) and 7 years as a Director and Managing Director of an organisation known as the Australian Wildlife Conservancy that has built a network of private conservation reserves for endangered species throughout Australia. Now, after "retirement", Barry provides consulting services to Government and industry, mainly in marine science and environmental protection on the North West Self. In 2001 Barry Wilson was awarded the Australian Centennial Medal for distinguished service in marine science.
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Weird Beliefs - Barry Wilson
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.
ISBN: 978-1-4658-2084-6
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, which is located in the city of Deshnoke in northwestern India. These rats are believed to be re-incarnations of certain 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. 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.
temple ratsThis 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 scientists, 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