Women who are believed to be possessed by "evil spirits" in an Indian village queued up for five hours in order to be whipped.

Footage from the annual Hindu festival of Vijayadasami at the ancient Sri Achappan Temple in the remote village of Bavithram Vellalapatti shows the scene as women from far and wide prepare to be voluntarily whipped, believing this will rid them of evil spirits.

Crowds mill around as hundreds of women sit in a half-kilometre-long queue.

A priest, dressed in traditional attire, rains down blows with the long whip on the womens' hands and backs.

According to Indian magazine Frontline, young women are brought to the event by older relatives who watch the cruel practice to make sure they do not dodge the whip's blows.

The footage was captured on October 19.

In a strange ritual,women including school-going teen-aged girls, who were believed to be ‘possessed’ by evil spirits will be given vicious whip lashes to “free them from these bad elements” at the annual festival of the ancient Sri Achappan Temple at Bavithram Vellalapatti, a remote village situated on the border of Tiruchi and Namakkal districts, the Vijayadasami Day.The men priests, dressed in traditional attire, crack whips on the ‘possessed’ women, the salvation seekers, who will sat in a half-kilometre-long queue for nearly five hours on a sprawling open space called ‘lashing ground’ near the temple.Even young school and college-going girls, who winced when they receive the lashes and writhe in pain on the ground. The long and wieldy whips, which descend on them in full ferocity, will leave them gasping for breath, causing burning marks of wounds on them and forcing them to sob and cry in searing pain. Many will be given three to four flogs to drive away the ‘multiple spirits’ that possessed them.