In a strange and controversial ritual in south India women who were believed to be possessed by evil spirits will be given vicious whip lashes to “free them from these bad elements”.

The annual festival of Vijayadasami Day is held on October 8 at the ancient Sri Achappan Temple at Bavithram Vellalapatti, a remote village situated on the border of Tiruchi and Namakkal districts, in Tamil Nadu state.

The male priests, dressed in traditional attire, struck the nearly 3000 ‘possessed’ women with whips, sometimes three to four times a person, in order to cure them of illnesses and malign influences.

Many of the attendees do come willingly, believing that the lashing will aid in healing or fixing their issues, though it has drawn significant controversy over the violence of its administration.

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 sit in a half-kilometer-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 from the ‘multiple spirits’ that possessed them.Around 3000 women participated in this Bizarre Ritual.