In a bizarre ritual from central India, villagers decorate their cattle with flowers, colours and henna, and then lay down on the ground to let the beautified bovines trample over them.

During this ritual, organised on October 28 in the village of Petlawad, Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh, cattle herdsmen laid on the ground and then paraded cows over them to invoke the blessings of deity, “Gowardhan”.

The livestock are painted in different vibrant colours and garlanded before being paraded over the people lying on the ground, in part to 'ask forgiveness' from the animals for herding them the rest of the year-round.

In a bizarre ritual, villagers decorate their cattle with flowers, colours and henna, and lay down on the ground letting allowing cows to trample over them. During this ritual, which was organised in a Petlawad Village of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh village on Monday (28th October), cattle herdsmen laid on the ground and then paraded cows over them to invoke the blessings of deity, “Gowardhan”.The livestock are painted in different vibrant colours and garlanded before being paraded over the people lying on the ground. According to a villager this ritual is a part of Diwali festiva ,Besides invoking blessings from the deity, the devotees also seek forgiveness from the cattle herd for using them whole year by allowing cattle to trample over them .the dangerous ritual, called in local parlance “Gaay Gauri” festival .“The devotees who lie on the ground usually follow certain techniques, such as covering their heads with their arms and stiffening their body, when the cattle run over them.If anyone suffers minor injuries, they are treated with cow urine and dung, considered anti-septic agents by the villagers