Villagers in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal on Friday celebrated their new year by parading and dancing with unearthed human skulls and the corpse of a baby, prompting a police investigation.
The Naramundo Khela (Skull Game) is a ritual that appears only to take place in the village of Sona Palasi. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva, a Hindu deity who is depicted by a snake around his neck, and marks the start of the Bengali New Year on April 15.
As part of the festival, some villagers carrying skulls and daggers danced to rhythmic drum beats with their bodies covered with white ash and spotted with red and green paints as about 2 000 other people watched.
One villager danced with the corpse of a baby.
Villagers say that they have carried out this ritual in previous years.
”Dead bodies are dug up and their heads are severed and then used during the festival,” said Debdas Biswas (58), living in the village that is about 165km west of Kolkata, the state capital. ”This has been happening for ages. If this does not happen, we will feel that the significance of the ritual has come down.”
The local authorities said they had no prior information of such an event happening in the area.
Police confirmed that villagers danced with human skulls and the baby’s corpse.
”We have heard about this and at the moment investigating the case,” said Peeyush Pandey, a senior police official. He added police were checking to see if the ritual was illegal.
”This kind of act is barbaric and would do a lot of harm to the society rather than invoke the gods,” said Bonani Kakkar, an environmental and social activist. — Reuters