What Are They Doing?

[ukanonymous]

This is really interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YeF-RqeuEM

[Mosaic]

I'd sya it was an islamic self-mortification ceremony, which really extreme believers supplement by adding razor blades to the self-slapping.
Absolute small fry compared to climbing Skellig Michael on your knees.

[emmie]

interesting for them perhaps, seems a kind of manly, male ritual, apart from that no idea.

[Frank97]

I've no idea what they're doing, but is it any more bizarre than morris dancing?

Having said that, you don't see much of it going on these days really.

[emmie]

you do if you go out in the countryside, and other rituals that some people might also find bizarre, Cornish ones i have seen were positively arcane.

[humbersloop]

mortifying the flesh - though as Mosaic said, by Catholic standards, it looks a bit wuss to me

[boxtops]

It looks like a Shia Muslim ritual.

[humbersloop]

it is boxy, which may be why the EDL so helpfully drew it to YouTube's collective attention - the comments are a hoot

[237SJ]

The language that they are speaking doesn`t sound like Arabic though..

[boxtops]

If it's Shias, they could well be Iranian, so speaking Farsi rather than Arabic?

[emmie]

Urdu perhaps..

[emmie]

i would think going on the location they are Pakistani

[naomi24]

Mad as hatters.

This from Wiki: // In some Shi'ite communities worldwide, Shi'ites march in massive parades while flogging themselves on the back with knives, blades and chains every year to commemorate the martyrdom of Hussein. Some of these self-flogging rituals include zanjeer zani, talwar zani, qama ka matam, and tatbir. This happens in many countries of the world including India, Pakistan, Iraq and Lebanon.//

And from the Huffington Post which mentions ceremonial chest beating:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/11/26/shia-muslims-martyrdom-prophet-muhammad-hussein-ashura-mass-flagellation-_n_2190322.html

[whiskeryron]

// Some of these self-flogging rituals include zanjeer zani, talwar zani, qama ka matam, and tatbir. This happens in many countries of the world including India, Pakistan, Iraq and Lebanon.//

It may very well happen in many countries of the world but this is the UK & I for one object to it, I believe it constitutes a disturbance of the peace & should therefore be banned by law. I am sick to death of us having to put up with foreign practices which have no place in this country for the sake of the PC brigade.

WR.

[naomi24]

I wonder whether they made formal arrangements to have the road closed? Can’t see any barriers – or any policemen.

[jake-the-peg]

Amateurs compared to the Phillipino Christians who have themselves crucified at Easter.

** couple of tthese might put you of your breakfast! **

http://rt.com/news/self-crucifixion-filipino-036/

[naomi24]

Jake, there are plenty of far gorier examples of this ritual – but not suitable for AB I feel. They’re all potty!

[jake-the-peg]

I think the maddest has to be the Japanese mummies

Possibly the most extreme form of suicide I've ever encountered

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu

They basically nearly stave themselves to death in a tomb spending their last days eating bacterial killing pine needles so that there's nothing in their guts to consume their flesh

Anybody got a crazier religious practice than that?

[naomi24]

Isn’t that practice obsolete?

[jake-the-peg]

I don't know, I believe it's banned

Generally it's not felt necessary to ban obsolete practices so I'd guess there was some concern that someone had tried it in the relatively recent past

Looks like the last sucessful one was 1903

[sandyRoe]

Many a Catholic wears a hair shirt 18-24. Believe me, mortification of the flesh like that soon does away with carnal itches.
I don't see any scourges there or even chains. They're not really devout.