Aghori Tribe living in Varanasi, India; It has existed since the 14th century. Worshiping the Hindu God Shiva, this tribe has strange customs that will push the boundaries of the mind. In the perfect order of God, they aim to be purified from evil and reach perfection. For this purpose, among the strange traditions of the tribe that are not seen anywhere in the world, the one about the dead draws attention.
The dead are more important than anything to the tribe, which still exists today, although in small numbers. They believe that after the dead rites they held, the power and abilities of the deceased passed to them. The tribe, who paints the bodies of the cremated dead with ashes, thinks that their fear of death has decreased while performing this process. To perform the ritual, tribal members of 10 to 12, with 2 or 3 women, gather and use drugs. The ashes of the cremated dead are rubbed on the bodies and religious poems are sung. During the ritual, more than one person whose bodies are painted with dead ashes is with women.
Religious officials, children, pregnant women and people who have never been married are not cremated when they die. When these people die, their corpses are ceremonially thrown into the river and then removed and their meat is eaten. At the same time, the tribe eats excrement, has sex with the dead, eats human flesh and the brain of the dead. Thus, it is thought that the deceased will remain attached to the god.
Tribe members do not establish social relations with anyone outside the region they live in. They meet their needs among themselves and do not share information about their traditions with anyone. For the tribe, who believe that nothing from God can be bad, consuming dead meat, consuming feces and urine is not seen as a disgusting situation. It is believed that if it is not thought of in this way, loyalty to God will be shaken. It is a sacred duty for the tribe to keep these traditions.
According to tribal belief, the god Shiva is perfect and he is responsible for everything that is done. The human soul is pure and flawless, this soul can only be blunted by human emotions. For this reason, they aimed to find purity even in the dirtiest things. They perform the ritual they call “Karma Transfer” to take the pollution from the dead and transfer it to another animal or human. It takes 12 years of training and practice to become an Aghori. It is thought that enlightenment can be achieved in this way.
Drinking water from the dead skull, which is an ordinary situation for the tribe, is done in order to get rid of evil. The tribe, who believes in the religion of Hinduism, continues their lives in strict accordance with their beliefs. The bodies of the tribespeople, who usually live naked or covered with a piece of cloth, are always painted with dead ashes. Tribal people, who care about their hair, use pieces such as the skull and beads of the deceased as accessories. The tribe, which received a reaction from the people of India, lives in exile. The people of India fear more than the tribe and think that they are cursed.
