Asia & the Pacific



Being paraded through town on donkey-back with a soot-blackened face is a traditional punishment in some parts of India, but in the village of Borvav in Gujarat , dozens of men volunteer for this strange form of humiliation to say thank you to the gods for the birth of their sons.

Gujarat

Men paraded on donkeys in Gujarat to thank the gods for sons. Image by Dimitris / CC BY 2.0

Villagers shower the volunteers with money which is then used to buy food for the birds, a goodwill gesture that brings divine favour on the whole village – and, villagers hope, the birth of more sons.

Read more: timesofindia.indiatimes.com