[Bruinrab]

Infants thrown off roofs to thank God

Solapur (Maharashtra): Religious traditions are diverse and sometimes as bizarre as they can get. A village in Solapur, Maharashtra, has a dangerous tradition of throwing newborns from a height of 50 feet onto a sheet, which is held by devotees.

The infants are thrown off the roof of the Baba Sheikh Umar Saheb Dargah in Musti village in Solapur. This is an age-old tradition practiced by couples who are blessed with a child after taking a vow at the dargah. The devotees also believe that this ritual is good for the health of the child.

“People have been following this tradition for almost 500 years now. They believe that if they throw the child from the roof then it does good to him or her,” deputy sarpanch of Musti village, Ravikiran Mehta said.

While the practice may seem dangerous and superstitious to others, the devotees strongly believe that the fall will not harm the infants. The reason given is that there has been no recorded evidence of any physical disability to the infants.

“It’s our family tradition and so we follow it,” a devotee said.

While this practice may not have resulted in any casualties as of now, rationalists say that such dangerous rituals should be banned by the state government.

“Such bizarre rituals should be banned and the state government should intervene. Such practices are a challenge to our sensibilities and the basic concept of common well-being,” President of Rationalist International Sanal Edamaruku said.

Both Muslim and Hindu families take part in this ritual, however the state administration chooses not to interfere and provides heavy police security during the ritual every year.

Infants thrown off roofs to thank God - video

[MossadConspiracy]

i dont know how good their record keeping is, but 500 years without any adverse effects is a little bit reassuring

ws

[Bruinrab]

Originally Posted by MossadConspiracy

i dont know how good their record keeping is, but 500 years without any adverse effects is a little bit reassuring

ws

Seriously...even better than placebo.

[MossadConspiracy]

somebody should do a RCT comparing throwing babies off the roof with standard of care. we might be surprised

[Bruinrab]

Originally Posted by MossadConspiracy

somebody should do a RCT comparing throwing babies off the roof with standard of care. we might be surprised

You mean like the RCT on parachute use and gravitational challenge?

[vegetables]

dunno about you guys but id love to free fall 50 ft onto a fluffy white sheet

[Ilikemyscarf]

Backward animals.

[MossadConspiracy]

Originally Posted by Ilikemyscarf

Backward animals.

they probably think you're backward too

[MossadConspiracy]

Originally Posted by Bruinrab

You mean like the RCT on parachute use and gravitational challenge?

hehe thats pretty funny

[Ilikemyscarf]

Originally Posted by MossadConspiracy

they probably think you're backward too

How is throwing a newborn baby off a damn roof sensible? These people are lower than animals.

[MossadConspiracy]

Originally Posted by Ilikemyscarf

How is throwing a newborn baby off a damn roof sensible? These people are lower than animals.

they probably think you're lower than animals

[ShotgunMessiah]

I've got to say, as much as I inherently disagree with the practice, going 500 years of doing anything, much less something with the kind of apparent danger as this without a single incident is very impressive.

[sally]

so this is what happened to rambo

[Salika]

How is it "rational" of the "rationalists" to oppose something that has no proven harmful affect and only citing only "challenging sensibilities and the basic concept of common well-being." Wouldn't reason dictate it's perfectly ok and safe after time and time again?

Don't get me wrong I'm not advocating baby throwing but don't call yourself a rationalist? I mean if you think it's weird and bizarre, just say that.

[Bruinrab]

Originally Posted by Salika

How is "rational" of the "rationlists" to oppose something that has no proven harmful affect and only citing only "challenging sensibilities and the basic concept of common well-being." Wouldn't reason dictate it's perfectly ok and safe?

Don't get me wrong I'm not advocating baby throwing but don't call yourself a rationalist?

Babies are resilient, but at the same time, I'm concerned about "shear injuries" to the brain and other "shaken baby" type damage. Those bounces are pretty dramatic...