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Track, 4 .10

Signpost, A2 Plus, B1, unit 4, traditions, more to share, weird traditions around the world.

In a world with so many countries, religions, tribes and customs, it is not surprising that there are so many different traditions.

Though we've come a long way since the beginning of the civilization, some communities are stuck with old age traditions.

Here are 5 of them.

Self -mummification

Self -mummification was a common practice in Japan until the early 20th century.

It was performed by Buddhist monks or priests, who caused their own deaths to become a sokushinbutsu, a kind of mummy.

That insane process of self -mummification starts with a 3 -year diet of nuts and seeds and tough physical exercise to get rid of all body fat.

Then, for another 3 years, the monk eats only roots and tree bark and drinks a special tea, its poisonous.

He starts to vomit and loses his bodily fluids.

Finally, he locks himself in a stone tomb.

His only connection to the outside world is an air tube and a bell.

Each day, he rings the bell.

When the bell stops ringing, people remove the air tube and seal the tomb.

Foot binding

Foot binding was a custom among young females in China.

It started in the 10th or 11th century and ended in the early 20th century.

In Chinese foot binding, elderly people wrapped young girls' feet, usually at age 6, but often earlier, in tight bandages, so that they could not grow and develop normally.

This practice broke the feet bones and they became deformed and couldn't grow more than 10 -15 centimeters.

It had been the main cause of disability among many elderly Chinese women for years.

It was a deeply unpleasant process and many girls died from infections.

Human Sacrifice

Human Sacrifice is the act of killing a human being for the purpose of making an offering to a God or other supernatural powers.

It was a practice of many ancient cultures.

The practice has different types, but the Mayans and the Aztecs were the most notorious for ritual killings.

They killed victims to please the gods or spirits.

Victims varied from prisoners to infants.

They killed the victims by burning, beheading or burying them alive.

Brides dressing like men.

Sparta is one of the roughest and toughest civilizations in history.

Spartans' weddings were very different from what we call a wedding now.

There was no Princess gown for Mrs. Spartan Warrior.

She did everything so she could appear masculine.

The wedding day started with the bride shaving her head and dressing up in men's clothes.

Historians have discussed the reasons behind this weird practice.

Some historians think that it's simply a measure of the extremely low status of women in Greek societies.

Bullet Ant Initiation

The Satere Maui tribe from the Amazon rainforest Brazil has a painful tradition for boys to prove that they are ready to become men.

They have to endure the stings of hundreds of bullet ants.

This ant has the most painful sting among all insects.

Its sting is 30 times more powerful than a bee's.

The ants are woven into gloves, and the boys who want to prove that they are ready to take over the adulthood responsibilities have to wear these gloves, not once, but 20 times.

Each time they have to wear the glove for at least 10 minutes.

But this is just the beginning.

Once the gloves are off, the pain grows greater and lasts for about 24 hours.

The Satere Maui tribe people believe that this tradition not only marks the day boys prove themselves, but also makes them better men, because your life won't be worth anything unless you go through some pain and suffering.