A mother lays down her infant girl in front of the 'Charak Tree' for blessings of God Shiva and Sakti during 'Charak Puja' festival amidst spectators at Dhamrai,Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 15, 2006. The festival is devoted to the deities Shiva and Sakti. The Charak Puja is well-known for the rites of piercing the body with nails, and swirling from a high pole. A 'charhak tree' is built on the occasion, consisting of a long pole atop which a wheel is fixed. An ascetic devotee is hung from this wheel with a hook. The wheel then spins around with him at high speed. Small nails, at times red hot on
A mother lays down her infant girl in front of the 'Charak Tree' for blessings of God Shiva and Sakti during 'Charak Puja' festival amidst spectators at Dhamrai,Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 15, 2006. The festival is devoted to the deities Shiva and Sakti. The Charak Puja is well-known for the rites of piercing the body with nails, and swirling from a high pole. A 'charhak tree' is built on the occasion, consisting of a long pole atop which a wheel is fixed. An ascetic devotee is hung from this wheel with a hook. The wheel then spins around with him at high speed. Small nails, at times red hot ones, pierce all parts of his body including his tongue. The devotee thus spinning spreads prasad (handmade sweetmeats blessed with chants) among the curious spectators and onlookers. At the root of the celebration of Charhak Puja is a belief in spirits and the cult of rebirth. Its rites suggest ancient ritual of human sacrifice.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Photo credit: © Shahadat Parvez / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: asia, bangla, bangladesh, blessings, body, celebrate, charak, dancing, devotee, dhaka, dhamrai, entertainer, farmers, festival, flowers, girl, god, ground, hindu, infant, member, month, mother, nails, piercing, pole, puja, religion, ritual, shiva, spectators, spinning, street, tree, village, wheel
