Impalement - The Shadows Of Life #20

Impalement is a practise where a person is laid down on his belly and a sharp edge rod is passed through the rectum, splitting it. This method was used as punishment in the war, called as justice for traitors.
Impalement can be traced back earliest to 1772 in Mesopotamia. This is a practiced pioneered by  the Babylonian king Hammurabi to punish the wrong doers in the name of law or god’s justice. Egypt ans European empire were further seen to be following this. However over the time, the execution has changed.

In the present age Impalement is being done in the form of piercings, justified to the same as cultural/religious practices. The basic idea of Impalement is as follows, The body parts of the participant is pierced with sharp objects like needles, swords, iron rods, spears, guns, etc. It is very common in India and some other South Asian countries.

People believe that God enters the body of the participant, protection from the evil spirits and the coming of goodluck in the community drives people into practising this ritual. So now as a form of impalation a practise of piercing has took forth.

Piercing oneself is objective as there are diverse reasons to why a person might to do it, majority of the population now look at it as a form to accessorize themselves. But there are approximately 30% of people still practicing it on extreme levels.

Piercing around ears, nose, lips, eyebrows can be safe. However it is advised not to pierce your navel, tongue or nipples. There are reports of infections that have spread to the whole body, distal infections, severe infections. There are reports of hepatitis from not having the proper sanitation conditions.

So the next time we exercise a religious practise, let’s stop a second and ask why is this happening, what good is it going to bring to us practically. We tend not to ask questions to significant rituals out of respect, but how is an enquiry disrespectful?

Leo Kriti Jogi
Member Of Leo Club Of Juhu.