7 Bizarrely Interesting Cultural Practices Still Carried Out Today

Published May 14, 2014
Updated March 30, 2018

From cutting off fingertips to living with the dead, humankind has come up with some incredibly strange cultural practices.

Toraja Corpses Dressed Up

Image Source: The Daily Mail

Some are taboo, some are cringe-inducing, some are downright revolting, and all are extraordinarily bizarre.

From the weirdest things we put in our bodies to the weirdest things we lop off our bodies to the weirdest things we do with our dead bodies, here are seven of the strangest cultural practices from around the world that are still carried out today:

Cutting Off Fingers

The death of a family member in the Dani tribe of Indonesia heralds a vast amount of emotional and, for women, physical pain. Aside from the inevitable emotional grief, women of the Dani tribe physically express that grief by cutting off (by compulsion) a segment of one of their fingers.

Before being amputated, the fingers are tied with a string for thirty minutes to numb them. Once amputated, the new fingertips are burned to create new scar tissue.

This custom, one of the world’s most bizarre cultural practices, is performed as a means to satisfy ancestral ghosts, and is rarely, but still sporadically, practiced in the tribe.

Cultural Practices Dani Tribe Tradition

Image Source: Frendz4M

Bizarre Cultural Practices Finger Tribe

Image Source: Frendz4M

 

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All That's Interesting
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Established in 2010, All That's Interesting brings together a dedicated staff of digital publishing veterans and subject-level experts in history, true crime, and science. From the lesser-known byways of human history to the uncharted corners of the world, we seek out stories that bring our past, present, and future to life. Privately-owned since its founding, All That's Interesting maintains a commitment to unbiased reporting while taking great care in fact-checking and research to ensure that we meet the highest standards of accuracy.
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John Kuroski
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John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.