Indian stone-throwing festival leaves 80 hurt
More than 80 people were injured on August 9 during the annual Bagwal Mela, a traditional stone-throwing festival held in Champawat district, Uttarakhand, India.
Footage from the event showed over 1,000 devotees gathering in front of the Varahi Devi temple, with some dancing and celebrating before taking part in the ritual.
During the festival, participants threw stones at each other while using shields for protection, and many were treated for injuries afterwards.
Many of the 80 injured sustained head wounds.
“There has never been any untoward incident here. There are injuries, but there have never been any deaths or serious injuries reported here,” said participant Rohi Dani. “In these years of practice, we have seen no unfortunate incident happen here.”
Injuries during the festival are blessings from Maa Barahi, said local resident Prakash Varial.
“These injuries are a blessing of Goddess Maa Barahi, there is nothing to be scared. It is a very good thing to be blessed with injuries. We have come so far to get this blessing,” he said. “This is our tradition. We have to follow this tradition. There will be blood. But with the blessing of Maa Barahi, we become hardened stones.”
Dating back to at least the sixth century, the Bagwal Mela was originally a ritual involving human sacrifice but later evolved into a stone-pelting event.
The festival attracts visitors from across India and abroad, with injuries remaining part of the tradition.
Attendees said the festival typically draws more than 100,000 people, but attendance was lower this year due to bad weather.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
