Farmer Vesta Mandloi was surprised to learn recently that one of the "stone balls" his family had been worshipping for generations has turned out to be the fossilised egg of a giant dinosaur that lived in central India's Narmada valley millions of years ago. Like Mandloi, many farmers of Padlya village in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district have been worshipping these roughly palm-sized balls known locally as Kankar Bhairav or stone Shiva. The balls lie in small clusters often at the root of a fig tr
  • Ashyr@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    52·
    8 months ago

    If you gotta pick stones to worship, you could do far worse than fossilized dinosaur eggs.

  • GONADS125@feddit.deEnglish
    136·
    8 months ago

    “Once a year near Diwali, the villagers make farm animals like cows or goats walk over these stones to gain the protection of the deity.”

    I’m sorry, but religion is so asinine…

    And I’m sure some people would scoff at this quote with hypocrisy while simultaneously believing in their own make believe story.

    • araneae@beehaw.orgEnglish
      101·
      8 months ago

      There is a lot to crticize about religion but this isn’t really worth getting upset about. An annual celebration might be as culturally significant as it is religiously so. Leave them alone about it if its harmless.

      • GONADS125@feddit.deEnglish
        4·
        8 months ago

        What makes you think I’m upset?

        Calling out the absurdity of something doesn’t mean that I’m upset or outraged.

        • araneae@beehaw.orgEnglish
          2·
          8 months ago

          How do I put this. You’re looking real anthropologically ignorant right now. If the cultural practice isnt harmful the by far easiest and tactful thing to do isnnot comment upon it.

    • Vytle@lemmy.worldEnglish
      23·
      8 months ago

      This is actually fucking disgusting. Your really shitting on the culture of a people you clearly don’t understand, because you want to losely tie it into the fact that you (think) your better than the average person simply because you don’t follow a religion. Believe what you want, and portray yourself how you want, but don’t fucking use indigenous cultures as stepping stones to point out your beliefs. Go back to Reddit with this shit, man.

      • 🦄🦄🦄@feddit.deEnglish
        3·
        8 months ago

        Religion is an idea and ideas don’t inherently deserve respect. Anyone walking over anything to gain some sort of protection is ridiculous and should be treated as such. It is ok if you feel different but it’s worriesome that you are directly attacking others like that.

        • Vytle@lemmy.worldEnglish
          12·
          8 months ago

          The culture of other people, and by proxy their religion, does deserve respect. We are talking about tradition that has been passed from generation upon generation. This inheritely demands respect, assuming your not a redditor who sees themselves as above everyone else.

          • 🦄🦄🦄@feddit.deEnglish
            2·
            8 months ago

            “I am right and if you disagree you belong to [group of people I don’t like].”

            Yikes, spoken like a true religious person.

            • Vytle@lemmy.worldEnglish
              11·
              8 months ago

              I’m not religious, I just have basic fucking empathy. Great strawman BTW.

              • 🦄🦄🦄@feddit.deEnglish
                1·
                8 months ago

                This inheritely demands respect, assuming your not a redditor who sees themselves as above everyone else.

                Great strawman BTW.

                Did you really not get that lol

                • Vytle@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  11·
                  8 months ago

                  You are reducing my point of “cultures inheritely demand respect for its generational perseverance” down to “I am right” You either can’t think of a valid argument against my point, or you somehow gained enough compassion to not want to argue that other people’s culture is not inheritely respectable.

  • kandoh@reddthat.comEnglish
    3·
    8 months ago

    If you can defeat the dinosaur cultists do you unlock a unique mount, or a vanity pet?