Raising children! On Hindu festivals in India, children tied with sticks are raised 40 feet above the ground in the arms of men.
- Footage shows a line of four men, holding children attached to two connected pillars
- The ceremony is known as Thukam and takes place every year in Sri Bhadrakali.
- The spectators cheer when the men reach the height of the trajectory and parade around
This is the moment when newborn babies being raised by men are hoisted 40 feet into the air on poles during a Hindu ritual India,
The ceremony, known as Thukkam, takes place every year at the Sri Bhadrakali temple in Kollamkode in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The footage shows a queue of four devotees, each carrying a child, in traditional attire attached to two intertwined sticks.
The ceremony, known as Thukkam, takes place every year at the Sri Bhadrakali temple in Kollamkode in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The footage shows a row of four men, each carrying a child, in traditional attire attached to two intertwined sticks.
Others participating in the ritual lift the men up in the air, kicking their feet in time.
The spectators get excited as the devotees reach the height of their trajectory and are then taken down a street in parade.
The ritual continues into the night as different men in turn carrying different children are hoisted and paraded through the streets.
Childless couples regularly visit the temple in the hope of getting pregnant.
Others participating in the ritual lift the men up in the air, kicking their feet in time.
The spectators cheer when the men reach the height of their trajectory and then go down a street in a parade
The ritual continues into the night as different men alternately carrying different children are hoisted and paraded through the streets.
If they become pregnant, the couple returns to the holy site to fulfill their vow to Bhadrakali Amman, so that their children can participate in the celebration and thank them.
Thukkam is an offering held in the month of Meenam (late March to late April) at the Bhadrakali temple in Kollamkode, Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu.
Every year more than a thousand newborn babies are carried around the temple tied to a 40-foot pole.
This festival is celebrated annually for 10 days and is the last day of Thukam festival.