Explore 85 Rituals Collections - Atlas Obscura
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The Columns Group.
San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Mexico

Column of Death

A mysterious pillar in an ancient burial chamber is said to predict how long you have to live.
Mengwi, Indonesia

Ogoh-Ogoh Museum

A small museum full of giant effigies of Bali's demons and monsters.
Cemetery of the Poor Clares
Ischia, Italy

Poor Clares Convent Cemetery

Deceased nuns were placed on stone chairs to decompose, while the surviving nuns prayed near the lifeless bodies.
Gastro Obscura

Kopstootje

The Dutch drinking ritual begins with a glass of genever and ends with a “little head-butt.”
Ruteng, Indonesia

Spider Web Rice Fields

The unique design was created by the traditional way communal rice paddies were divided among the indigenous people.
Jack-in-the Green May Day Festival, 2014.
Hastings, England

Jack in the Green

Every May, townspeople welcome summer with a bizarre pagan parade led by a man wrapped in garlands.
Rayne, Louisiana

Wrong Way Cemetery

The above-ground crypts at this Catholic cemetery face north-south instead of the usual east-west.
A Morena effigy in
witchcraft

Welcoming Spring by Burning the Goddess of Winter

Traditions!
Sarah Laskow March 20, 2018
This 8,000-year-old skull was part of a mysterious Mesolithic ritual.
skulls

Found: An Ancient, Watery Grave in Sweden

Why were these Mesolithic skulls mounted on stakes?
Vittoria Traverso February 14, 2018
Researchers found this 5,000-year-old stone on a Danish island.
spiders

Found: Neolithic Spiderweb Stones in Denmark

They may have more to do with the sun than with arachnids.
Vittoria Traverso February 13, 2018
The remains in a burial under Mexico City appear to have been arranged in a spiral.
bones

Found: A Spiral Mass Grave in Mexico City

Evidence of an elaborate ritual 2,400 years ago.
Vittoria Traverso February 2, 2018
This tureen features handles that are decorated with bovine heads.
food

Found: A 3,100-Year-Old Tomb Full of Bronze Cauldrons and Other Food Vessels

Archaeologists believe they were spoils of war.
Vittoria Traverso December 12, 2017
Hanging coffins.
Sagada, Philippines

Hanging Coffins of Sagada

Hundreds of wooden coffins dangle from cliffs and caves in the Philippines.