Slice of faith! Oracles slash foreheads at Kerala's massive Kodungalloor Bharani festival

"Thousands gathered at the Sree Kodungalloor Bhagavathy Temple in Kerala on Saturday for the annual Kodungalloor Bharani festival, one of India's largest gatherings of oracles. Footage captured on Saturday shows priests and priestesses dressed in red saris, dancing in a trance-like state and slashing their foreheads with curved swords. "We should be blessed to spill blood here. I am her heir. My mother used to attend this ritual, and now I am attending the ritual. My sword is performing for the 47th year this year. I have been coming to the temple for the last 44 years," oracle Narayani said. "My brother was not able to walk for eight years. He was on the same floor and started walking for the first time in his life. So this deity has a lot of miracles and strength," he noted. The Kodungalloor Bharani festival celebrates the birth of Bhadrakali, who, according to Hindu belief, emerged from Lord Shiva's third eye to defeat the demon Darika. The ritual is seen as an offering to the goddess and a way for oracles to express devotion and release personal frustrations. The ceremony has ancient roots in symbolic blood offerings, which historically included animal sacrifice. It is held during the Malayalam month of Meenam, between March and April."

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