In the remote Indian village of Bavithram Vellalapatti, women of all ages line up and wait for a chance to get whipped by local priests in front of thousands of gathered worshippers. Dressed in traditional attire, male priests cracked their whips on older women and school girls alike at the sprawling "lashing grounds" of the Sri Achappan Temple in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The bizarre ritual is believed to "drive evil spirits away" and the line of women waiting for their chance to get whipped by the priest can stretch over a quarter mile.
