A centuries-old festival in which residents from rival Indian villages hurl stones at each other - often leaving people dead or injured - has been banned, an official said Thursday. The annual Gotmar festival in an impoverished central region of the country involves teams competing to capture a tree placed in a river running between two villages as crowds pelt rocks and pebbles across the divide.
The origin of the custom is unclear, but many locals in Madhya Pradesh state believe it developed from a tale of two young lovers who lived on either side of the river and wanted to elope together.
As they tried to escape, residents of the two villages started throwing stones at each other and killed the couple, according to folklore, and the festival is held in their memory. In last year's clash between Saargaon and Pandhurhna, one person died and more than 400 were injured. Sati is the outlawed Hindu custom of a widow being cremated on the funeral pyre of her husband as an indication of her devotion.
Only males participate in the Gotmar festival, which is held each year in August or September according to the moon's cycle. During the stone-throwing, opposing villagers taunt each other wildly and chant loud prayers to the Hindu goddess Durga. The man who collects a flag from the top of the tree while under a hail of rocks wins the event for his village. Thousands of people from both sides then visit a temple to apply sacred ashes to their wounds and pray that they heal quickly.