The Kumbh Mela Festival—the world’s largest religious gathering held at the Ganges River every 12 years—is now (January 2019) underway in Uttar Pradesh, India. Despite internet technology being so advanced in India, even high caste and educated people as well as government dignitaries take part in this Hindu Festival. They believe that their sins are washed away by bathing in the river, making possible a better reincarnation in their next life.
Along with belief in the huge pantheon of Hindu gods, many in India’s 650,000 villages put much reverence in witchcraft and black magic. Below are images of a public celebration of witchcraft in Bhawanipatna in the state of Orissa.
