April 25, 2007: Peruvian scissors dance

[Undertoad]

So many bizarre rituals in this world, cataloging them all is a full-time job.



You need a tetanus shot just to look at the gallery of shots from the Mainichi Daily News. According to the official cap, this is...

...the national scissors dance competition in Villa Maria, southern Lima, April 22, 2007. During the Peruvian Scissors Dance (Danza de las Tijeras), dancers compete by dancing as well as by taking part in trials such as glass-eating, walking on fire or sticking wires into their body to show spiritual superiority.

So this guy thinks he's better than you, and he's willing to prove it by sticking rusty metal through his cheek and tongue. Once again the piercing people who get 3 holes in an ear, or one in the nose, are shown to be mere pikers. You can't compete so don't even try. As Zaphod Beeblebrox once said, "I get weirder things than you in my breakfast cereal."



But here's the really weird part. The second half of this display is acrobatic dancing in colorful costumes. How manly and spiritual?