Barong Brutuk: is that a banana in your pocket?

In a certainly eye-catching ritual, young men in Bali dance covered from the neck down in dried banana peels to invite good luck and fertility. It seems universal that men will do whatever they can to help their chances of getting laid. 

This ritual, the Barong Brutuk, is unique to the young men of Bali Aga in Trunyan village. But not just anyone get jump in and wear the banana peels. If selected to participate in the ritual, the lads are purified and then quarantined for 42 days, according to a post by the Daily Mail. Now that’s a committment. 

During the ritual, other villagers try to snatch the peels from the boys’ costumes. Lucky for the banana-covered, the young boys get to carry whips.  

Photo: Wikimedia Commons