Buzz
In modern times, most people no longer live in farming-based societies, severing their link to the earth. Not long ago, rituals, rather than scientific methods, were sought to resolve our dilemmas. When crops failed, or when families struggled with infertility, there was no alternative. Below are ten unusual ceremonies designed to enhance fertility.
10. Lupercalia Festival
Do not forget, in your haste, Antonio, To touch Calphurnia; for it is said by our elders, The barren, touched in this sacred hunt, Will shed their sterile curse.
–Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
The Lupercalia ritual occurred annually in February. Plutarch’s Life of Romulus recounts the details of the event:
Two young noblemen were chosen, and two goats were offered in sacrifice. The sacrificial knife would be pressed to the men’s foreheads, then the mark was erased with milk. The men would laugh before slicing the goats' skin to create whips. They would then race through the city, striking everyone they could. While most people tried to avoid the lashes, young married women eagerly stepped forward to be struck, hoping to conceive or ensure a safe delivery.
In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the play begins with the Lupercalia festivities. Pregnant women use their swollen bellies to block the runners. Although Caesar rules the world, he has no heir, so he places his wife in the path of a man meant to be struck, hoping for her fertility. It doesn’t seem to cross his mind that he himself might be the one in need of a beating.
9. Willow Whippings
If you consider the practice of whipping women for fertility to be a primitive custom, you might be surprised to discover a similar tradition in the Czech Republic and Slovakia during Easter. While beautifully decorated eggs are the most obvious symbol of fertility, woven willow whips can also be found. Willow served as a substitute for palm leaves in Easter services when palms were unavailable.
These whips, called pomlazka, are adorned with ribbons and used on Easter Monday to whip health and beauty
8. Pfingstbluttlern
Women who find themselves drenched with a bucket of water might count themselves fortunate compared to those in the Swiss village of Ettingen. There, an unusual ceremony called Pfingstbluttlern takes place, one that seems designed to frighten women into fertility.
Men dress in branches and leaves to blend in as makeshift bushes. They then ambush a passing woman, scoop her up, carry her to a well or water trough, and drop her in. The women who undergo this ritual are believed to become pregnant as a result. However, since the ceremony originated only in the 19th century, it’s possible that the men’s motivations might have included a desire to see a woman in soaking, clingy clothes.
7. Royal Ploughing Ceremony
Sometimes it's not human fertility that requires attention. When crops fail, the surplus population created by other fertility rites could become an issue. To ensure abundant harvests, numerous farming-related rituals have been established.
In Thailand, the Royal Ploughing Ceremony is held annually. Two sacred oxen plow a furrow while the monarch or a member of the royal family observes. The Ministry of Agriculture official, who acts as the lord of the ceremony, leads the oxen. Following them, ladies scatter seeds from gold and silver baskets, and Brahmins blow conch shells while chanting prayers.
The oxen are offered various bowls of seeds, water, and even liquor. The bowls they choose to eat from help predict the harvest's success. After the ceremony, the crowd collects the scattered seeds, as they are considered lucky.
6. Wassailing
On Twelfth Night, marking the traditional end of Christmas, people in certain parts of England can be seen singing to apple trees. While this may seem unusual at first, the presence of cider may help clarify it. Those taking part, known as Wassailers, sing to awaken the apple trees in preparation for the upcoming summer, hoping for a bountiful harvest. After all, a poor one could impact the cider supply.
The procession is typically led by a wassail king and queen into the orchard. There, a punch called wassail is made from last year’s cider. Toast is dipped into the wassail, and the queen hangs it in the trees. This ritual is meant to appease any spirits living in the trees and encourage them, showing them the success of the previous year.
5. Cerne Abbas Giant
Also in England, there exists the Cerne Abbas Giant, a massive 55-meter (180 ft) chalk figure carved into a hillside. The giant is depicted naked, wielding a large club, and possessing other prominent features, hinting that his symbolism may be linked to fertility. Legend has it that women who rest upon the giant’s phallus will soon conceive. Given the area’s high fertility, the tale seems plausible.
Of course, simply resting isn’t the most effective method of conception. It is said that, in hopes of curing infertility, some couples have taken matters into their own hands by engaging in intimate relations on the giant’s member. Whether this approach is scientifically proven remains to be seen.
4. Tyrnavos Phallus Festival
On Clean Monday, marking the first day of Lent in the Orthodox Church, a distinctly wild and unrestrained festival unfolds in Tyrnavos, Greece. The entire day is devoted to a spirited carnival that joyously celebrates fertility, particularly through the symbol of the penis. Phallus-shaped foods abound, a throne constructed of phalluses is displayed, and hymns are sung in reverence to the male organ.
Festival goers are required to drink soup while a large pottery phallus is pushed between their legs. They then sip a potent liquor served from a phallus-shaped vessel. Those who participate are marked with ash. It’s important to remember that Clean Monday in the Orthodox Church is similar to Ash Wednesday. Despite the Church’s clear disapproval of this essentially pagan rite and various attempts to suppress it, the ritual has endured and reemerged each time.
3. Saint Mary Frances’s Chair
Saint Mary Frances was born to a harsh father who treated her with cruelty. He tried to force her into marriage, but she remained resolute in her desire to become a nun. She adopted the name Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Christ, and her deep devotion eventually led to her receiving the Stigmata.
In modern times, this chaste saint has somehow become linked to fertility. Women hoping for children often make a pilgrimage to Naples, where they can find the saint’s armchair surrounded by her relics. Married women sit in the chair and are touched by a reliquary containing pieces of Saint Mary Frances’s vertebra and hair, while nuns pray for the woman’s fertility. Pink and blue announcements of births, considered proof of the saint’s blessing, are displayed on the walls.
2. Wishing Column
The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, constructed by Emperor Justinian, stands as one of the finest achievements of the Byzantine empire. It has served as both a church and a mosque and is now a museum. While many visitors come to marvel at its vast dome and explore the rich history, some are drawn to press their thumbs into a marble column.
The column in question is believed to have come from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. According to legend, Emperor Justinian, suffering from a headache, leaned against the cool marble and was miraculously cured. When water began to drip from the stone, it was thought to be the Virgin Mary's tears. Today, people line up to place their thumb into the hole in the hopes of receiving the healing water.
1. Obando Fertility Dance
In the Philippines, an ancient tradition has been merged with Catholic practices. In Obando, what began as a ritual dance in front of idols to ask for fertility has evolved into a dance performed before Catholic saints' images.
A long procession of childless couples pushes carts carrying statues of the saints through the streets in a display of devotion. Upon reaching a church, the couples seeking children dance inside. It is said that the success of the ritual depends on the vigorous movement of the hips in time with the music.
