Of People and Beliefs

The complex and mysterious world of the animist Dogon people in Western Africa.

The Aghori are an unorthodox Hindu community in India that are thought to practice necrophagy, or "eating the dead.

The unusual religious ceremony, tradition of asking a girl's hand in marriage and initiation ritual of the Fula people in Mali.

The monotheistic offshoot of Hinduism and its distinct culture in Punjab, India.

The eerie rituals of voodoo stretching from West Africa to the Caribbean, and the White Widows of India.

A young priest in the Himalayas winning his spurs and the quaint ceremony of valediction in the Philippines.

The Temple of Rats in Rajasthan, India and the ritual of blessing buildings in Thailand.

The little girls worshipped as goddesses in Nepal and a widower's journey of redemption in Thailand.

Two African diaspora religions in Brazil based on trance dances and unusual religious rituals.

The harvest ritual of the Tucano of the Amazons in Brazil and the harvest tradition in the Philippines.

The quaint funeral ritual and the bride abduction of the indigenous Bari in the Amazons.

Young men in the Brazilian Amazons hunt crocodiles and piranhas for marriage and go through a painful "ant" ritual for initiation into manhood.

The arduous escapology of a criminal from Nepal to India to become a religious ascetic.