In this country old grandmas will practice voodoo for you – The Times of India
Evil has existed for ages now and people have always found a way to get rid of it. From the negative relatives who pester you for money, to the jealous friends who are envious of the things you achieve, evil has been around forever. And so, in every culture, there is a way to stay protected from that evil and retaliate at those who cause harm to others. There are special practitioners who do not just tell you who has put a curse on you or hexed you, but also let you know the right way to get rid of those energies.
Different ways to remove evil
And as different cultures have their own way of removing evil, in times of need, people try everything they possibly can.
It could be spiritual cleansing that is done using incense, holy water, and prayers to drive away bad energy. It could be wearing charms like the evil eye pendant or the yin-yang locket to get rid of evil energies. Or it could also be a complete, elaborate puja ritual that fills the home with divine smoke and energy and helps you remove any evil.
The ‘Villain hitting’ of Hong Kong
And in Hong Kong, people have a special way to remove any evil from their lives. From toxic bosses to relatives with evil intentions, the ‘villain hitting’ ritual takes care of them all. It is a folk practice where professional ‘villain hitters’ use slippers to beat a piece of paper where the name of the enemies is written.
In Hong Kong, this is a form of spiritual justice where the troublemakers are punished and the bad luck they send is cleansed. punishing troublemakers and clearing bad luck.
When is it done?
The ‘villain hitting’ ceremony is done during the month of March, which is also the bug and pest removing season in the country. It is believed that as Spring comes and the pests emerge from the ground, it is important to remove them so that the agriculture and crops are not affected. And with time, pest removal moved from the literal sense to another way of removing pest-like people from a person’s life.
How is the ritual done?
The ritual is only done by special practitioners, and these are all old-aged women, referred to as Grandmas. The person tells the grandma the name and date of birth of the person they want to remove from their life or even curse, and then that paper, with the name of the enemy, is hit multiple times with an old sandal or a piece of footwear till it is reduced to tatters. This is all done while chanting certain mantras to remove the evil and weaken its power.
After the beating, the paper is placed in a small shrine and burned, and the person who gave the name is also cleansed with positive energy so that they do not take any evil energies with them.
The benefits of ‘villain hitting’
While some people see this tradition as nothing more than a superstition, others put all their belief into the ritual and get a cleansing done every year, or even more than once a year. The hitting of the evil energy is kind of like a relief, even though it would be psychological for some, and helps them remove some form of anger towards that person.
And as some people believe in it wholeheartedly, when they see an elderly person hitting their enemy with a shoe, they believe that all bad luck has been eliminated and that life would be better now.
