The Mexican Town Where Women Engage in Bloody Fist Fights to Call the Rain

Every year, in the month of May, the women from the Nahua village of Guerrero, Mexico, get together to beat the living daylights out of each other. All the blood they spill during the fight is collected in the bucket, and later used to plow and water their lands. The villagers believe that this strange ritual will bring rain and provide a bountiful harvest!

The festival, like many others in Mexico, combines Catholic and prehispanic tradition. On the first day, women will wake up early to make large quantities of food. They prepare turkey, chicken, rice, boiled eggs, POZOLE, mole, and tortillas, they take along with them in the yard fighting. On the official site, lay them on the food and decorate the room with flowers and turkey inflated bellies. They recite prayers to the Virgin Mary and the local rain god Tlaloc, after which it is time for the battle to begin.

The villagers stood in a circle, forming a ring of sorts, waiting for their opponents to come from neighboring communities. The village of La Esperanza and El Rancho Las Lomas, in particular, have a long standing rivalry - they fight in a field that lies on the border between the two cities. When everyone has arrived, the women will begin to seek out competition, challenging them to fight. The older women, the seasoned warrior, provoke younger girls to get into the ring and spill some blood.

When the opponent is decided, the women will get in the ring and face each other, tying up their hair and taking off their jewelry. One of them throws the first punch, the crowd begins to cheer, and pretty soon, a bloody battle was conducted. The woman did not seem to care about winning, all they want is to reveal and collect as many blood as possible. They may ask for a time out to clean their nose bloodied, but they'll get right to the punching when they are done. Men and children sometimes join in as well, and the fighting will continue until dark, after which everyone hugs each other and head back home.

Why women are doing all the fighting, and not the people, you ask? According to Vice Magazine, farmers were out tending their land, so the task is left to the women and children.

Professor David Delgado of Chapingo University, spent 12 years studying the harvest festival, believes fighting ritual can be traced back to the Aztecs. "It was originally linked to the beginning of the harvest of maize," he explained. "The other important issue here is the symbol. The people here are three communities formed and when one would take to the turf of others, they will compete with one another. So they say that because of their clash, took the god Tlaloc the rain on them. "

"Two of these communities started a sort of contest to see who can get water from behind Tlaloc," he added. "Escape to the hill. So they went up and stole the water, but they started fighting for them when they came down. And so they say that the fights are held on this day since then. They every drop of blood is a drop of water, and consequently standing tradition. "

The annual parade Tigrada - celebrated in May in the main town of Zitala, Chilapa, and Acatlan - features many other rituals, all centered around praying for rain. People are put in jaguar clothing and beat each other with whips. They also organize dance and other offerings, but the main purpose of the festival is to reveal their blood and offer it in exchange for rain.

Believe it or not, it is not only the bloody festival in the world. Each year, the community of Peru holds Takanakuy Chumbivilcas, a festive event where people get to resolve their differences with the old fashioned way, with punches and kicks. However, as the fighting women of Guerrero, combatants shake hands and walk away on good terms after the battle.

However, both the violent traditions pale in comparison to GOTMAR Mela, a century-old stone throwing fight between two rival Indian village. Held every year, the event leaves hundreds injured and even death.