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1970s Sri Lanka Suspensions

Posted in rituals, video by jason
Aug 08 2011
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Update: Allen posted this video on Tumblr and wondered when it was actually shot, so I did some more googling and found that this video isn’t actually from the 70’s, instead it’s most likely from 1985, or so this article makes it seem.


Doing some youtube searching, as I’m wont to do on occasion and I came across an older video of human suspensions being performed in Sri Lanka. A Professor Carlo Fonseka takes the opportunity to show that suspension does not take magic or religious devotion to achieve and goes on to show a (presumed) scientist being suspended from six hooks in a superman position. This video is most likely from the late 1970’s as that is when the professor was waging a war of science vs gods, and his main opponent was the Hindu deity Kataragama, whose devotees are known for firewalking and flesh suspensions. Kataragama is also known as Lord Murugan to the Tamil people of India, which is the same deity exalted during Thaipusam.


Despite knowing that religious devotion is not necessary for rituals such as suspension, I still personally find it much more interesting within that context. We in the modern suspension community know that it’s mind over matter, not religious devotion which allows us to suspend, but I personally hope that all of us remember where these rituals originate.

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Last reply was 24 April 2012
  1. orb
    View 8 August 2011

    Excellent article.
    I remember seeing this a while ago, and remember laughing to myself a little over the ‘hooks being sterilized’ part (not so much over the piercing procedure).

  2. Mandic
    View 8 August 2011

    So neat to see that. I want to make a hundred jokes, but I just don’t care, it was cool.

    But apparently we are all miracle performers and miraculous people, ha.

  3. kari
    View 11 August 2011

    i am a very spiritual person and suspending has never been just for kicks. it’s one of the greatest tools i have yet encountered for learning about myself…but i am SO thankful those guys weren’t throwing hooks for me…and jealous of that guy swinging at the end…that looked fun. :]

  4. jason
    View 11 August 2011

    I’m absolutely interested in the method they use for inserting the hooks, to the point where I’m going to witness similar Tamil suspensions in the next 3 weeks and am hoping to get the opportunity to discuss the procedure with them and take that knowledge with me to hopefully try the methods on myself.

  5. Alan
    View 24 April 2012

    Thanks for finding this! Very cool!

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