5 Unbelievable Spiritual Shrines You Never Knew Existed
From Tortillas to Fanta — the Surprising World of Spiritual Beliefs
Unexpected shrines around the world are unique and sometimes bizarre places of worship that may surprise travelers with their unusual locations, offerings, or devotees.
Countless shrines, are found all over the world — they are often devoted to a particular deity, person, or thing with significant cultural or historical value.
Visiting these unexpected shrines can offer a fascinating glimpse into the diversity and richness of global religious traditions.
1. Thai Spirits And Their Love Of Red Fanta
Around the world, various unexpected shrines reflect the unique spiritual beliefs of different cultures.
Take Thailand, for example, where belief in ghosts is commonplace and taken seriously.
Unlike in the United States, where only a third of people admit to believing in ghosts, Thai people are more actively engaged with their spiritual leanings.
For many Thais, believing in ghosts also means dealing with them, and the easiest way to appease a spirit is by offering it food and drink.
Interestingly, one of Thailand’s most popular ghost treats is Red Fanta — a strawberry-flavored soda.
You can find cups and bottles of it at shrines all around the country, with bottles even having straws in them for the convenience of thirsty spirits. But why Red Fanta, you may wonder?
The answer is, however, not exactly clear; still, it appears to be a combination of several aspects.
For one, sweetwater offerings are common practice for many spirits, and soda fits that bill quite nicely.
Furthermore, the red color of the drink draws inspiration from Chinese culture, where red is considered a lucky color.
In Thai culture, blood represents both fertility and sacrifice, which may also explain color choice.
Ultimately, the popularity of Red Fanta as a ghost offering caught on and became the shrine offering of choice in Thailand.
It is now the fourth-largest market for Fanta in the world.
2. Sex Shrine Of Mount Kemukus
When exploring unexpected shrines around the world, one fascinating story that comes to mind is that of Mount Kemukus in Indonesia, colloquially known as Sex Mountain.
This shrine attracts Muslim pilgrims in search of wealth, good fortune, and other desirable blessings.
However, the way to obtain these blessings is quite surprising.
At the top of the mountain sits a small shrine, and those who worship there are promised wealth and good fortune if they engage in sexual activity every 35 days, for seven consecutive times.
The catch?
They cannot have sex with their spouse. Many individuals reportedly opt for anonymous encounters instead.
The practice was well-known in the local community for a while, but when it was brought to the notice of the world, it caused quite the stir.
Many of the more conservative or simply reserved locals were uncomfortable with the area being labeled as a “sex pilgrimage” destination.
And some even attempted to shut down the shrine or prohibit sexual activity there, which unfortunately ended up harming the local economy.
3. Shrine Of Miraculous Tortilla
People frequently build shrines in celebration of miraculous happenings, but what exactly counts as a miracle is still up for debate.
For Maria Rubio, the answer came to her in 1977 while making a bean burrito, when she saw the face of Jesus in her tortilla.
At the time, seeing religious figures in food was a new phenomenon, and Rubio and her family quickly became famous (and infamous) after appearing on TV.
While some laughed them off, others held the tortilla up as a miracle. Seeing The business booming the family even converted their house into a shrine for the tortilla, drawing tourists from all around the world.
The Rubio family preserved the tortilla for nearly three decades, until it eventually disintegrated, as all ancient tortillas tend to do.
But their story is just one of many unexpected shrines around the world, where people have created memorials to honor the extraordinary and the divine.
4. Hemorrhoid Shrine
Have you ever heard of a shrine dedicated to hemorrhoids?
It might not be something you’d anticipate finding on a list of holy sites around the globe; however, in Japan, there is a shrine called the Kunigami Shrine in the Tochigi Province that is dedicated to curing hemorrhoids.
The gods known as kami in the Shinto belief system are renowned for their sense of humor and enjoyment of a good joke, particularly when it involves jokes about butts.
That’s where the Kunigami Shrine comes in — it’s a place where people can go to honor and pay reverence to their hemorrhoids.
The ritual at the shrine involves bathing in a holy river, then visiting the shrine and pointing your butt towards a holy egg while saying a prayer.
Some people even go so far as to shake their bums at the shrine itself in hopes of banishing their hemorrhoids for good.
No matter how many Shinto Shrines are there in Japan and what their devotion is — there is only going to be one Kunigami Shrine, the only Hemorrhoids Shrine there is and maybe ever will be.
5. Dobby From The Harry Potter Series
The world is full of surprising shrines dedicated to characters and icons that have left a lasting impact on popular culture.
One such example is the shrine dedicated to the beloved Harry Potter character, Dobby, the house elf.
Dobby has a powerful influence on the emotions of millions of followers, even when it is a fictional character from a book or movie series.
One thing is clear the shrine is built in his honour and memory at Freshwater Beach in Pembrokeshire.
Dobby was a character who both bothered Harry and his pals and helped them, and his untimely passing was perhaps the most touching scene in the series.
Dobby’s ultimate resting place in the movies was at Freshwater Beach, which has since turned into a popular destination for Harry Potter, devotees from all over the world.
The shrine itself is a simple pile of stones, with one stone reading, “Here lies Dobby, a free elf.”
The stones are interspersed with socks, a nod to the garment that allowed Dobby to gain his freedom.
While the shrine is not particularly elaborate, it speaks to the deep connection that fans have with this fictional character.
Surprisingly, now that the shrine’s popularity has increased, worries about its potential effects on the neighbourhood’s environment have arisen.
Freshwater Beach is a protected conservation area, and the National Trust has asked visitors to refrain from leaving rocks and socks at the site to protect the native wildlife.
Final Words
Surprising shrines across the world provide a fascinating look at the diversity of cultural and religious views that the people around the world have.
These unexpected and often unconventional places of worship serve as a testament to the enduring power of faith and the human spirit.