One man ended up going to the hospital after taking part in a ritual that involved being repeatedly stung by ants and it went just as well as you would expect.
Trying new things from different cultures can be vastly rewarding and fascinating, but I think I would sit this ritual out...
Hamish and Andy are an Australian comedy duo and have got up to a whole host of odd antics over the years but one certainly stands out, went Hamish decided to get stung by a bunch of ants.
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As part of a coming-of-age ceremony, the Sateré-Mawé people, who live deep in the Amazon have a ritual that is tough on the body and the mind.
According to National Geographic, boys as young as 12 must wear a pair of gloves filled with bullet ants for 10 minutes while performing a dance as the insects repeatedly sting them.
Hamish decided to give this a try, and he likely realllllllyyyy regrets that decision.
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In a video of the incident, posted on their YouTube page back in 2014, he immediately starts screaming as the ants start stinging and goes through a whole host of responses.
The Sateré-Mawé tell him he must simply dance through the pain.
Check it out:
Now while you might think Hamish’s reaction is a little bit much, it's certainly warranted when you know just what bullet ants are capable of.
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The reason they are even called bullet ants is due to their sting sensation allegedly feeling like a gunshot.
It is considered to be the most painful of all insect stings and to make things worse, in some parts of the world they are also known as the 24-hour ant due to this being the length of time a person may feel the pain from the sting.
The sting is supposedly sting is supposedly 30 times more painful than that of a bee and is even considered, by some, to be the most painful thing a human can experience.
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Andy brilliantly then decided to break down how his partner responded to the ceremony and it pretty much seems as painful as it looks.
Hamish went through six stages:
- Shrieking
- Refusal to dance
- Screaming/swearing
- Sweating
- Shaking
- Biting stick requests
And then after all that, he went to the hospital anyway, taking an hour long trip to the closest one available.
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Eight hours after being stung, Hamish simply called the experience ‘unbelievable’. But in truth, his screaming face says more than words ever could.
Gerrard Kaonga