Coconuts smashed on devotees in India

Over 1,000 devotees had coconuts smashed over their heads at the annual Hindu-Tamil festival of Aadi Perukku in Mettu Mahadanapuram.

Medical teams were on hand to stitch up head wounds for those who had been injured in the ritual, although devotees often refrained from seeking medical help, preferring to apply turmeric or sacred ash on the open wounds, in an effort not to offend the deities. 'The pain is nothing' said one devotee.