Naked, unmarried girls plough the fields to embarrass the gods into sending rain

Farmers in drought-stricken Bihar have asked their unmarried daughters to embarrass the weather gods into sending the badly needed monsoon rains by ploughing the fields naked.

According to witnesses, with a little help from elderly female relatives, the naked girls ploughed the fields and, after sunset, chanted ancient hymns to invoke the gods, reports the China Daily.

"They [the villagers] believe their acts will get the weather gods badly embarrassed, who in turn will ensure bumper crops by sending rains," Upendra Kumar, a village council official, said from Bihar's remote Banke Bazaar town.

"This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains heavily," he said.