• Tibetan Buddhists perform sacred dances in India

    Kevin Frayer / AP

    A novice Buddhist monk of the Drukpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage enters a temple for prayers during the annual festival of sacred dances at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, northern India, Nov. 12, 2012.

    EDITOR'S NOTE: Images made available to NBC News on Nov. 16.

    Kevin Frayer / AP

    Buddhist monks of the Drukpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage wait to perform a "bone dance" ritual during the annual festival of sacred dances at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, northern India, Nov. 12. The sacred dances are a purification ritual that Tibetan Buddhists believe will rid the world of negative obstacles.

    Kevin Frayer / AP

    Buddhist monks of the Drukpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage perform a dance ritual during the annual festival of sacred dances at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, northern India, Nov. 12. The sacred dances are a purification ritual that Tibetan Buddhists believe will rid the world of negative obstacles.

    Kevin Frayer / AP

    A Buddhist monk of the Drukpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage yawns as he sits with other monks during a break at an annual festival of sacred dances at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, northern India, Nov. 11.

    Kevin Frayer / AP

    Buddhist monks of the Drukpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage blow traditional horns during the annual festival of sacred dances at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, northern India, Nov. 12.

    Kevin Frayer / AP

    Buddhist monks of the Drukpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage play instruments during the annual festival of sacred dances at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, northern India, Nov. 12.

    Kevin Frayer / AP

    Buddhist monks of the Drukpa Tibetan Buddhist lineage perform prayers before the annual festival of sacred dances at the Hemis monastery in Ladakh, northern India, Nov. 12.

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  • Christian pilgrims immerse in Jordan River

    Christian pilgrims take part in a group baptism in the waters of the Jordan River at Yardenit in northern Israel, Oct. 3, 2012.

    Uriel Sinai / Getty Images — An estimated 100,000 Christian worshippers make their pilgrimage to the Holy Land each year. One of the most sacred rituals is being immersed in the biblical river where, according to Christian beliefs, Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.

    See more images related to Christianity on PhotoBlog

    Christian pilgrims take part in a baptism in the waters of the Jordan River at Yardenit in northern Israel, Oct. 3.

    A Christian pilgrim immerses himself in the waters of the Jordan River at Yardenit in northern Israel, Oct. 3.

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  • Shiva devotees perform ritual in New Delhi, India

    Kanwarias carry water from the River Ganges in New Delhi, India on July 10, 2012.

    Text and photos by Kevin Frayer / AP

    Kanwarias worship the Hindu God of Shiva. Kanwarias perform a ritual pilgrimage during the Hindu lunar month of Shravana by walking the roads of India, clad in saffron, carrying ornately decorated canisters of water from the Ganges River, believed to be sacred, over their shoulders. The devotees take the water back to Hindu temples in their hometowns. Read more about this ritual here

    Kanwarias, worshippers of Hindu God Shiva, dance to devotional songs in New Delhi.

    A Kanwaria walks with others in a pilgrimage in New Delhi.

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  • Saeed Khan / AFP - Getty Images

    A Hindu devotee carries a milk pot, known as "kavadis", for pilgrims near the Batu Cave before sunrise during the Thaipusam festival outside the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 20. The Hindu festival of Thaipusam, which commemorates the day when Goddess Pavarthi gave her son Lord Muruga an invincible lance with which he destroyed evil demons, is celebrated by some two million ethnic Indians in Malaysia. The centerpiece of the celebration is held at Batu Caves, where worshippers pierced with hooks and skewers in their tongues, cheeks, chests and backs shoulder heavy structures called kavadis as they walk barefoot up the temple's 272 steps in a form of penance.

    Hindu devotee at Thaipusam festival in Malaysia

    By Elena Grothe

    We posted some Thaipusam festival images earlier today. Here's one that looks less painful.

  • Hindus observe the festival of Thaipusam in India

    By Mish Whalen

    According to Reuters: Thousands of Hindus participate in the annual festival whereby devotees subject themselves to painful rituals in a demonstration of faith and self punishment. Hindus believe they are cleansed of all sins and their misdeeds can be redeemed by observing prayers during Thaipusam. Read more about this festival. 

    Stephen Morrison / EPA

    A devotee with a large cheek piercing leaves Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple during the Thaipusam Festival in Singapore on January 20, 2011.

    Sivaram V / Reuters

    Hindu devotees with their tongues pierced, take part in a procession as part of the Thaipusam festival in the southern Indian city of Kochi on January 20, 2011.

    Stephen Morrison / EPA

    A devotee with metal nail sandals leaves Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple during the Thaipusam Festival procession in Singapore, on January 20, 2011.