Mizo church concerned about rise in devil worship among youths

Christians in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram are on the verge of a severe spiritual battle as an increasing number of tribal youths are embracing cults and engaging in devil worship in an apparent attempt to receive supernatural powers and perform miracles.

"The trend is very disturbing," Rev. Vanlalchhungah, Moderator of the Mizoram Presbyterian Synod said. "Through sermons, public meetings and other such platforms we have been trying to stop these evil practices from spreading further."

The Synod has also appointed a group of clerics from the Theological College in Aizawl to investigate the growing reports of youths invoking Satan in desolate cemeteries by offering blood sacrifices from self–inflicted wounds.

"The youths often slash their wrists with sharp blades and then suck or lick their own blood as a mark of offering to Satan. They seek miracles and supernatural power by invoking Satan," said Rev. L.H. Rawsealh, a faculty member of the Theological College investigating the weird practice.

According to Rev. Rawsealh, this cultic practice began as early as 2000 when some community elders and church leaders cited incidents of youths practicing such bizarre things inspired by television shows and films about the paranormal and the occult.

"Most of the cases that we have heard were being practised by youths who are drug addicts and influenced by films," said Reverend Chuauthuama, a senior church leader and a lecturer at the Theological College.

The revelations have shocked people in Mizoram, where close to 90 percent of the population are Christians.

"The art of black magic, demonology or maybe superstitious beliefs imbibed on these power hungry youths could be reasons," Rev. Chuauthuama said. In some places, the youths were reported to have desecrated church buildings and the pulpits, besides burning down Bibles.

"We estimate there could be about 300–400 such youths in Mizoram who are doing these things," Rev. Rawsealh said, adding that "some outside forces" could be "encouraging our youths to go astray."

About a dozen such youths were reformed in recent months by church leaders and local pressure groups like the Young Mizo Association, he said.

"We were told that one could attain supernatural powers and do wonders. When we were under the influence of drugs and alcohol, we literally believed we could do anything. But then in reality it is not," a reformed youth said on condition of anonymity.

Police said a group of young boys and girls were found invoking Satan by chanting hymns inside a cemetery late in the night with a monkey skull kept in the middle.

"'God is Satan' is what was written on the monkey skull and the group offered blood by slashing their wrist, besides pouring alcohol," the police official said.

Mizoram, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, is India's second highest literate state next only to Kerala. A majority of the Christians in Mizoram are Presbyterians.

There are an estimated 95 different Christian cults in Mizoram with strange practices – some of them do not allow their children to mingle with others and attend schools, while some of the sects claim their members to be gods.

The Mizo tribal people were animists until two British Baptist missionaries William Frederick Savidge and J.H. Lorrain first landed in the hills of Mizoram sometime in 1894.