BRAZIL: THE AMAZON TRIBE’S INCREDIBLY PAINFUL RITUAL
A tribe in Brazil uses a hand glove filled with hundreds of bullet ants (most painful stinging ants in the world) as an initiation rite for young men. The boy has to withstand it for up to 10 minutes and must do it 20 times before he is declared a man.
By the way, the ant got its “bullet” name because so many people compared the sting to being shot by a bullet.
What does it feel like to be bitten by a bullet ant?
A Paraponera sting feels more profound than the average insect sting. Like tissue or bone damage, it is a deep throbbing ache that crescendos over several hours. Unlike a honey bee sting, whose sharpness gives way quickly to a dull itch, the bullet ant’s sting is the gift that keeps on giving.