Hindu man having a hook attached to the muscles of his back to seek religious merit, Vārānasi , India, ca. 1920

"A man having a hook fastened into the muscles of his back preparatory to the "hook swinging sacrifice"." A man with his back facing the camera is having a hook attached to his back. There are other men standing around, including a man who is piercing the first man's back with the hook. This photograph is from an album prepared by W. K. Norton of The Pilgrims Mission, Benares [Vārānasi]