Hindu women perform a ritual known as Aarti around a Shivling (a symbol of Lord Shiva) on the last day of Jaya Parvati Vrat festival in Ahmedabad, India, July 10, 2017. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)
Police officers hold a revolver as they offer prayers to their weapons as part of a ritual at their headquarters on the occasion of Dussehra, or Vijaya Dashami, festival in Ahmedabad, India, October 8, 2019. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)
A relative performs rituals for a man who died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), before his cremation at a crematorium in New Delhi, India, November 19, 2020. (Photo by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)
Local priests celebrate the “Aimara New Year”, an Andean Bolivian traditional festival that marks the winter solstice in El Alto, Bolivia, 21 June 2016. Aimara or Aymara means the Return of the Sun. (Photo by Martin Alipaz/EPA)
Iconaster longimanus, the icon star or double star, is a species of starfish in the family Goniasteridae. It is found in the west and central Indo-Pacific Ocean. The genus name comes from the Greek eikon, meaning portrait or image and possibly referring to the way the marginal plates frame the disc, and aster, meaning star. The specific name comes from the Latin longus manus and refers to the long, slender arms.
Polar Bear club swimmers take their annual swim in the sea at Coney Island in New York City on January 1, 2014. (Photo by Curtis Means/ACE/INFphoto.com)
Tattoos are commonly used among criminals to show gang membership and record the wearer's personal history—such as his or her skills, specialties, accomplishments and convictions. They are also used as a means of personal expression. Certain designs have developed recognized coded meanings. The code systems can be quite complex and because of the nature of what they encode, the tattoo designs are not widely recognized.
A man poses with his water buffalo during “Mekepung” traditional water buffalo race on July 28, 2013 in Jembrana, Bali, Indonesia. Meaning “to chase around”, Mekepung was originally designed as a fun game for peasants to spend their free time when the harvest time was ended, as they were waiting for the start of the planting season. (Photo by Putu Sayoga)