The initiation ritual of the Thuggee (or Thugs, from the Hindi thag, meaning “deceiver” or “swindler”) is a subject deeply shrouded in colonial-era accounts, folklore, and sensationalism. Most detailed descriptions come from the confessions of captured Thugs in the 1830s, recorded by British administrators like Captain William Sleeman, who led the suppression campaign. These accounts must be approached with caution, as they may reflect a mix of authentic tradition, coerced testimony, and British projections of a vast “cult.”

According to these prevailing 19th-century sources, the initiation (known as “Guru Pooja” or the ceremony of the “Rumal”—the sacred handkerchief used for strangulation) was a solemn, religious act presided over by a senior Thug, usually a jemadar or guru.

Here is a description based on those historical accounts:

The Setting and Candidates

• The ceremony was held in a secluded spot, often a grove or ruin, away from inhabited areas.
• The initiate was typically a young man whose father and family were already Thugs, with the “trade” often passing through generations. Outsiders were rarely initiated.
• The ceremony was conducted by a senior Thug guru, with other experienced Thugs (bhuttotes, the stranglers) present as witnesses.

The Ritual Elements

1. Consecration of the Tool: The focal point was the rumal (yellow or white silk handkerchief) and the pickaxe (kussee or futteh). The pickaxe was considered the sacred tool of the goddess Kali (or Bhowani or Devi, depending on the region), whom the Thugs believed they served. The pickaxe was used to dig the graves of victims.
2. The Oath and Instruction: The guru would instruct the novice in the secret signs, slang (ramasi), and techniques of the Thugs. The initiate would take a solemn oath of secrecy, loyalty to the band, and obedience to the leaders. Breaking this oath was believed to incur the wrath of the goddess and result in a horrible death.
3. The Symbolic Meal (Sugar and Goor): A key part was the consumption of “goor” (unrefined sugar) and “ghee” (clarified butter), which had been consecrated on the pickaxe. The guru would place a piece of goor on the pickaxe’s blade, drip ghee over it, and then feed it to the initiate. This act symbolized the initiate’s binding to the goddess’s service. Some accounts describe a shared meal from a common dish, emphasizing brotherhood.
4. The Mock Strangulation: In many accounts, a critical ritual was the “trial of the rumal.” The guru or a senior Thug would perform a mock strangulation on the initiate using the sacred handkerchief. This was to teach the precise method (avoiding breaking the neck, aiming for quick suffocation) and to desensitize him. In some versions, the rumal was placed around the initiate’s neck but not tightened.
5. The First Kill (The “First Fruit”): Following initiation, the novice would be taken on an expedition. His first actual murder was highly ritualized. He would be assisted by experienced Thugs, and the victim’s blood was sometimes used to anoint the pickaxe. The success of this first kill was seen as the goddess accepting the offering.

Important Context and Caution

• Religious Justification: Thugs did not see themselves as common criminals. They believed they were performing a sacred duty to Kali, the goddess of destruction and creation. They considered murder their “trade” or “religious duty,” and their victims were predestined sacrifices. They never robbed before killing, as the killing was the primary ritual act; loot was a secondary “gift” from the goddess.
• Colonial Construction: Modern historians (like Kim A. Wagner and Martine van Woerkens) critically reassess Thuggee. They argue that while highway robbery and strangulation gangs certainly existed, the British inflated them into a massive, fanatical, and homogeneous religious conspiracy to justify extending control over India. The detailed, standardized initiation ritual may have been a composite created from various local gang practices and coerced confessions.
• Variation: Practices likely varied widely across different groups, regions, and time periods. The “classic” initiation described above is a synthesis from Sleeman’s records.

In summary, the Thuggee initiation, as historically recorded, was a potent blend of criminal apprenticeship and religious sacrament—designed to bind the initiate through oath, ritual, and shared guilt to a secret brotherhood that believed it acted with divine sanction. Its enduring image is a product of both genuine criminal practice and the colonial need to narrate and combat a terrifying “evil” within India.