Animals slaughtered for rituals
Print Edition
HORDES of Hindu worshippers slaughtered thousands of animals in a remote corner of Nepal to honor their goddess of power, defying a chorus of protests from rights activists.
Sword-wielding devotees have poured into the village of Bariyapur near the Indian border which will become the world’s largest abattoir during the two-day festival, with animals ranging from buffaloes to rats butchered. “It is very festive here, everyone is excited,” said head priest Mangal Chaudhary at the slaughter site near a temple devoted to Hindu goddess Gadhimai.
Animal carcasses and severed heads were piling up in a large field near the village where thousands of devotees were carrying out the sacrifices.
“It is very bloody ... you can hear the animals moaning,” said Rameshwor Mehta, 50, who was waiting to offer his prayers.
Worshippers on the first day were sacrificing mainly buffaloes, thousands of which have been coralled into holding pens in the field, before moving on to other animals.
Sita Ram Yadav, a 55-year-old farmer, said the atmosphere was “like a carnival” with devotees packing the area.
“I am offering a goat to Gadhimai to keep my family safe. If you believe in her, she grants your wishes,” Yadav said.
Worshippers from Nepal and neighboring India have spent days sleeping out in the open and offering prayers to the goddess at a temple decked with flowers in preparation.
The festival kicked off at midnight amid tight security, with the ceremonial killing of a goat, rat, chicken, pig and a pigeon.
Some 1,200 police personnel were patrolling the village and the field where sacrifices were taking place to control crowds gathered to watch. Authorities have also banned the sale of alcohol during the festival.
An estimated 300,000 animals had their heads chopped off or throats slit during the last festival in 2009, making it the world’s biggest sacrifice of animals at any one site.
Animal rights activists accused temple authorities of “cashing in on people’s beliefs.”
“They are extorting money ... in the name of entry fees, parking, and so on,” said Manoj Gautam, president of Animal Welfare Network Nepal, who is in Bariyapur to protest against the ritual.
A campaign to ban the festival has attracted support from celebrities including British actress Joanna Lumley and French movie legend Brigitte Bardot, who has petitioned Nepal’s president to end the “cruel tradition.”
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