BARIYAPUR, Nepal -- The largest festival of animal sacrifice was held successfully in Baryapur,100 miles south of Kathmandu on November 24th in spite of nu- merous national and international pleas to halt what many perceive as a gruesome, cruel and outdated tradition.
The 2-day festival which is held every 5 years attracts up to a million devotees of of Gadhimai - the Hindu goddess of power.
The festival was born 260 years ago when feudal land- lord Bhagwan Chaudhary saw in his dreams that his problems would be solved by killing an animal and offer- ing it to goddess Gadhimai.
At least 80% of the attendees of the festival are Indian coming from the nearby states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Animal sacrifice has been made illegal in their respective states.
The festival commenced in the morning hours with the chief priest offering blood to the goddess inside the temple. Afterwords the festival moved to a nearby enclosure where 250 men with the license to kill were let loose on 20000 buffalo's herded up in a nearby enclosure.
Hundreds of thousand devotees who have been waiting since the early morning hours to enter the temple be- lieve that the killing of the animals will bring them prosperity and avert evil forces.
Animal rights groups, activists and politicians from around the world attempted to put a stop to the tradition.
Nepal's president Dr Ram Baran Yadav and prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal ignored all appeals and responded through an official with the following remark: “We will not interfere in the centuries-old tradition of the people.”
The Nepalese Health Minister Umakanta Chaudhari turned up at the site under heavy protection and took part in the worship.
Over 1100 security personal were employed to the festival site due to fear of interference by activist.
The festival organizers reportedly hoped to attempt a new world record by sacrificing more than 500000 animals.
Following the festival the meat, bones and hides of the sacrificed animals were sold to processing and tannery companies in India and Nepal. - Ingmar Zahorsky/ CHINAsia Update
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment