A Ritual Bloodbath in One of the Most Spiritually “Peaceful” Countries on the Globe
This coming November, over 300,000 animals are to be ritually sacrificed in southeastern Nepal.
Hidden in the modest village of Bariyarpur is a temple to the goddess Gadhimai that awaits her quinquennial festival in which buffalos, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, pigeons and rats are brought to the slaughter.
While many travel to Nepal to marveling at the natural beauty and seek a state of spiritual tranquility, the ritual Hindu blood bath is unpardonably permitted by the government and is increasing in numbers every five years.
Animal Welfare Network Nepal (AWNN) is single-handedly working at the local level to see that Gadhimai November 2014 is not the same as years past.
Wait! Aren't Many Hindus Vegetarian? What's the origin of Gadhimai?
Both India and Nepal's populations are majority Hindu. Gadhimai's participants primarily originate from the southeastern region of Nepal and along the eastern Indian border near the district of Bara, making the festival specific to that area.
The festival's name, Gadhimai, stems from a goddess whose temple is situated near the quaint village of Bariyarpur. Sacrifices are made to her, as she fulfills wishes and augurs good luck and prosperity throughout the five years between the festivals.
According to legend a feudal landlord, Bhagwan Chaudhary, was imprisoned around 260 years ago when a dream befell upon him that he would be freed of all his sorrow and suffering after making a blood sacrifice to Gadhimai. Immediately following his release from prison, Chaudhary took counsel from the local village healer whose descendant, Dukha Kachadiya, started the ritual with drops of his own blood from five parts of his body. It is stated that a "radiant light appeared" and the gruesome sacrifice began...
Throughout its history, the blood of millions of animals has spilled in the name of Gadhimai (see video).
Thousands of Men, Women, and Children come from all over Nepal and India The devotees arrive days or even weeks before the festival, carrying their bare essentials and sacrificial animals, to set up makeshift small tents on the harvested paddy fields around the periphery of the small village of Bariyarpur.
Many of the families cover vast distances to partake in this religious occasion, with thousands entering into Nepal from India, despite the Indian government prohibition against crossing the border with any livestock.
Due to poor sanitation, unregulated importation of livestock, and the culmination of blood and human and animal waste lingering throughout the village for weeks, it is thought zoonotic diseases entered Nepal in 2009 as a result of the previous tumultuous festival.
On the day of slaughter, thousands of buffaloes are pent-up in a compound the size of two football fields, surrounded by a brick wall -- unaware of their destiny, their inescapable fate. The other hundreds of thousands of animals are unmethodically slaughtered throughout the entire village.
Many of the animals, already weakened by the long journey die from exhaustion, starvation or dehydration before being hacked by hundreds of drunken-blood covered men with large kukuris (swords) in hand.
It's A Race To Stop Gadhimai. Sensitization and Education Needs to Expand. How Can You Help?
The major hurdles in stopping Gadhimai are time and resources. Local activists are utilizing the finite amount of days and means, aggressively working on the ground to foster action from educational awareness within the local community.
While Gadhimai is increasing in number of sacrifices and participants due to growing road development and exposure from media and communication, so too is a sense of progressivism and openness to understand the side of opposition that has had a loud voice since the 2009 festival.
In Bara District, there are two of 99 village development committees: Bariyarpur and Gunjbhawanipur, where Animal Welfare Network Nepal (AWNN) is engaging locals in workshops, educating participants on animal welfare, and partaking in dialogue regarding the sacrifice.
Presently AWNN conducts workshops daily with an average of 100 participants, including women and children. By November, AWNN will have engaged the total VDC population of about 10,000 people, from which 40 percent will be mobilized in stopping Gadhimai. To broaden our chances of ending Gadhimai before November 2014, AWNN must provide the workshops to over 70 percent of the entire Bara District.
Donate and Act Now!
Click below and forward a letter to the Nepali department of Culture, Tourism and Aviation as well as the Ministry of Agricultural Development Department of Livestock Services and its Quarantine Officer to cease Gadhimai 2014.
To broaden our voice, tweet #stopanimalsacrifice and #Gadhimai, follow us on AWNN.org and Facebook, and foster more awareness of this tragic event scheduled to take place in less than half a year.
