During the festival, throughout the country, Goddess Durga in all her manifestations is worshipped with abundant offerings and can be seen drenched in holy blood of animals that are sacrificed.[break]
Chandra Shekhar Karki
“A Sanskrit term used for animal sacrifice is bali, which means gift or tribute. The main significance of giving bali of animals is to rid yourself of all the negativity, bad habits and animal-ness that one has by sacrificing animals,” explains cultural expert Govinda Tandon who is also the Joint Secretary of Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT).
“This has been a ritual practiced since a long time. But it’s a debatable thing since how can sacrificing an animal be considered a pious thing?” he adds.
On Maha Asthami, the eighth day of Dashain, many orthodox Hindu families will sacrifice animals, mostly buffaloes, goats, ducks and hens in order to seek blessing and honor Goddess Durga, the goddess of victory. The night prior to Mahanawami is known as “kal ratri” when more than 100 buffaloes are sacrificed at the ‘Kot’ courtyard at Hanuman Dhoka.
In the darkness of the night, the animal sacrifices begin which continues till dawn. While the rituals are being carried out, feasts are held in the homes of many people who sacrifice animals and consume their meat as part of the celebrations.
“The main intention for animal sacrifice is to seek light but I believe that an act as such is in fact leading our society backwards. If such sacrifices during Kot Puja were supposed to lead the country towards progress, why hasn’t there been any development so far?” questions Tandon.
He mentions that the Upanishads and other religious texts mention that the ill practices of the society should gradually be removed. “It is important to have self-realization but even the state itself is promoting such practices. The religious texts have mentioned that vegetable oblations can replace animal sacrifices. But since it is a cultural issue, nothing has been changed so far,” he says.
Advocating animal rights and to stop cruelty against animals, many animal rights organizations and animal rights activists have been carrying out various campaigns to promote a ban on animal sacrifices. On the occasion of World Animals Day on October 4, Animal Network Nepal, along with various animal rights activists and organizations, participated in a walkathon from Basantapur Durbar Square to Patan Durbar Square with their theme, “Stop Animal Sacrifices.”
“In Hindu rituals, it has been mentioned that animal sacrifice is not a necessity as you can even offer vegetarian offerings like coconuts and flowers. But animals like goats, sheep, chickens, buffaloes are dragged throughout the streets and are sacrificed in innumerable numbers, which is just insane,” mentions animal rights activist Pramada Shah, President of Animal Nepal.
She talks about how temples are washed in blood of animals which is the cruelest thing to do in the name of religion. “I think most of the concept of our religion has been misinterpreted. How can torturing animals and sacrificing them be called a ritual and dharma?” she questions.
Shah says that just because those animals don’t have a voice doesn’t mean that they can be treated in the cruelest way. So it is important that we switch to offering coconuts and flowers instead of animals.
Though most families continue this ritual since they have been practicing it for a long time, there are some who defy this norm.
“I’m a Hindu too but I’m totally against the idea of animal sacrifices. But it is really difficult to convince our elder generations to stop this practice. As long as I remember, we have this ritual of sacrificing goat in my home every Dashain as they believe it to be a part of the ritual,” says Barun KC, 25, a student.
According to cultural expert Jayanta Sharma, also an Associate Professor at Balmiki Campus, animal sacrifices are offered as part of those gods who have special powers or shakti. So during Dashain, the practice of animal sacrifice is held throughout the country since Goddess Durga is the most popular incarnation of Devi and one of the main forms of the Goddess Shakti in the context of Hindu religion.
This is why deities such as Goddess Saraswati and LordGanesha are not offered animal sacrifices whereas temples like Manakamana and Dakshinkali are most famous for it.
“It has been mentioned in the Vedas that there should be occasional sacrifices to gods who possess power and it should occur once a year on in years. But with time, people started sacrificing animals at random times with the belief that their wishes will come true,” he says.
He further explains that in Hindu culture, if you follow the Tantric rituals, then you have to sacrifice animals but when you perform normal rites through Laukik rituals, you don’t need to sacrifice animals and can offer kubhindo and coconuts as an alternative.
But most people are still persistent about following the Tantric rituals and sacrifice animals as per the standard norms. According to Prerana Shah, founder of Dreams, an organization that works in rescuing and rehabilitating sick cows and bulls, most people misunderstand the concept of destroying the evil that is inside of each one of us. “Hinduism teaches us to nurture nature. It is not written anywhere that we have to sacrifice innocent animals to please Goddess Durga. So I would like to request people to be more humane and stop acting like devils,” she asserts.
Supporting her points, Uttam Kafle, program manager of Animal Nepal, mentions that on occasions like Kal Ratri, the government itself supports the cause so it is difficult to impose a ban on it. “People should be aware at individual levels as it is a cultural thing and an outsider telling them to stop a ritual they have been practicing since a long time won’t be pragmatic,” he says.
Animal Nepal recently organized a workshop on awareness of animal rights, including demanding stop of animal sacrifices where many young participants vowed that this Dashain they won’t participate in any form of animal sacrifices.
“I think animal sacrifice is the cruelest and most selfish means that people choose in order to celebrate. We say that God has created every living being equal and there’s discrimination even against animals. For example, we worship cows but at the same time some animals are sacrificed in order to appease God. So that’s just inhuman and insensible,” he says.
Kafle suggests that we need to work at individual level so that every person is aware and is conscious so that he decides from within to stop practicing mistreatment and sacrifice of animals.
“Slaughtering animals to conduct rituals is an act of violence that won’t help anyone. Since culture is a sensitive issue, we need to bring proper laws that ban such practices. We should educate children from their school level so that they are more aware,” suggests cultural expert Tandon.
Animal sacrifice has been a ritual practiced since time immemorial in Hindu culture. But cultural experts and animal rights activists argue that such a violent practice should be abolished from our culture. But the holy connotation of the ritual makes the issue highly debatable. However, considering vegetable oblations replacements for animal sacrifice can be a start in lessening the numbers of animals sacrificed in the name of religion and eventually putting an end to this practice.
Meat madness: What are the repercussions of overindulgence?
It is likely that during Dashain, every household you visit to receive tika will offer you non-vegetarian delicacies. The endless gatherings and get-togethers with your cousins and friends create plenty of reasons for you to indulge in goat meat which is considered one of the most important dishes of Dashain. But amidst all the celebrations and indulgence in good food, you also need to take care of your diet so that your health does not suffer after the festivities.
“The culture of having meat was just limited to special occasions like Dashain and a few other important events in the past as meat wasn’t easily accessible. But in the present context, in almost every locality, there are abundant meat shops and that makes it easy for people to opt to have meat quite regularly,” says Rashmi Shrestha, Clinical Dietician at KIST Medical College.
However, red meat comes with a fair share of risks, especially if it is not consumed in the right way. Also, red meat consumption needs to be kept within a certain limit.
Shrestha mentions that red meat has high level of saturated fat which is why it can lead to high cholesterol and high triglyceride in the long run. Both high cholesterol and high triglyceride can clog your arteries and increases the chances of having heart diseases and heart attacks. Since meat doesn’t contain fiber, people who consume it in large amounts may also suffer from constipation and indigestion.
Shrestha further adds that as soon as the fifteen-days-long Dashain festival and all the celebrations come to an end, there are many cases with high uric acid reported at her clinic. High uric acid is mainly caused by excessive intake of proteins and it is obvious that in times like Dashain, people usually tend to go overboard.
“People consume a lot of red meat and they also don’t drink enough water. Instead of having water, they switch to soft drinks which are high in phosphoric acid that makes the bones weak in the long run,” she explains.
Besides that, people also consume more alcohol and less water that further triggers many health ailments. Moreover, the Dashain time is full of rush since people visit houses of their relatives and eat at random hours. Due to that, they may also face problems of gastritis due to untimely intake of food and also due to consumption of oily food.
Studies have found out that those who consume red meat frequently in excess amounts are likely to be less active physically and more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI). Numerous studies over the years have also come up with findings that excessive amounts of red meat can develop certain kinds of cancer like breast cancer, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer, to name a few.
“So try to eat lean red meat that’s relatively low in fat. As much as possible, consume less of the variety of organ meat. It’s also very important to look at the quality of meat before consuming it. So buy meat only from trusted retailers so that the meat you purchase is fresh enough,” recommends Shrestha.
It is also not advisable to consume meat that have been defrosted and put into the freezer again. “Once defrosted, it’s better to finish it off because if you keep reheating the meat, the risk of germs in the meat multiplies by two,” she adds.
Besides consuming lean meat, people should also include green salads and fresh vegetables along with your meat delicacies so that it is digested properly. “Make sure to increase your intake of water as well so that you don’t have problems of indigestion later,” says Shrestha.
Along with the indulgence on good food during Dashain parties, it is equally important to take care of your diet. Good food is definitely a part of the celebrations, but one needs to make sure they stick to a certain limit to stay healthy and not have severe health repercussions later on.
The rising demand for mutton during Dashain
The Tukucha goat market at Bhrikuti Mandap and Kalanki in Kathmandu are crowded with people during the Dashain festival as the demand for goats is at an all-time high. During Dashain, there is an increase in demand for goats since they are necessary in sacrificing rituals to appease Goddess Durga and for consumption as well.
However, due to the lack of animal husbandry in Nepal, around 80% of the goats are imported from India.
“The goats comes from three main markets in India and are brought to Kathmandu via Nepalgunj, Birgunj and Krishnanagar,” informs Deepak Thapa, President of Nepal Livestock Traders’ Association. According to him, the import of goats began almost a week ago and there are currently 12,000 goats that have been brought to the khasi bazaar (mutton market) along with around 190 mountain goats.
He further mentions that it has been almost two decades that Nepal has been importing goats from India. “The demand gets very high during Dashain. The production from Nepal alone won’t cater to the need,” he adds.
“Most of the young population is going abroad and there are lesser youth left behind to work in the production of livestock and farming. Besides that, there seems to be little support from the government in livestock production. Because of all these reasons, we have to import goats from India,” he explains.
Goats are also brought to the capital from places like Salyan, Surkhet, Banke, Bardiya, Golpu, and Ramechap. Besides that, mountain goats are brought in mainly from Tibet and Mustang.
“It definitely affects the economy of the country when something that could’ve been produced in our own native land has to be imported. There should be proper support from the government and among the traders in order to produce goats as per the demand in our own country,” asserts Thapa.
One of the demands of the Livestock Traders’ Association is that the government must provide them land where they can sell livestock without any hassle. “The current land we use at Kalanki and Bhrikuti Mandap are on lease basis. We don’t mind paying the taxes but providing us land would be more practical in the long run,” he says.
Besides the Livestock Traders Association, Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) too has started selling goats for the Dashain festival at their outlets at Thapathali and Nakkhu, Lalitpur. NFC, however, does not import livestock from India in a bid to promote local production.
According to Shiva Hari Shrestha, General Manager of Nepal Food Corporation (NFC), they have already brought in around 2,800 goats from the mountainous belt of far-western regions like Surkhet, Nepalgunj, and Lahan.
“This year we’ll charging Rs 10 as tax per goat. Due to the rise of bird flu in the past, the demand for goat has increased as well. We got an order of 4,000 goats and within a few days, we’re planning to bring more goats to meet the demand,” he says.
Shrestha claims that the goats they sell are checked by veterinarians beforehand to ensure that the meat is fit for consumption.
“We don’t import from India or China because we believe that we should promote our own local farmers and traders. We’re trying to endorse our own local production,” says Shrestha.
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