Animal Sacrifices and the Temples of Gore.
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Ritualistic Animal slaughter at Kamakhya temple - Assam
Its interesting that almost all the religions of the world decided that the best way to appease their Gods was to butcher hapless animals to them. Apart from reasons of piety, I suspect it had something to do with guilt. Taking another animals life for food may have looked a bit selfish. Therefore as in most things, men decided why not do it in the name of God? You get to eat the meat and God takes all the blame for the blood and gore.
The Bible, the Koran and the Hindu scriptures have elaborate instructions on not only what animals should be slaughtered but how they should be put to the gallows. The Old Testament God for example got miffed at the slightest human peccadillos and had to be pacified by `burnt offering’ of animals. The Book of Leviticus quotes him on how he wanted the fattest of heifers to pacify his quick temper.
He was also not averse to asking for human sacrifice and Prophet Abraham almost knifed his only son Isaac on these `Godly’ instructions. Jesus Christ’s crucifixion is seen by many Christians as the ultimate human sacrifice for us `sinners’. (Its not a coincidence that Jesus is often referred to as the `lamb’ in the New Testament).
The temple priest leads a baby goat to its slaughter at Kamakhya temple, Guwahati, Assam.
As for Islam it has especially dedicated Eid-ul-Adha – as the `festival of sacrifice’ when thousands of goats, cows and sheep are slaughtered in a single day. This is again to commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son to God. On Eid-ul-Adha , Abraham is venerated for not listening to Satan who tried to dissuade him with his `evil’ advise of sparing his son but going with the `divine’ voice that goaded him to kill him in ritual sacrifice.
But its perhaps in Hinduism where animal sacrifices form an integral part of worship to this day. No wonder then that animals are slaughtered within the temple complex itself. Kamakhya temple in Guwahati Assam is famous for such sacrifices where devotees bring small lambs to their slaughter on a daily basic. There are five temple priests at Kamakhya who do this job in a chillingly efficient way.
The poor lamp has no idea of its fate until it sees the severed heads and pools of blood. It makes one heart rending bleat as one priest holds it over the chopping block and the other brings down the hatchet. Within minutes the animal is skinned, debowled and cut into small chunks and handed over to the owner. The priests get to keep the heads for their effort.
Animal Sacrifice at Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati Assam, One priest drags the baby goat to the chopping block and the other waits with the hatchet. While the the man who brought the hapless animal to appease the Goddess looks on.
Those who cannot afford goats bring pigeons. But the richer and more `pious’ men bring buffaloes. Almost 3 to 4 buffaloes are sacrificed at Kamakhya every month and dozens of them are slaughtered during Durga Puja festivities.
Kamakya temple dedicated to Goddess Sati has been notorious for its sacrifices. It was not too far back in history when human sacrifices were rumored to take place here. Bimakali temple, in the picturesque town of Sarahan in Himachal Pradesh was another temple where human sacrifices took place right uptill the 18th century. The humans have now been replaced by goats and occasionally buffaloes.
But perhaps the goriest of all the animal sacrifices happen during the Gadhimai festival in Southern Nepal. It’s a month long festival which is held once in every five years. In 2009 more than 5,00,000 animals were slaughtered in the ritualistic bloodbath to please goddess Gadhimai.
Human sacrifices took place in this serene tribal town of Sarahan in Himachal right uptil the 18th century.
Dear Sanjay,
A fine piece of writing and photography. Animal slaughter also takes place at Bhima Kali Temple located in Kumarsain, where the Pooja is held every four years, and hundreds of goats, a hen and even a baby calf is slaughtered in the name of God. In all seven kind of ‘Bali’ is given to appease the Godess Kali.
Hi Bhupal, Thanks for the information. I did not know about the temple in Kumarsain. In fact i think almost every temple in Himachal is used for some sort of sacrificial prayer by devotees.
As surprising as it may sound, the IT capital of World if I can say so..our own Bangalore is a city with many such temples where animals [chickens for sure] are sacrificed every day. It hurts me a lot to see that animals are killed in the temple premises in the name of the Goddess who is considered as mother. Till today I am baffled by my own people. How can a mother provide happiness to one child by the murder of her other innocent children…..This is about Bangalore.
Once I asked the priest how could he kill a child in front of it’s mother he just had no reply and all I could see was a utterly confused face. I was happy that the priest did not have a justification
Now coming to Udupi one of the holiest place in India, birth place of Madhvacharya, Dwaita philosophy and believers of vegetarianism in the worship of Lord Krishna and a history of over 1000 years of daily worship…an unbroken tradition. The same place also has age old tradition of Bhooota Pooja where in to appease the Bhoota animals are sacrifised.
How can God who is limitless , infinite by pleased by blood and life of innocent animals which ultimately ends up satisfying the taste buds of people.
This is very true and sad as well that how smartly humans use the Gods as Shield to protect themselves from the Sin ….
In Kullu in Dusherra festival 7 animals are slaughtered in the name of Gods at the last day which is very big ceremony and thousands of kulluites join them in the ceremony where the king of kullu performs this …..
Hi Panki, thanks for sharing this. I think especially in the hills we have a macabre culture of sacrificing animals at any festivity. It happens in almost all village in Shimla district at least.
I was once talking to the purohit of bhima Kali who explained how they got people for sacrifices. They used of fool and drug people in various local fairs and then push them in a ditch in the lankara veer temple in the complex itself. Commoners are not allowed to enter that part of the temple. And also in Kumarsen were a festival takes place after every few years. They give the sacrifice of a big buffalo and photography is prohibited for obvious reasons.
In another event, some kinnauri devta askes for sacrifices after every few miles while he visits his sister, hateshwari mata in jubbal. No other sacrifice is allowed there at hatkoti and the matter of sacrifice went till supreme court and later it was said that the locals should solve their religious disputes themselves.
In ancient times the sacrifices started to make the god powerful so that he later fulfils your desire. It started with milk products and fruits and then when wishes were not fulfilled they started animal sacrifices as it will make god powerful.
This method is mentioned in rigveda or Yahirvaveda, I don’t rememeber exactly.
Himanshu.. i find it interesting that only Himachalies have commented on this post and that to one after the other. I think it goes on to show how much animal sacrifices go on in our state still. In our apple belt in Baghi – Ratnari- there is now a trend to sacrifice goats to stop the hail. It is done religiously every year even though it has never stopped anything.
Interestingly I am not from Himachal
.. totally Deelhi wala.. my parents belongs to UP. Even in our family we have such a ritual.. which is highly private event when it is practiced in urban area like Delhi.
My wife is from Pouri Garwal district, even they have Puja in their village which happens once in 3 year, where every family in village presents animals to their local God.
excellant pics. but i must say that giving sacrifice of animals is not at all allowed in the Hindu Religion. the priest just offers the animal to the God or Goddess by chanting mantra. but it is we humans who cut it just to satisfy our tongue. we bring masalas and other such stuffs to cook it before we go to temple or offer prayers to God. day by day we humans are becoming demonic in nature
What’s the big deal about sacrificing animals in a temple? After all, the meat will end up satiating someone’s hunger. And it’s a much better way to kill an animal than in the modern-day meat factories where animals remain captive in overcrowded cages, wallow in their own shit, are filled with antibiotics, are artificially impregnated and then killed using the most modern machinery and in much greater numbers than all such sacrifices in temples combined. The ecological cost of producing food in such manner is huge. All done in the name of progress, backed by science and nothing to do with religion.
You seem to be barking up the wrong tree if you’re really concerned about the killing of animals for food, but it’s understandable that you’re burnishing your “secular” and “liberal” credentials by targeting low-hanging fruit.
Amrit.. no big deal really. Butcher shops are far gory. Its just a question of aesthetics I guess. One would not generally expect bleating goats and decapitated heads near a house of worship.
Kalighat in Kolkata is another example.. the practice seems to have survived the Bengali renaissance and communist rule.
There is a temple in a small place called Nartiang in Meghalaya. It is a Durga temple and believed to be one of the 51 Shakti Peeth. The temple had the tradition of a human sacrifice and it continued till the British cam e and banned it. Today, a black goat is offered for sacrifice.
Dear all,
it’s chilling to read different views and objectives at different temples. on one hand, it is said that to go to heaven we should do good, and painful rebirth are due to karmic retribution. it is prevalent even in the hindu mythology. i believe human beings are misguided through such a mal practice of sacrifices. taking lives of poor animals is a sight of pitiful even to human beings, what to talk of gods who are supposed to be generous and compassionate. i feel even the gods might have been fearing to see human beings killing animals in their name.
i wish these traditions could turn to offering of fruits and flowers, so that it looks pleasing even to the most illiterate humanbeing
I have witnessed a few of these and trust me, it is pure cruelty. We are in the modern age now. Once people used to sacrifice humans, then animals, now why should they continue this barbaric behaviour? Look at the pics, those animals also have feelings like us, how would it feel seeing blood and heads of its kind all over the walls and the floor? They cry before they are killed. It’s not like they are evil that people kill them, humans are actually evil for comitting all these deeds!
What is beyond understanding is how can killing lead us to heaven? Isn’t it the total opposite? As per the so-called Vedas, blood was spilled to quench the thirst of the earth-goddess whom we reap for our benefit (again beyond any rational). So, when we have cut the forests, given land to SEZ, do not sow or plough, whose thirst are we quenching? It is strange that we are allowing the Ganga to die, creating pollution, raping the very earth, playing with nature and then killing innocent animals to achieve moksha!
सूअर के बच्चे है जो गलती से इन्सान बन गए
I am not delving down the intricacies of Tantrik practices,for they are too enigmatic with me. But I want to show a tadbit of pragmatism. Nowadays,a great percentage of folks who visit such religious places are heart patients. Though I am not one,still,I am kinda hematophoebic.So is it really necessary to drench a holy and sanctified place with blood and gore? A temple should be pervaded with pleasant odors of flowers,burnt incense-sticks,camphor and ghee offerings,which sooth the devotees’ minds and immediately evoke the feeling of godliness. BUT spilling blood,heart-wrenching cries,gruesome spectacles do nothing but harass the weak-hearted devotees. So can this practice not be banned? We should really get a life.
No! God says to offer them the blood of their own creatures to distroy. Can be destory our house.. The holly peoples did there sacrifies to save their other creature..So please don’t do this crule act at holly places..Please let them live free on name of ALlAh , Jesus…and all the gods ….