Giant animal sacrifice in Nepal

Hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees have converged on a town in Nepal for a festival which is considered the world's largest animal sacrifice.

The Gadhimai festival, which happens once every five years, is taking place in Bariyapur in southern Nepal.

Over the next two days more than a quarter of a million animals are expected to be slaughtered for Gadhimai - a goddess of power. . .

Behind high brick walls, thousands of buffalo move silently through the winter fog.

They are the largest animals to be sacrificed, but goats, chickens, pigeons and rats will also be killed. . .

Two hundred and fifty local men have been given licences to slaughter the animals using traditional khukuri knives.

The knives are more commonly spelled "kukri" -- and are probably best known for their association with the Gurkhas (Wikipedia entry here). Article from the BBC; slideshow here.

Posted by David on November 24, 2009 9:34 PM