Graphic Photos: More 5,000 Buffalo lie Slaughtered for Hindu ceremony to bring Worshippers good luck

Chop, chop: A butcher wields his kukri, a traditional Nepalese knife, over a buffalo calf right before severing its head

More than 5,000 animals lie slaughtered as Nepal celebrate religious festival where buffalo, birds and goats are sacrificed to appease a Hindu goddess for good luck.

 

Millions of Hindus flock to the ceremony, which is held every five years at the temple of Gadhimai, the goddess of power, in Bariyarpur, Nepal, near the Indian border.

 

The last time the festival was held, in 2009, more than 250,000 animals were killed, according to animal rights organisation PETA, who is campaigning to put a stop to the practice. 

 

'It is a ritual connected with people's faith,' said Yogendra Dulal, an assistant administrator of the Bara district, where the temple is located. 'We can't hurt their sentiments and ban the practice.'  

 

Worshippers believe the animal sacrifice, meant to appease Gadhimai, the Hindu goddess of power, brings them luck and prosperity.

 

The ritual began at dawn with a ceremonial 'pancha bali' or the sacrifice of five animals, comprising a rat, a goat, a rooster, a pig and a pigeon. 

 

Although cows are considered sacred by Hindu's, the thousands of animals seen slaughtered in these pictures are buffalo. 

 

This animals are not eaten after slaughter as beef is forbidden in Nepal as meal.

 

Blessing of the weapons: Butchers raise their swords while performing rituals on Thursday night, before the sacrificial ceremony today

Cleanse: Hindu devotees take bath to purify themselves in the pond of Gadhimai Temple to please goddess Gadhimai

Credit: Mail online/Reuters