| Gadhimai festival गढ़िमाई पर्व | |
|---|---|
 Animals at Gadhimai festival | |
| Genre | Festival |
| Frequency | Every 5 years |
| Venue | Bariyarpur |
| Location(s) | Bara District |
| Previous event | 2019[1] |
| Attendance | 5 million people |
| Area | 3–5 km radius around the Gadhimai Temple |
| Activity | Religious |
Gadhimai festival is a Hindu festival held every five years in Nepal at the Gadhimai Temple of Bariyarpur, in Bara District, about 160 kilometres (99 mi) south of the capital Kathmandu, and about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) east of the city of Kalaiya, near the Indo-Nepal border. It is primarily celebrated by Madhesi people. The event involves large-scale sacrificial slaughter of animals, including water buffalo,[2] pigs, goats, chickens, and pigeons, with the goal of pleasing Gadhimai, the goddess of power. People also make other offerings, including coconuts, sweets, and red-coloured clothes.[3] The festival has been described as the world's largest animal sacrifice event[4][5][6] or one of the largest.[7]
It is estimated that 250,000 animals were sacrificed during the Gadhimai festival of 2009. In 2015, it was erroneously reported that Nepal's temple trust planned to cancel all future animal sacrifices at the festival.[8][9][10]
- ^ "Nepal animal sacrifice festival pits devotees against activists". The Guardian. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Power, Gabriel (4 December 2019). "What is Gadhimai festival and why is it so controversial?". The Week UK. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ Jolly, Joanna (24 November 2009). "Devotees flock to Nepal animal sacrifice festival". BBC News. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ^ "World's 'largest animal sacrifice' begins in defiance of ban". The Independent. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Bariyarpur, AFP in (3 December 2019). "World's 'largest animal sacrifice' starts in Nepal after ban ignored". the Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Sharma, Bhadra (6 December 2019). "Nepal's Animal-Sacrifice Festival Slays On. But Activists Are Having an Effect". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ Patel, Atish (2 December 2014). "Smuggling a Sacrifice: Hindu Ritual Animal Slaughter Hit by Border Rules". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ Ram Chandra, Shah. "Gadhimai Temple Trust Chairman, Mr. Ram Chandra Shah, on the decision to stop holding animal sacrifices during the Gadhimai festival. Later the trust denied the decision, as per trust such decision was obtained forcefully by animal rights activists. Trust said it is not in our hand to stop the sacrifice it is up to people, as trust or priest never ask devotee to offer sacrifice. It is their sole and self decision " (PDF). Humane Society International. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ Meredith, Charlotte (29 July 2015). "Thousands of Animals Have Been Saved in Nepal as Mass Slaughter Is Cancelled". Vice News. Vice Media, Inc. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ KUMAR YADAV, PRAVEEN; TRIPATHI, RITESH (29 July 2015). "Gadhimai Trust dismisses reports on animal sacrifice ban". Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.