After A Deity's Dream, Two Uttarakhand Villages Give Up Eating Meat & Animal Sacrifice

More than 350 residents of two villages in Chamoli have decided to give up eating meat for a year after a local deity ordained them to do so. They have also decided to stop the ritual of animal sacrifice, an old practice in the area.

Villages of Bampa and Farkiya in Niti valley in Uttarakhand have decided to follow the order of the deity after a dream. Villagers the decision was taken after a Bhagwat Katha held recently.

Bachan Singh Pal, a resident of Bampa village, told The Times of India, ¡°We had organised Bhagvat Katha in these villages and it ended on June 28. After the rituals were over, the oracle said that we should not kill any animal throughout the year. The deities prohibit consumption of meat and animal sacrifice in villages where Bhagvat Katha is organised. We have to stick to the decision or face wrath.¡±

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The families living near the Indo-Sino border eat meat and practice animal sacrifice. As winters approach in the upper Himalayas, these villagers migrate to plains for six months.

When we migrate, we place the idol in a crevice over the main shrine. It¡¯s placed in the temple when we return. Later, the village council meets and fixes a day to offer animal sacrifice to the deity,¡± said Pal.

Animal sacrifice is done to please deity in order to get their wishes fulfilled.

Another villager, Manoj Pal, said the goat¡¯s meat is then distributed among the villagers after giving a portion of it to the priest.

The cooked meat is distributed among the temple priest and those present there.

The practise of animal sacrifice in the open is banned by the Uttarakhand High Court but it goes on unchecked.