650 Goats Sacrificed at Kali temple

Kali is a Hindu Goddess who is the animating force of Lord Shiva, the God of destruction (also lord of the Dance). With Kali worship is associated skulls, cemeteries, and blood.

In Kali worship tradition, around 650 goats were sacrificed at a Kali temple in Orissa state in India as part of an annual ritual despite a ban by the local administration.

The sacrifice was made at the Rakshya Kali temple at Rameswarpur village in Bhadrak district, about 170 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, Saturday night. The incident came to light Monday after some officials and villagers reported it.

The mass sacrifice is held once a year in the Hindu month of Chaitra. 'Our village is always guarded by Rakshya Kali. It is a 72-year-old tradition,' villager Dibakar Barik said.

'Earlier, devotees used to offer buffaloes as sacrifice. Now we sacrifice goats,' he said.

According to local police, who witnessed the event, the area around the temple's sacrificial altar was soaked in blood. The animals were first garlanded before being led to the altar and their cries got drowned by the beating of drums.

Some devotees even scrambled to touch the blood of the sacrificed animals, believed to be auspicious and a good omen, while some even smeared it on their forehead, an official said on condition of anonymity.

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