KARIMNAGAR:Continuing the tradition of animal sacrifice to appease their village deity, members of Pambala community slaughtered buffaloes and goats at the Mahadevpur mandal headquarters in the district on Sunday.
According to sources, members of the Pambala community sacrifice animals to ward off evil and prevent any obstacles during the installation of Bodrai, a village deity.
A villager severed the head and legs of a male buffalo at the crossroads on Sunday while people gathered in huge numbers to witness the ceremony. He then smeared his body with the blood oozing from the animal’s body and took out a procession, along with other devotees, sprinkling vermilion and turmeric in the street. However, the festivities didn’t end here. Later, he killed a goat by bitting off its throat with his teeth.
The organisers restricted the villagers from crossing a specified area until the sacrifice was over. They also denied permission for outsiders to enter the village. In another horrific incident that had taken place sometime ago, people hanged poultry alive in front of their homes in Mahadevpur eastern forest division. However, no one objected to this horrendous practice. The villagers consider it a part of their religious practice rather than an extreme superstitious act. The issue sparked a debate on social media after some youths clicked pictures, recorded the video secretly and posted it on WhatsApp and Facebook.