Despite ban, animals sacrificed in Kollegal
An official ban and awareness campaigns notwithstanding, a large number of devotees of saint Siddappaji from across Karnataka participated in an animal sacrifice ritual at Chikkaloor jatre here on Thursday.
The five-day jatre began on January 9 amid tight police security.
Devotees who arrived in buses, cars, trucks, tempos, goods autorickshaws and tractors participated in the various rituals such as “Doddavara seve”, “Hulivahanotsava”, “Mudi seve”, “Pankti seve” and “Muthurayara seve”, performed during the jatre. They are camping in the fields surrounding the temple.
Each of the five days is devoted to a particular ritual. Animal sacrifice is part of the festival in the Neelagara tradition in which people of all communities participate. Mainly sheep and goats are sacrificed in the name of Siddappaji and Manteswamy. Though animal sacrifice is a cognisable offence, devotees say what they do is just an offering. The meat is distributed among devotees as “prasada”.
As part of the celebrations, a priest reads the almanac and makes predictions about rainfall and harvest of crops.
The jatre includes a puja to Chandramandala, a 30-foot-tall crown-like structure made out of bamboo, with flower decoration atop surrounded by glowing sticks.
Those who have made vows to offer their first agricultural produce such as food grains, fruits, butter and ghee to Chandramandala.
