Five-Yearly Festival of Goddess Gadhimai

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

A festival of animal and bird sacrifices takes place at and around the temple to Goddess Gadhimai at the Bariyapur village, Bara district for fifteen days every five year. Sacrifices of thousands of male buffaloes, goats, pigs, ducks, chicken and even pigeons are offered to Goddess Gadhimai for meeting their pledges given to Goddess. Millions of devotees from different parts of Nepal and neighboring countries assemble in the area of about thirty square kilometers prepared for this religious event. About five hundred makeshift teashops, eating-places and retail stores provide the devotees with services required during their pilgrimage. A number of circus performers entertain the curious people. In addition, local people also stage cultural shows for the entertainment of pilgrims. Preparation for this religious event begins one year before the festival.

A temple to Goddess Gadhimai is at the Bariyapur village, about five kilometers east of Kalaiya: district headquarters of the Bara District. A thief stole the golden idol of Goddess Gadhimai some years ago. Now, only a stone idol is available for devotees to revere Goddess Gadhimai. Popular belief is that the thief has died vomiting blood but none does know the whereabouts of the golden idol so far.

A temple to the first priest called Bhagavan Chaudhari stands at his crematory. Again, the popular belief is that Bhagavan Chaudhari brought Goddess Gadhimai from the Makwanpur Gadhi situated at the central hill region of Nepal, set up the Goddess at his place called Bariyapur and set the tradition of his descendents to be the priests to the Goddess.

A legend has it that Goddess Gadhimai told Bhagavan Chaudhari imprisoned for life at the Makwanpur Gadhi for killing the thief attempting to break in his house to take Her to his place. While serving the life-term in jail, one day Goddess Gadhimai appeared in the dream of Bhagavan Chaudhari and asked him to take the Goddess from the Makwanpur Gadhi to his place and enshrined Her there; the Goddess would set him free from the imprisonment. Bhagavan Chaudhari became very happy with the vision and the favor shown by the Goddess.

Bhagavan Chaudhari accepted the offer of the Goddess taking Her away from the Makwanpur Gadhi in exchange for his freedom from the jail. Handcuffs and chains dropped off immediately; prison guards remained in deep sleep and prison gates opened. Carrying the Goddess on his shoulders, Bhagavan Chaudhari had traveled days and nights crossing rivers, climbing hills and walking through valleys before reaching his village called Bariyapur, and then enshrining the Goddess there. He became the first priest to the Goddess, and set the tradition of his progeny becoming the priests to the Goddess. He also set the tradition of animal and bird sacrifices to the Goddess once every five year. Popular belief is that the Goddess’s name is derived from the Makwanpur Gadhi from where she was brought.

People strongly believe that Goddess Gadhimai meets the wishes of the people in return for the pledges they make of offering sacrifices of animals and birds to the Goddess. So, devotees visit Bariyapur to meet their pledges made to the Goddess once every five year.

During the fifteen-day religious event starting on the eighth day of dark fortnight and ending on the eighth day of the bright fortnight in the month called Marga, millions of devotees converge on Bariyapur from different parts of Nepal and from neighboring countries to perform animal and bird sacrifices to the Goddess. Reported events were that people from South India took male buffaloes on a train to Bariyapur to offer to Goddess Gadhimai, and even the people belonging to faiths other than Hindu came to offer animal and bird sacrifices to Goddess Gadhimai after the Goddess met their wishes.

Local people at Bariyapur start off preparing for the five yearly festival of Goddess Gadhimai one year before the festival. They repair, renovate and paint their houses. Farmers living in about thirty square kilometers around the temple to Goddess Gadhimai sow their farmlands with such seeds that grow fast and could be harvested one month ahead of the festival of Goddess Gadhimai to make room for pilgrims. Priests also select assistant priests to help them in performing various religious rituals and rites one year before the festival. Married daughters and sisters and daughters-in-law do not leave their homes for six months before the festival. None passes through the Bariyapur village to cross the southern border for three months.

On the first day of the festival of Goddess Gadhimai, the Chief Priest performs special rituals of invoking ‘te-tis-koti’ (33,333) deities of the Hindu pantheon. Popular belief is that the wick lamp at the temple lights itself when the deities and Goddess Gadhimai are invoked through tantric mantras and tantras. Therefore, the Chief Priest and other thirty priests perform special offerings to Goddess Gadhimai and other deities offering two white mice brought by people called Mushar. After the offerings of two white mice, they offer sacrifices of five male buffaloes to the wooden image of Mahisasur. Popular belief is that Goddess Gadhimai is in the wooden image of Mahisasur at that time. Thereafter, the priests open the shrines to the public for making offerings. Then, devotees set free thousands of pigeons in the name of Goddess Gadhimai around the temple to the Goddess Gadhimai. Flying pigeons cover the sky over the temple for some time. Some people run after the pigeons to catch them believing these pigeons bring them good luck and eat the meat of the pigeons as the blessings from the Goddess Gadhimai.

On the first day alone, devotees offer sacrifices of thousands of male buffaloes to Goddess Gadhimai. A large number of people simultaneously slaughter buffaloes completing the buffalo sacrifices within an hour or so. They bury the heads of sacrificed buffaloes in the pit nearby the temple and leave the bodies of buffaloes to anybody wishing to take. Buffalo-meat-eating people compete with each other for taking away the bodies of buffaloes. They skin the sacrificed buffaloes and submit the skins to the Festival Management Committee. They take the meat for their feast. The Management Committee sells the skins to any leather factory.

Next day, devotees offer the sacrifices of male goats, pigs, chickens and pigeons to Goddess Gadhimai. On this day, devotees take the sacrificed animals and birds as the blessings from Goddess Gadhimai for their own consumption. Butchers receive the heads of the sacrificed animals and birds as remuneration for their work. A single devotee offers a number of animal and bird sacrifices to Goddess Gadhimai. The offerings of animal and bird sacrifices completes during the first ten days of the festival.

Millions of people visit the area within a short time of fifteen days. They travel on any means of transport available such as buses, tractors, bullock carts and so on. Millions more travel on foot to the area. Although hundreds of teashops, eating-places and other shelters are available for the pilgrims, many pilgrims eat the food they bring with them and sleep under the open sky.

Local people entertain the pilgrims singing Bhojpuri songs and dancing during the fifteen days of the festival. Number of circus troupes performs for entertaining the pilgrims. Other entertaining groups also perform various dramas and stage cultural shows during the fifteen days of the religious festival at Bariyapur.

Every five year, number of devotees is increasing, and has already reached more than two million devotees. Similarly, number of sacrificed animals and birds has been increasing.

In 2009, some people have made a public request to the pilgrims for not making the animal and bird sacrifices to Goddess Gadhimai saying the mother Goddess Gadhimai is the mother of all living beings and would not accept the blood of her own children. However, traditionalists have said that they are not breaking the tradition of making offerings of animal and bird sacrifices to Goddess Gadhimai.

November 14, 2009.