Balangir: Animal sacrifice is an integral part of certain festivals in Odisha and the gory ritual has influenced young minds too. Unaware of the negative impact, a group of children playfully sacrificed a puppy in Balangir, where animal sacrifice is a ritual during the Sulia Jatra.
Five children of Pandarapita village under Balangir police limits first took out a procession with the puppy and performed rituals as per tradition. Some villagers who saw the children enacting the sacrifice rituals later found out that they had sacrificed the puppy and drank its blood. The children were rushed to a hospital and administered Rabies Vaccine.
The tradition of mass animal sacrifice is carried out at Sulia Yatra in Khairgura and Kumuria villages of the district every year in January. Members of the tribal community observe the festival by sacrificing animals to repay their debt to the tribal deity Sulia for fulfilling their wishes.
