Nghe An: Buffaloes are still being slaughtered at the Nine-Garden Temple festival

(Baonghean.vn) - Instead of being beheaded right in front of the temple as per traditional ritual, the buffalo in the 2016 Nine-Chamber Temple Festival procession was beheaded less than 30 meters from the festival stage.

Clip of buffalo slaughter at Chin Gian Temple:

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That is what happened on the opening day of the Nine-Garden Temple Festival in Chau Kim Commune (Que Phong – Nghe An) on the morning of March 23, 2016. The buffalo in the procession belonged to Mr. Ngan Van Cuong of Kim Khe Village (Chau Kim – Que Phong). Mr. Cuong said he had raised this buffalo for 8 years and sold it to the festival organizers for 45 million VND.

The procession of people carrying the sacrificial buffalo to the main temple

During the procession, the buffalo is led down to the water at the foot of Pu Pom Mountain, called Ta Tao, for a bathing ceremony. It is then carried to the front of the temple on the top of the mountain. In previous festivals, the buffalo slaughtering ceremony took place right in front of the temple.

The buffalo in this year's ceremony was purchased by the Festival Organizing Committee from Mr. Ngan Van Cuong, in Kim Khe village (Chau Kim, Que Phong) for 45 million VND.

However, in the 2016 festival, after the sacrificial ceremony, the buffalo was led to a short distance away to be beheaded. Before beheading, the people performing the ritual covered it with a tarp to avoid an “offensive” image. After being killed, the buffalo was butchered and offered to the temple.

The buffalo after being slaughtered was brought out to be butchered for the ceremony.

According to some elders, the buffalo sacrifice is indispensable in the Nine Chamber Temple Festival. Buffalo meat is also an indispensable dish in the offerings of the nine Muongs worshiped in the temple.

However, before that, in a press release, Que Phong district authorities said that the buffalo in the ritual of the Nine-Room Temple festival"will not be beheaded but returned to the owner".

Vi - Cuong - Thong