to stop such rituals and festivals as drinking blood of live animals. So Please start writing . We have to make Mahabir Pun aware that a renowned person such as himself should not be condoning such practices leave alone associate himself with.
From: lucia de vries <luciadevries@...>
Subject: [animalnepal] NP: Hundreds flock to yak blood festival
To: "animalnepal" <animalnepal@yahoogroups.com>, aapn@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 7:07 AM
Hundreds flock to yak blood festival
MYAGDI: People from far and wide have flocked to Paudhwar Khopralek VDC of Myagdi district to participate in a rather strange festival in which participants drink the raw blood of yaks.
The biennial festival has commenced here from Monday and will end on Friday. Similar festival is also held in Mustang’s Kowang VDC. As of Wednesday, some 1,500 persons are said to have drunk the blood in Khopralek.
The yak festival organising committee informed that 20 to 60 glasses of fresh blood is extracted from a yak after piercing its body, but without killing it. The price of each glass has been fixed at Rs 70.
Himanchal Higher Secondary School and Paudhwar High School have made a good earning by organising the festival twice a year.
Mahabir Pun, winner of the 2007 Roman Magsaysay award, initiated the festival in 1996 by bringing yaks from Manang district.
According to locals, the function is organised with the belief that consuming the yak-blood cures problems of gastritis, impotence and belly-swelling. The belief lures thousands of locals every time.
Rudra Bahadur Magar, president, joint yak rearing committee, said people with health problems turned up the venues from as far as Kathmandu, Chitwan, Kaski, Baglung and Parbat districts to drink the potent fluid.
Yak-blood is considered a cure since the animal feeds on mountainous herbs like Yarsagumba, Nirmasi, Panchaunle and Jatamasi.
http://thehimalayan times.com/ fullNews. php?headline= Hundreds+ flock+to+ yak+blood+ festival&id=MTc3MjM=
--
Lucia de Vries
Freelance Journalist
Bagdol, Patan, Nepal
Wijk 4-47, 8321 GE Urk, Holland
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