Thirsty Kali, a photo from Bagmati, Central

Photographer's Note

About 1 hour and a half from Kathmandu and after a difficult but interesting passing through an almost tropical forest you can reach to Dashinkali, a temple of the bloodthirsty and man(male)eater goddess Kali. Every Tuesday and Saturday, thousands of believers are gathered there to sacrifice chickens, ducks, goats and other animals (always male ones) in order to satisfy the thirst of Kali for blood. It's a true massacre, a bloodbath that normally foreigners are not aloud to watch from a very close distance (besides that who wants to walk barefoot in a lake of blood?). I have some closeups but i prefered to upload this one to avoid the "splater-lover" comments. After the sacrifice (and after a good tip to the butcher)the believer takes his animal back, which is roasted in the hills of the surounding forrest, in an unbelievable "party" that lasts all day.

veronika, Cuba-Junky, CRATEOS, startacked, zips, ewasting heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

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veronika (6058) 2006-04-13 10:52

Hi Hercules, this is a very interesting picture and also your note.. i saw one documnetary movie about this and i really could not believe.. but still i wish to visit Nepal! :)
regards,
veronika

Cuba-Junky (2817) 2006-04-14 2:36

Yikes, what a mess!
Very interesting story.
Cubans do more or less the same in the Santeria religion ... besides a bloodbath the scene is also full of sh*t from the animals because they are so scared to die ....

La vida ...

An

CRATEOS (7278) 2006-04-16 5:19

I read this storys about Kali...in times before..first time i see....in live broadcast!!!the foto is Superb my frend also have the mustery atmosphere..is need'et...it is a Perfect presenting!!!GNGRS Nikiforos

MichaelTrezzi (3374) 2006-04-22 14:40

Hi Hercules, very interesting pic of a different culture. Very interesting note too. I wish you shared also your other pictures from the ceremony. Thank you for sharing, Cheers, Michael

zips (1958) 2006-10-18 10:21

Great shot. I like the crowd, earie lighting and the smoke. Not an easy shot to expose correctly.

Great Job.
Aloha, JB

ewasting (762) 2006-12-29 15:05

Hi, Thanks for sharing Your note ... very good pic:)

mar14 (97) 2009-02-24 11:43

Simply amazing! I can look at this photo for hours. There is so much happening. The light within the mist that you captured is what really provides much of the intrigue to this ritual. It is as though the mist is what Kali drinks from.

Cheers!

Michael

batalay (41261) 2012-04-11 21:08

Dear Hercules,

It was just by chance that I had logged onto Trekearth when your photo appeared as one of the featured shots of the day. What a beauty, with so much drama, replete with brilliant colors, smoke... I can imagine the accompanying sounds and odors. As a physicist I also see the perfect parabola made by a stream of water on the left. Warm regards, my friend.

Bulent