All for the goddess: 300,000 buffalo slaughtered at Hindu ceremony to bring goodluck

More than 250,000 animals are being lined up for slaughter as Nepal embarks on a two-day religious festival where buffalo, birds and goats are sacrificed to appease a Hindu goddess.

Millions of Hindus flock to the ceremony, which is held every five years at the temple of Gadhimai, the goddess of power, in Bariyarpur, Nepal, near the Indian border.

The last time the festival was held, in 2009, more than 250,000 animals were killed, according to animal rights organisation PETA, who is campaigning to put a stop to the practice.

The festival is 'kicked off' with the ritual slaughter of five thousand buffalo in a field near the temple, after which two days of ritual animal slaughter takes place. 

Animal rights activists such as PETA are campaigning to halt the mass animal-slaughter, but despite their efforts, the organisers of the festival has promised that this year will be the biggest yet.

 About 2.5 million devotees  have turned out for the festival, according to local government official Yogendra Prasad Dulal, who said it was 'impossible to estimate' the total number of animals sacrificed so far.

 'It has been a grand day,' Mangal Chaudhary, head priest at a the Gadhimai temple said. 'The buffalo sacrifice has ended, but we will continue the rituals with goats and other animals for one more day,'

On the first day, worshippers slaughtered more than 6,000 buffaloes, which were coralled into holding pens in the fields, along with at least 100,000 goats and other animals, Chaudhary said.

The festivities will continue on Saturday when at least another 100,000 animals will die in the name of goddess Gadhimai.

  More than 80 per cent of Nepal's 27 million people are Hindus, but unlike most of their counterparts in neighbouring India, they frequently sacrifice animals to appease deities during festivals.

Authorities deployed hundreds of police personnel to make sure there were no clashes between activists and the devotees.

  'It is a ritual connected with people's faith,' said Yogendra Dulal, an assistant administrator of the Bara district, where the temple is located. 'We can't hurt their sentiments and ban the practice.'

 Worshippers believe the animal sacrifice, meant to appease Gadhimai, the Hindu goddess of power, brings them luck and prosperity.

 The ritual began at dawn with a ceremonial 'pancha bali' or the sacrifice of five animals, comprising a rat, a goat, a rooster, a pig and a pigeon.

 Although cows are considered sacred by Hindu's, the thousands of animals seen slaughtered in these pictures are buffalo.

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The Holland forward had only 13 touches of the ball against his former club, three of which while taking corners, before Van Gaal replaced him with 18-year-old James Wilson for the last 15 minutes.

Indeed, in the whole of 2014, Van Persie has scored only eight goals in 21 Premier League matches.

Van Gaal said when he was in charge of Bayern Munich, Germany striker Mario Gomez had fewer touches during some matches, but accepted that Van Persie has been struggling for form.

"I do think 13 is few for a striker. I want to improve that," said Van Gaal. "You can count his touches on the ball but more important is how he is playing.

"It was a very bad game for him. That is why I changed him. When I change a player, it is not because he is the best player on the pitch. You are doing something wrong. I believe in the players. When I change them, normally, it is because they are doing something not good in their performance.

"When you pick up this match it is easy to put a question about 13 touches. Okay. But strikers do not touch the ball often. That is their profession.

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Asked what Van Persie needs to do to get back to the level of being the best striker in England, the United boss said, "It is a question of confidence, or maybe scoring a wonderful goal at the right moment. It can be tomorrow.

"You know how strikers are. They have to score goals. They feel like that. It is not that I am asking that. I have said they have to be an attacking point and help our team in the third and fourth phase. For me, it is not important who scores. The team has to score."

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Madonna met the president of Malawi Peter Mutharika during her visit to the country. On Friday, November 28, the "La Isla Bonita" singer took to Instagram to share a photo of her and the President. "A meeting of the minds with President Mutharika! Read the sign! Unity and Freedom. They go hand in hand! #raisingmalawi #livingforlove," she captioned it.

"Thank you for welcoming me here. I was a big fan of your brother. He was very kind to us," Madonna said to President Mutharika, as reported by The Associated Press. She was referring to his brother Bingu wa Mutharika who was a president until 2012.

The diva, who has been visiting the country for years for her charity works with Raising Malawi Foundation, also took her children Mercy and David who were adopted from Malawi. She visited orphanage Kondanani Children's Home on Thanksgiving and shared photos from the visit. One snap shows her being pushed by Mercy in a swing, while another shot shows her children posing together.

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