Stopping religious sacrifice must be a personal decision
DURING my days as a journalist, my photographer friend, the late Morris Reddy, and I were chased with pangas from the Isipingo Temple when I went to investigate that the fruit, milk, other prayer items and live fowls offered to the deities were being recycled. That was more than 40 years ago.
I am not sure if it still happens that a chicken offered to Goddess Mariamman to cure one of a serious illness is then resold and offered to the deity to help a childless woman conceive, or if the same chicken must also help one find employment, bring back a lost lover and deliver good fortune.
I have not been to the temple since my last close encounter with irate officials who took offence that prying journalists were on the loose within the holy precinct. I am also not sure if the temple is still privately owned by the Moodley family.
Nonetheless, I am informed that the temple continues to draw a fair number of devotees between Good Friday and Easter Monday, a tradition that goes back to the 1880s when Indian indentured labourers had the opportunity to visit the temple when their white sugar cane plantation owners were on a short break.
But the crowds attending the temple nowadays over Easter will be nowhere close to the tens of thousands who would throng there in years gone by. Special buses and trains were arranged for devotees. The atmosphere at the temple then was a mixture of holy and festive.
The sound of mantras recited by the priests and the Mariamman songs by LR Eswari blaring over loudspeakers would mingle with the joyous shrieks of kids on the merry-go-round and the whining of motorbikes on the Wall of Death at Tommy Chetty’s World Fair.
One sound I am told that still pitifully rings though the air during the Mariamman festival at the temple in Isipingo is the bleating of goats that appear to be aware that they will soon be facing the butcher’s knife. Goats and chickens are slaughtered at the temple and food is cooked to feed the poor and hungry as a means of charity.
At the Samayapuram Mariamman Temple near Trichy in Tamilnadu, South India, the old village custom of worship by offering chickens and goats to the deity is still followed, although the animals are no longer sacrificed but sold after being offered.
I am aware that writing on religious matters is often considered a touchy subject.
Deeply held religious beliefs are personal and sacred. When these beliefs are challenged or criticised, people can feel personally attacked or offended.
Many people also draw comfort and guidance from their beliefs and any discussion or critique of these beliefs can evoke strong emotional reactions and can also be regarded as an attack on cultural identity and heritage.
The practice of sacrificing animals for propitiation of a deity is not a recent phenomenon but has been observed by various religions since ancient times.
Africans believe in God and the ancestors. The ancestors are the “living-dead”, compassionate spirits who are blood-related to the people who believe in them.
The ancestors continue to show an interest in the daily lives of the relatives that are still alive. These spirits act as mediators between the living and God. African religious believers communicate with God through the medium of the deceased relatives.
At times, communication between the living, the living-dead and God is done through the ritual slaughtering of an animal, which is akin to the animal offerings conducted by people in the Old Testament of the Bible.
The main difference, however, is that people in the Old Testament were making animal sacrifices directly to God while traditional African religious believers make animal sacrifices to God through their ancestors.
For a practice to be religious under Hinduism, it needs to have basis in the Hindu religious scriptures. In a verse in the sacred Hindu text Rig Veda, Indra (one among the pantheon of Hindu Gods) says: “They cook for me 15 plus 20 oxen” and another verse provides that the ox and the cow are meals for Agni (Hindu God of fire).
Hence, these verses have been interpreted to mean that these animals can be offered during rituals. However, certain sections of Hindu people following the path of ahimsa or non-killing forbid the practice of animal sacrifice.
Animal sacrifice forms an essential religious practice under Islam. A verse in the Qur’an states: “The animal offerings are among the rites decreed by God for your own good. You shall mention God’s name on them while they are standing in line.
“Once they are offered for sacrifice, you shall eat there from and feed the poor and the needy.”
There is no law against animal sacrifice in South Africa. The Constitution states that everyone has the right to freedom of religion and belief and also protects the right for people to enjoy their culture, which includes the ritual slaughter of animals as a cultural belief. However, there are laws that prohibit the killing of animals in an unnecessarily cruel manner.
In India, there is much debate about whether the law on the Asian sub-continent should continue to allow killing of animals in the name of religion.
There are many communities in villages which feel that animal sacrifice brings them rain. If they do not do it, then there might be no rain. Thus, India’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is forever coming up against animal sacrifice, which forms an essential religious practice and must be protected.
In the Muslim world, there is a slow move away from animal sacrifice during Eid-al-Adha and instead donating that money to long-term charitable causes.
The number of Muslims shunning sacrifice is so negligible as to have no impact on those who kill animals to honour the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
In South Africa, I have found that in recent years many Hindus have stopped sacrificing animals. Chickens are no longer slaughtered by them for the Mariamman prayer at home. Instead, vegetable dishes are prepared to offer to the deity.
There would appear to be an increase around ethical considerations surrounding animal sacrifice and its implications for animal welfare.
Many people are also becoming vegetarian or vegans for ethical or health reasons.
Approaching the issue of sacrificing animals must be done with empathy, cultural sensitivity, and a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives. This can facilitate constructive engagement and promote positive change.
Providing platforms for dialogue, education, and collaboration can amplify voices calling for ethical alternatives to animal sacrifice. At the end of the day, to sacrifice or not to sacrifice must be a personal decision. To each his own.