The sacrifice of animals is common in some religions, particularly in certain aspects of Hinduism and Islam. In Singapore, the sacrifice of animals in Hinduism is banned but it is still being practiced in the annual Islamic festival, Hari Raya Haji. As the action of killing animals itself goes against environmental values, I sought to explore why these two religions practice the sacrifice of animals.

HINDUISM

Hinduism does seem to be a religion largely advocating peace, serenity, and care for animals and wildlife. However, the flip side of the story, though not that widely known, is still practiced in a few places around the world. Certain Gods and Goddesses in Hinduism are known for being destroyers of evil forces, which includes the killing of demons and drinking their blood. Hence, it is believed that to please these deities, similar offerings must be made – that in the form of animal sacrifices.

For example, the Goddess Kali is known as the Goddess of Death and Doomsday. As per the religious text Devi Mahatmya, she is known for defeating the demon Raktabija. Raktabija had a unique ability where he could spawn a replicate of himself for every drop of his blood that is shed onto the ground. To defeat the demon, Kali had to drink every single drop of Raktabija’s blood, leading to her acquiring the taste of the demon’s blood. The Goddess is also typically found with her blood-smeared tongue stuck out, showing her thirst for the blood of the demon. As such, there are Kali temples around the world that offer animal blood sacrifices for the Goddess, such as goats and chickens, as offerings. This contradicts the advocacy of viewing animals as sacred and respecting their lives in general Hinduism.

Photo of Goddess Kali by Bhagwan Photo

In addition, buffaloes are sacrificed for the Goddess Durga. Also from the Devi Mahatmya, Durga is known for killing the demon Mahishasura, who is half-buffalo. Therefore, as a tribute to the events of the Devi Mahatmya, buffaloes are sacrificed as they mimic the killing of Mahishasura to honour Durga. This point heavily contradicts the prohibition of killing cows and bulls in Hinduism, as buffaloes are a very closely related species.

Photo of Goddess Durga by Sukanya Basu on Unsplash (Notice the Buffalo head below the feet of the Goddess, representing the defeat of Mahishasura)

These practices definitely demonstrate a huge step taken backward in terms of Hinduism advocating care for the lives of animals, and respecting them as fellow living beings.

Nevertheless, the bulk of Hindus condone these animal sacrifices, and they find other ways to appease the deities such as by offering fruits or even fire-walking. Furthermore, the extremity of having to sacrifice animals for Durga and Kali has contributed to the formation of a separate category for Durga and Kali devotees, known as Shaktism. Therefore, the practices of this category of Hindus, particularly the sacrificing of animals, is seen as an opposing notion to the central idea of Hinduism.

 

ISLAM

As we know, Islam does promote in its followers, the care and concern for animals and other living beings. Nonetheless, it is not news that in Singapore on Hari Raya Haji, thousands of animals such as sheep are sacrificed in mosques all around the country. This applies to Islamic places of worship worldwide, which evidently brings up the figure for the number of animals sacrificed globally on Hari Raya Haji to an extremely large number.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Hari Raya Haji is also known as the Festival of Sacrifice, where the focus of the day is Qurbani. Qurbani translates to sacrifice, where on the said day, followers of Islam sacrifice livestock to honour Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son, Ismail, for Allah.

The story behind Qurbani stems from the Quran. Ibrahim dreams of Allah telling him through his dream to sacrifice his son, and his son agrees to be sacrificed as well. In the Quran, Ibrahim says to his son, “My son, I see in my dream that I am slaughtering you.”, and to which Ismail replies “Do as you are bidden. You will find me, if Allah so wills, among the steadfast” (Quran 37:102). Hence, Ibrahim goes on prepare for the sacrifice. However, as he lays the knife on Ismail’s neck, he hears the voice of Allah telling him to stop. Allah mentions to Ibrahim, “you have indeed fulfilled your dream. Thus do We reward the good-doers.” (Quran 37:105), and that “This was indeed a plain trial” (Quran 37:106). With Ibrahim passing the test of faith, he is given a ram instead for the sacrifice.

Photo by Chattrapal (Shitij) Singh from Pexels

Hence, to commemorate this event in the Quran, Muslims practice the Qurbani as it is believed that sacrificing livestock in a similar fashion would bring them closer to Allah. The positive side of this practice is that a third of the meat from the sacrifice goes to the needy. In addition, the animals are killed in the Halal way, which is not as painful for them. However, when we look at it from the perspective of developing care for the lives of animals, sacrificing them would not be the ideal scenario.

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