Depukhu
Newar
Dates
| 2083 BS | Date to be announced | Date to be announced |
| 2084 BS | Date to be announced | Date to be announced |
Depukhu (Nepali: द्यःपुखू), also De pukhu or Dyo pukhu in Newar language, Deopokhari festival in English, and Deopokhari jatra in Nepali, is a festival celebrated in August each year by the Newar community of Khokana in central Nepal. It involves the ritual sacrifice of a virgin she-goat (often a kid) in the Deopokhari pond which is on the premises of Rudrayani temple in Khokana, in a process described as inhumane and barbaric by animal rights activists. Once taken as a matter of cultural pride, international outcry and criticism have led the locals to attempt to reform the festival in recent years.
Goat sacrifice ritual
While a huge crowd gathers around the pond and on rooftops to watch the ritual, a young man jumps into the pond with a live young female goat on his shoulders. While he attempts to drown the goat, other young men from various communities in and around Khokana join him. They work together to prevent the goat from escaping. While the group tries to drown the goat, the youths also bite her with their teeth, and attempt to rip her apart with their bare hands. The goat is reported to struggle for as long as forty minutes before she dies. Once the goat is dead, a competition ensues for the possession of the carcass. Youths from different communities struggle to win it for their community, which earns them the privilege of leading the religious procession that follows. The struggle and tug-of-war for the possession of the carcass is reported to last as long as 90 minutes. The youths that win lead a procession out of the pond, concluding the ritual sacrifice.
