The fluctuated ways of understanding a traditional buffalo butchery practice : Legitimizing “the reason” by Khadgis in Nepal

Abstract (English)

This presentation examines the fluctuated ways of understanding a traditional buffalo butchery practices, which is created through the dialogue between by the ‘meat seller caste’ Khadgis and researchers.
In Nepal, hygiene concepts and animal welfare discourses are penetrating the wider society. Particularly after the 2015 earthquake, public health management has been strengthened. In Kathmandu the local government is leading the modernization of the meat sector as a part of making ‘the clean and healthy city’ campaign.
In Newar society, the Khadgis have traditionally been engaged in buffalo slaughter and animal sacrifice as part of their caste-based roles. I will discuss both these processes: 1) how the Khadgis have come to terms with these social shifts within their commercial world, and 2) how they legitimize their traditional animal sacrifice within their ritual world.
The traditional processing of buffalo meat by the Khadgis is mainly done by hand in simple abattoirs that are open-air or have tin roofs. The buffalo meat market has rapidly expanded, and the government estimates that more than 1000 buffaloes are consumed per day in Kathmandu valley. The Kathmandu municipality estimates that almost 70% of the meat shops in Kathmandu are owned by Khadgis.
The Khadgis themselves refer to blood sacrifice in rituals as ‘balidān’ and commercial slaughter as ‘cutting’ (kāṭnu). The term ‘kill’ (mārnu) is not used for the act of decapitating an animal, whether it is ritual or commercial. When I tried to inquire about the practice of slaughtering, they at first refused to answer by saying “because that’s hamro jātikō kāma” (our jāti’s work), or “because that’s how it’s been historically,” making sure that I was aware of this fact before they began speaking. It can be said that it is important for them to be able to legitimize ‘the reason why they slit the neck of buffaloes’, which is to avoid sin, and to be included in the Newar community. They are creating ‘the reason’ through the dialogues with others including the researchers, and that would be the folk knowledge to legitimize their practice.
The Khadgis are enthusiastic about keeping their ritual practices. They legitimize their caste-based role of slitting the necks of animals by understanding their roles as “self-devotional service for the deities,” or “as guardians of the Newar community.” They continue justifying their role in blood sacrifice and claim that only they can legitimately perform this role. Thus, the Khadgis have fought to preserve their identity within both the ritual and commercial worlds.