Balangir (Odisha) [India], Jan 8 (ANI): Sulia, which is the biggest tribal festival marked by a mass sacrifice of animals and birds in Balangir district, was observed on Tuesday, despite a ban on the practice.

This festival of the primitive tribal is observed in Khair Gura village under Tusura police station of Balangir district. The tribal community of Balangir worships their forefather Sulia Budha by sacrificing large numbers of animals and birds, which, they believe, will fulfill their wishes.

People from across the western Odisha gathered for worship. The priest of the Kandh tribes first offered prayer to the Sulia Budha and then initiated the practice of mass animal-bird sacrifice.

In 2005 and in 2009, the Odisha High Court had delivered a verdict banning the mass sacrifice of animals and birds in the name of Sulia after a petition was filed by an organisation named Sulia Sanskar Manch, but the practice is still in the vogue. (ANI)

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