Here is your short paragraph on Garya-Bandhna parab:

This is primarily a festival of Ahirs of Purulia district of West-Bengal. That occurs in the month of Kartik. It commences on the day after Kali Puja.

This a cattle festival the special foods are offered to the cattle and are worshipped on the first day—second day ‘buffalo fight’ is organised.

Colonel Dalton wrote in 1870 that. “At this parab two male buffaloes are driven into a small enclosure, and on a raised stage adjoining and overlooking it, the Raja and suite take up their position.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

After some ceremonies the Raja and his Purohit discharge arrows at the buffaloes, others follow their example, and the tormented and enraged beasts fall to and gore each other whilst arrow after arrow is discharged. When the animals are past doing very much mischief, the people rush in and hack at them with battle axes till they are dead.

The Santals and wild Kharrias, it is said, took great delight in this festival, but I have not heard a murmur at its discontinuance and this shows it had no great hold on the minds of the people.

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