Paradise assured for the northerners

There was a time velvi, a goat sacrificial ceremony, marked the end of the annual festivals of some temples in Sri Lanka. It was a kind of parish feast very much based in rural agricultural and pagan traditions. Thanks to people like the much revered poet and philosopher Somasundara Pulavar of Navaly and the spirit and visions of young people of the 1950s, this gory sacrifice has been entirely banned. Arani Aravindan has woven a story in this context around such a ceremony in North Sri Lanka.
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by Arani Aravindan
(April 06, Jaffna, Sri Lanka Guardian) Kanapathiar was best known for breeding the Jamnapari species of goats considered good meaters. Every year, at the end of the 10-day festival in the local temple, it was Kanapathiar’s majestic goat, garlanded and accompanied by drums and nathaswara music that led the sacrificial procession through the village to the temple.

This was a privilege bestowed on him in recognition of his expertise as a goat breeder and his services to animal husbandry.

Kanapathiar lived to a hundred years and when he finally breathed his last, his soul was promptly dispatched to the Underworld for the inquisition.

Gods in heaven never took kindly to orgies and sacrifices particularly in places of worship and Kanapathiar, a proponent of a pagan practice, had a lot to answer in Hell prior to entry into Heaven, a privilege only for those who had done some good in their mortal lives.

While awaiting judgment, he saw Chitra Putra, a minister of the Lord of Hell with his horns and bovine face. Thinking he was in fact a goat in prime condition for a feast, Kanapathiar seized a handy knife and gave chase to the poor devil.

This created such a stir in the Underworld, the Lord of the Realms rushed to the scene and inquired into this unfortunate incident. When he learnt that people from North and East Sri Lanka had a fancy for goat meat, he feared the safety of his people.

After wracking his head and its contents for a few convulsive minutes, he arrived at a solution mainly intended to protect his people. Thanks to Kanapathiar, as decreed by the Lord of the Underworld Realms no goat-eater will ever be taken to hell. They go straight to the high heavens.
- Sri Lanka Guardian