Don’t Poo-Poo It! Indian Dung Festival Celebrates End to Diwali

Dozens of exuberant villagers scooped up handfuls of cow dung to mold and toss at each other like snowballs this week for the Gorehabba festival, a local conclusion to India’s most important festival, Diwali.

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The festival is unique to a village where locals believe their god — Beereshwara Swamy — was born in cow excrement.

Some Hindus believe cows and everything they produce is sacred and purifying. {snip}

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The manure is brought to the local temple on tractors pulled by cattle adorned with marigold flowers, before a priest performs a blessing ritual.

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Some may poo-poo the event, but for those in attendance the festival is as much about fun as it is about the perceived health benefits.

“By lifting cow dung with your hands, it cures a lot of diseases… and there is a strong belief that participants will never get sick,” said school teacher Mahendra.