Note 67 — M (Continued) (continued 2)

In an account of the annual ceremony at the Pishāri temple near Quilandy in Malabar in honour of Bhagavati, Mr. F. Fawcett informs67 that the Mūssad priests repeat mantrams (prayers) over the goats for an hour as a preliminary to the sacrifice. Then the chief priest, with a chopper-like sword, decapitates the goats, and sacrifices several cocks. The Mūssads cook some of the flesh of the goats, and one or two of the cocks with rice. This rice, when cooked, is taken to the kāvu (grove) to the north of the temple, and there the Mūssads again ply their mantrams.