Note 25 — Chapter VI · SOME RURAL FESTIVALS AND CEREMONIES.

So in Bengal, on the last day of the month Kârttik (October-November) a pig is turned loose among a herd of buffaloes, who are encouraged to gore it to death. The carcase is given to the Dusâdh village menials to eat. The Ahîrs, who practise this strange rite, aver that it has no religious significance, and is merely a sort of popular amusement. They do not themselves partake of any part of the pig.25 It is plainly a survival of a regular sacrifice, probably intended to promote the fertility of the herds and crops.