A bull at the Jal Yatra procession, Ahmedabad, India, 17 June 2019. SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images
An entire village of Indians has been mourning the death of Babuji, the bull.
According to The Times of India, around 3,000 villages held a large funeral feast for Babuji, along with other social ceremonies.
Some villagers believed that Babuji was the incarnation of Nandi, a Hindu guardian god.
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According to The Times of India, a village in India has organized the funeral of a bull friend who lived with them for over 20 years.
Babuji, the bull, died from natural causes on August 15. The village of Kurdi in the Indian state Uttar Pradesh has been marking his passing over the past week and paying tribute to the animal like they would an elder villager, according to The Times.
According to reports, Babuji's funeral feast, called a Terahvi, was attended by around 3,000 people. Priests chanted for Babuji's soul and a bull photo shrine was flooded with flowers and cash.
According to village residents, Babuji was a close family member and a "gift of the divine". When he was young, the bull was seen roaming around a holy spot in the village. This led to some calling him Nandi, a Hindu guardian god usually depicted as bull.
The Times added that the village conducted mourning and religious ceremonies for Babuji in the days leading up to the death feast. These included cremation and rasam pagri (a funeral ceremony for a deceased family member).
Many parts of India consider cows sacred and prohibit the slaughter of or consumption of beef. Madhya Pradesh has set up a "cow cupboard" to ensure the welfare of its animals. Many men covered themselves with cow dung and urine in May believing that this would increase their immunity to COVID-19. Since then, doctors have warned against the practice, stating that there is no scientific evidence to support it.
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