Animals are cleansed in the Bagmati River before being led or carried to the sacrificial altar.
On the way to the sacrificial altar with his cleansed, pet rooster, this young Hindu gentleman feeds his pet with some final, few corn kernels.
One of the sacrificial altars, this one inscribed with a "male" skeleton.
Richard S. Ehrlich (at http://www.geocities.com/asia_correspondent) recounts
“In 1780, Nepal outlawed human sacrifice. Animals, however, are allowed to be killed to satisfy the goddess Kali, and for other ceremonies. Devotees who cannot afford to sacrifice a goat, pig, lamb or waterbuffalo, offer a less expensive chicken or duck. Carcasses remain the property of the believers who brought them, and are carried home or taken to the chamber where the temple's butchers skin and debone the meat for a small fee according to devotees' requests.
Everyone seems to think the slaughters will please the gods and grant a boon to whoever makes such an offering. Animal sacrifice is common in Nepal, the world's only Hindu kingdom. Nepalis kill animals to sanctify weddings, new homes or religious festivals. Upon purchasing a new car or truck, the owner sometimes splashes its exterior with fresh animal blood, to ensure the vehicle doesn't crash whenever it is driven.
Many times, pooja is merely symbolic -- an offering of butter, yogurt, money or flowers. When an animal is to be sacrificed, however, it should be an uncastrated male which is killed, apparently as a display of life's potency.
At Dakshinkali's temple complex, set amid trees in a tiny valley between two mountains, swarms with men, women and children carrying their squirming prey. Hindu symbols, including brass tridents and snakes, adorn the shrine's walls and canopy.
Some devotees don't wait to return home to dine on the dead meat. Instead, they picnic in the forest next to the shrine, roasting their meals on campfires while the slitting and hacking continues below amid clanging of bells and shouts of prayer. “
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