Dozens of villagers in Gummatapura, southern India, engaged in the ritual of holding cow dung at each other for the Gorehabba festival. Gaurahabba festival is a local ritual marking the end of Hinduism’s religious festival, Diwali, the festival of lights. Devotees believe their deity, Beereshwara Swamy, was born in cow dung excrement.
Hence, many Hindus consider it sacred and purifying. The festival is unique to the village. The devotees say that since the deity was born in the cow’s excrement, and because of this, it falls on the fourth day of Diwali, they celebrate this festival.
Villagers also believe that cow dung can heal ailments. When they play in the cow dung, they get cured of many diseases, as God is in the form of cow dung, and he cures everything. Tourists also came to witness this spectacle. Many tourists believe that it was a myth, a legend, and a fiction. However, to witness, many tourists visit the village from across the world to witness it in reality. Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, lasts five days.
🇮🇳 VIDEO Crowds pelt each other with cow dung to mark the end of Diwali
Joyful crowds pelted each other with fistfuls of cow manure as part of one village’s local ritual to mark the end of Diwali, India’s most important Hindu festival. #AFPVertical pic.twitter.com/KY170eSFU9
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 24, 2025
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On the day the festival is celebrated, the participants visit cow-owning homes in the village and collect their dung. The cow dung is then brought to the temple in the village on tractors. After the pandit blesses the village, the manure is dumped in an open area. Following this, men wade into the open pit and fling fistfuls of cow manure on each other. Each year, people flock to the village from different parts of India to witness the celebration.
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— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) October 23, 2025
While the villagers in southern India celebrate the festival with cow dung, many in India believe that cow urine has exponential health benefits. The sale of cayurine spiked exponentially in the Indian Gujarat during the outbreak of coronavirus. Citizens increased the consumption of it, believing that it has the ability to cure coronavirus, and thousands of litres were consumed daily in the Indian Gujarat.