Animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is a part of some Durga puja celebrations during Navaratri in the eastern states of India. The goddess is offered a sacrificial animal in this ritual in the belief that it stimulates her violent vengeance against the buffalo demon. According to Christopher Fuller, the animal sacrifice practice is rare among Hindus during Navaratri, or at other times, outside the Shaktism tradition found in the eastern Indian states of West Bengal, Odisha, and Assam. Even in these states, the festival season is one where significant animal sacrifices are observed. In some Shakta Hindu communities, the slaying of the buffalo demon and the victory of Durga are observed with a symbolic sacrifice instead of animal sacrifice.