Hundreds gather to drink yak blood in Mustang

By Thakur Prasad Acharya,Myagdi (Beni), Apr. 26: Hundreds have gathered at the week-long yak fair that began in Sinje, near the Boksi River in Mustang, on Saturday, to drink a glass of yak blood. 

Believing that fresh blood from yaks that have grazed on the medicinal herbs of the high mountains cures diseases, nearly 400 people have come to the fair, organised by the Himalayan Yak Husbandry and Protection Committee (HYHPC), an umbrella organisation of yak farmers, at Thasang Rural Municipality–2. 

According to Gautam Sherchan, chairman of Thasang Ward No. 2 and head of the HYHPC, people have come from all over the country including the capital Kathmandu with the belief that consuming the blood will cure gastritis, jaundice and skin diseases.

"This is an age-old custom," Buddhi Ratna Tulachan, member of HYHPC, told The Rising Nepal. "To keep their yaks healthy, our forefathers used to bleed them twice a year. Later, they started drinking that blood and found that it was beneficial for their health. That is how this tradition started."

Tulachan informed that they had fixed the price of one glass of fresh yak blood at Rs. 300.

Some come once during the seven-day fair and drink a glass of blood while others stay for the whole fair time and drink blood every day. An adult yak can give five to 10 glasses of blood. According to locals, this does not harm the animal in any way.

The person who draws blood from the yak is called Amji in local language. They use a syringe to extract blood from the animal's neck. There are two Amjis in this year's fair.

The fair had not been held for the past four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sherchan informed that the Committee had 1,500 yaks in the fair.