Hindu worshippers have started slaughtering thousands of animals in a remote corner of Nepal to honour their goddess of power, defying a growing chorus of protests from animal-rights activists.

Devotees wielding swords were expected on Friday to turn the village of Bariyapur near the Indian border into the world's largest abattoir during the two-day festival when animals ranging from buffaloes to rats will have their throats slit.

The legend behind the sacrifice According to legend, the first sacrifices in Bariyapur were conducted several centuries ago when Gadhimai appeared to a prisoner in a dream and asked him to establish a temple to her. When he awoke, his shackles had fallen open and he was able to leave the prison and build the temple, where he sacrificed animals to give thanks.

"It is very festive here, everyone is excited," said Mangal Chaudhary, the head priest at the slaughter site near a temple devoted to Gadhimai, a Hindu goddess.

"All the morning rituals have gone smoothly and now we have begun the sacrifices."

Worshippers on the first day were expected to sacrifice only buffaloes, thousands of which have been coralled into holding pens in a large field, before moving onto other animals.

Worshippers from Nepal and neighbouring India have spent days sleeping out in the open and offering prayers to the goddess at a temple decked with flowers in preparation.

The festival kicked off at midnight amid tight security, with the ceremonial killing of a goat, rat, chicken, pig and a pigeon.

About 1,200 police personnel were patrolling the village and the field where sacrifices were taking place to control crowds which have gathered to watch.

Excited devotees attempted to scale a five-foot high wall erected around the slaughter site, while police worked to keep the area clear and avert possible clashes between worshippers and activists.

Alcohol banned

Authorities have also banned the sale of alcohol during the festival, according to Lokendra Malla, a local police official.

"It is a security issue, people get intoxicated and fight. We don't want any of that."

An estimated 300,000 animals had their heads chopped off or throats slit during the last festival in 2009, making it the world's biggest sacrifice of animals at any one site.

The spectacle leaves pools of blood across the temple grounds, the air thick with the stench of raw meat, while authorities dump buffaloes' heads into a freshly dug large pit.

The goat and chicken flesh is distributed to devotees and villagers, while contractors bid to buy the buffalo and animal hides.

Animal-rights activists accused temple authorities of "cashing in on people's beliefs".

"They are extorting money ... in the name of entry fees, parking, and so on," said Manoj Gautam, president of Animal Welfare Network Nepal, who is in Bariyapur to protest against the ritual.

According to legend, the first sacrifices in Bariyapur were conducted several centuries ago when Gadhimai appeared to a prisoner in a dream and asked him to establish a temple to her.

When he awoke, his shackles had fallen open and he was able to leave the prison and build the temple, where he sacrificed animals to give thanks.

A campaign to ban the festival has attracted support from celebrities including British actress Joanna Lumley and French actress Brigitte Bardot, who has petitioned Nepal's president to end the "cruel tradition".