A temple in India is making headlines for using a ‘robot’ elephant in a traditional ritual.
According to the BBC and The Indian Express on the 27th, the Irinjadapilly Sree Krishna temple in Thrisur, Kerilla, India, used a robot elephant for official ceremonies, such as carrying a statue of a god on the 26th local time. .
The robot weighs 800kg and is about 3.3m tall, so 5 people can easily ride it. The material is made of steel and rubber. The eyes, nose, mouth, etc. are moved by electrical devices.
His name is Irinjadapilly Raman. Robotic elephants were also used in ‘Nadayiruthal’, an elephant sacrifice to the gods.
Capture from PETA India Twitter (@PetaIndia)The robot was donated by PETA India, an animal protection organization, and actor Parvashi Titbotu.
“We are delighted that our temple is receiving a (robot) elephant,” Rajkumar Nambuthiri, the temple’s monk, told The Indian Press. “I hope other temples will consider replacing real elephants with robots.”
“Over the past few years, I have spent a lot of money and time buying firearms (to kill elephants) and managing sensitive elephants,” he said.
Elephants are an indispensable part of temple festivals in Kerilla, and each temple is known to trade elephants at high prices and compete to find good ones. Some elephants even have thick fan bases on social media.
Lee Ye-ji,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.