NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Animal sacrifice

Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practised by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature. Animal sacrifice has turned up in almost all cultures, from the Hebrews to the Greeks and Romans and from the Aztecs to the Yoruba. Image File history File links Greekreligion-animalsacrifice-corinth-6C-BCE.jpgâ€Ž 6th c. ... Image File history File links Greekreligion-animalsacrifice-corinth-6C-BCE.jpgâ€Ž 6th c. ... Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: ÎšÏŒÏÎ¹Î½Î¸Î¿Ï‚, KÃ³rinthos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... Image File history File links Asvamedha_ramayana. ... Image File history File links Asvamedha_ramayana. ... The Ashvamedha ( horse sacrifice) is one of the most important royal rituals of Vedic religion, described in detail in the Yajurveda (TS 7. ... Kausalya (Sanskrit: à¤•à¥Œà¤¶à¤²à¥à¤¯à¤¾, kouÅ›alyÄ), in the Hindu epic Ramayana, was the eldest of King Dasarathas three wives and a queen of Ayodhya. ... For the television series by Ramanand Sagar, see Ramayan (TV series). ... Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome For other uses, see Sacrifice (disambiguation). ... A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. ... â€œAnimaliaâ€ redirects here. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... The word Aztec is usually used as a historical term, although some contemporary Nahuatl speakers would consider themselves Aztecs. ... The Yoruba (YorÃ¹bÃ¡ in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Africa; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language (Ã¨dÃ¨e YorÃ¹bÃ¡; Ã¨dÃ¨ = language). ...

Walter Burkert in Homo necans argues that animal sacrifices reenact paleolithic hunting rituals, and that they are fundamentally identical in motivation to human sacrifices. Walter Burkert (born Neuendettelsau (Bavaria), February 2, 1931), the most eminent living scholar of Greek myth and cult, is an emeritus professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland who has also taught in the United Kingdom and the United States. ... Homo necans is a book on Ancient Greek religion and mythology by Walter Burkert. ... This cranium, of Homo heidelbergensis, a Lower Paleolithic predecessor to Homo neanderthalensis, dates to between 400,000 BCE to 500,000 BCE The Paleolithic is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of stone tools. ... â€œHunterâ€ redirects here. ... Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. ...

[edit] Ancient Near East

Animal sacrifices were common throughout the Ancient Near East. Overview map of the Ancient Near East The term Ancient Near East or Ancient Orient encompasses the early civilizations predating Classical Antiquity in the region roughly corresponding to that described by the modern term Middle East (Egypt, Iraq, Turkey), during the time roughly spanning the Bronze Age from the rise...

[edit] Judaism

In Judaism, animal sacrifice was practiced up to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A stone (2. ...

The Torah distinguishes five kinds of sacrifice or korban, of which four involve animal sacrifice, viz. Olah (עלה) "holocaust", and Shlamim (זבח שלמים), in which the fat and kidneys are burnt while the rest is eaten, the Chattat (חטאת) and Asham (אשם), where human guilt or sin is transferred to an animal (compare scapegoat). This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Korban (×§×¨×‘×Ÿ) (plural: Korbanot ×§×¨×‘× ×•×ª) is a Jewish practice of sacrificing an animal or of making an offering at the Temple. ... Korban (×§×¨×‘×Ÿ) (plural: Korbanot ×§×¨×‘× ×•×ª) is a Jewish practice of sacrificing an animal or of making an offering at the Temple. ... A holocaust is a religious sacrifice that is completely consumed by fire. ... Korban (Hebrew: sacrifice ×§×¨×‘×Ÿ) (plural: Korbanot ×§×¨×‘× ×•×ª) refers to any one of a variety of sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Torah (Hebrew Bible) that were offered in a variety of settings by the ancient Israelites, and then by the Kohanim (the Jewish priests only) in the Temple in Jerusalem. ... The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt, 1854. ...

Many Jewish sources discuss the deeper meaning behind korbanot. For example, Sefer Hachinuch explains that an indivudal bringing an animal sacrifice for a sin understands that he personally should have been sacrificed as punishment for the rebellion against God inherent in the sin, but God mercifully accepts the sacrifice in his or her place. Furthermore, it is fitting that an animal is used as a sacrifice because at the moment of sin, the individual in question disregarded his elevated human soul, effectively acting as an animal. Sefer ha-Chinuch (Book of Education, often simply the Chinuch) is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

[edit] Christianity

References to animal sacrifice appear in the gospels, such as the parents of Jesus sacrificing two doves (Luke 2:24). For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

[edit] Indo-European cultures

Ancient anthropomorphic Ukrainian stone stela (Kernosovka stela), possibly depicting a late Proto-Indo-European god, most likely Dyeus, the thunderer. ... Many Indo-European branches show evidence for horse sacrifice, and comparative mythology suggests that they derive from a PIE ritual. ... This article discusses the historical religious practices in the Vedic time period; see Dharmic religions for details of contemporary religious practices. ... The Ashvamedha ( horse sacrifice) is one of the most important royal rituals of Vedic religion, described in detail in the Yajurveda (TS 7. ... Religion in ancient Rome combined several different cult practices and embraced more than a single set of beliefs. ... The Equirria (Festival of Mars - held on February 27, First Equirria and March 14, Second Equirria) were holy days with religious and military significance at either end of the new year celebrations for Mars. ... Tauromachy (tauromachia the killing of a bull) is a name for the cultural ritual of Bullfighting and also for the iconic central action of Mithras, the savior-god of Mithraism. ... Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in form of cult practices, thus the practical counterpart of Greek mythology. ... A holocaust is a religious sacrifice that is completely consumed by fire. ... In Ancient Greece, a Hecatomb was the sacrifice to the gods of 100 cattle (hecaton = one hundred). ... Celtic polytheism (also called Druidic polytheism) is the term for the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Celts. ... ROSIE IS A GERMN LADYGermanic paganism refers to the religion of the Germanic nations preceding Christianization. ... The BlÃ³t was the pagan Germanic sacrifice to Norse gods and Elves. ...

[edit] Contemporary

Animal sacrifice is still practised today by the followers of Santería and other "lineages of Orisa", as a means of curing the sick and giving thanks to the Orisa (Gods). However in Santeria, such animal offerings constitute an extremely small portion of what are termed "ebos" – ritual activities that include offerings, prayer and deeds. Some villages in Greece also sacrifice animals to Orthodox saints in a practise known as kourbània. The practise, while publicly condemned, is often tolerated for the benefits it provides to the church and the sense of community it engenders. â€œLukumi / Yoruba Religion / La ReligiÃ³nâ€ redirects here. ... This article is about the type of spirit. ... Look up deity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Remnants of ancient rituals of animal sacrifice are apparent in many cultures, for example the Spanish bullfights, or kapparos in Judaism, or ritual prescriptions for slaughtering procedures like shechita or ḏabīḥah. Slaughtering lambs is a common practice in Islam. Spanish toreo, corrida de toros or tauromaquia; Portuguese corrida de touros or tauromaquia) is a blood sport that involves, most of the times, professional performers (matadores) who execute various formal moves with the goal of appearing graceful and confident, while masterful over the bull itself; these maneuvers are performed at... It has been suggested that Kapparah be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Shechita Shechita (Hebrew:×©×—×™×˜×”) is the ritual slaughter of animals, as prescribed for slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws. ... Dhabiha (, ) is the prescribed method of slaughtering all animals excluding fish and most sea-life per Islamic law. ...

[edit] See also

Categories: Death | Animal sacrifice To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Animal worship covers religious and ritual practices including the worship of a living animal considered as a deity incarnate, animal sacrifice as well as the respect for the bones of a slain animal. ... Totemism (derived from the root -oode in the Ojibwe language, which referred to something kinship-related) is a religious belief that is frequently associated with shamanistic religions. ... Look up pagan, heathen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Folk religion consists of beliefs, superstitions and rituals transmitted from generation to generation of a specific culture. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Post-mortem, postmortem and post mortem redirect here. ... Brain death is defined as a complete and irreversible cessation of brain activity. ... Clinical death occurs when a patients heartbeat and breathing have stopped. ... Euthanasia (from Greek: ÎµÏ…Î¸Î±Î½Î±ÏƒÎ¯Î± -ÎµÏ…, eu, good, Î¸Î¬Î½Î±Ï„Î¿Ï‚, thanatos, death) is the practice of terminating the life of a person or animal in a presumably painless or minimally painful way, usually by lethal injection. ... Legal death is a legal pronouncement by a qualified person that further medical care is not appropriate, and that a patient should be considered dead under the law. ... A persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a condition of patients with severe brain damage in whom coma has progressed to a state of wakefulness without detectable awareness. ... Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century for an active and progressive disease which cannot be cured and is expected to lead to death and or death due to symptoms of disease. ... This list shows causes of human deaths, worldwide, for a single year (2002) arranged by the associated mortality rate. ... This is an index of lists of people who died, by cause of death, in alphabetical order of cause. ... This article is about living for infinite period of time. ... The international levels of infant mortality, depicted as the number of deaths in a thousand births. ... Maternal death,or maternal mortality, also obstetric death is the death of a woman in relation to a pregnancy. ... Crude death rate by country Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in some population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time. ... Spoiler warning: The afterlife, or life after death, is a generic term referring to a continuation of existence, typically spiritual, experiential, or ghost-like, beyond this world, or after death. ... For the musician, see Burial (musician). ... The crematorium at Haycombe Cemetery, Bath, England. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Anticipatory Grief be merged into this article or section. ... Mourning is in the simplest sense synonymous with grief over the death of someone. ... Genocide is the mass killing of a group of people as defined by Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or... E. H. Langlois The fascination with death extends back as far as history tells. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Marcus Aurelius and members of the Imperial family offer sacrifice in gratitude for success against Germanic tribes: contemporary bas-relief, Capitoline Museum, Rome For other uses, see Sacrifice (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Suicide (Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of intentionally taking ones own life. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ...

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