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Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of aritual, which is usually intended to please or appeasegods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice bycapital punishment, an authoritative/priestly figure, spirits ofdead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein a monarch's servants are killed in order for them to continue to serve their master in the next life. Closely related practices found in sometribal societies arecannibalism andheadhunting.[1] Human sacrifice is also known as ritual murder.
Human sacrifice was practiced in many human societies beginning in prehistoric times. By theIron Age(1st millennium BCE), with the associated developments in religion (theAxial Age), human sacrifice was becoming less common throughoutAfrica,Europe, andAsia, and came to be looked down upon asbarbaric duringclassical antiquity. In theAmericas, however, human sacrifice continued to be practiced, by some, to varying degrees until theEuropean colonization of the Americas. Today, human sacrifice has become extremely rare.
Modern secular laws treat human sacrifices asmurder.[2][3] Most major religions in the modern day condemn the practice. For example inHinduism, theShrimad Bhagavatam condemns human sacrifice and cannibalism, warning of severe punishment in the afterlife for those who commit such acts.[4]
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Human sacrifice has been practiced on a number of different occasions and in many different cultures. The various rationales behind human sacrifice are the same that motivate religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice is typically intended to bring good fortune and to pacify the gods, for example in the context of the dedication of a completed building like a temple or bridge.Fertility was another common theme in ancient religious sacrifices, such as sacrifices to the Aztec god of agricultureXipe Totec.[5]
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In ancient Japan, legends talk abouthitobashira ("human pillar"), in which maidens wereburied alive at the base of or near some constructions to protect the buildings against disasters or enemy attacks,[8] and almost identical accounts appear in theBalkans (The Building of Skadar andBridge of Arta).[citation needed]
For the re-consecration of theGreat Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, theAztecs reported that they killed about 80,400 prisoners over the course of four days. According toRoss Hassig, author ofAztec Warfare, "between 10,000 and 80,400 persons" were sacrificed in the ceremony.[9]
Human sacrifice can also have the intention of winning the gods' favor in warfare. InHomeric legend,Iphigeneia was to be sacrificed by her fatherAgamemnon to appeaseArtemis so she would allow the Greeks to wage theTrojan War.[citation needed]
In some notions of anafterlife, the deceased will benefit from victims killed at his funeral.Mongols,Scythians, earlyEgyptians and variousMesoamerican chiefs could take most of their household, including servants andconcubines, with them to the next world. This is sometimes called a "retainer sacrifice", as the leader's retainers would be sacrificed along with their master, so that they could continue to serve him in the afterlife.[citation needed]
Another purpose isdivination from the body parts of the victim. According toStrabo,Celts stabbed a victim with a sword and divined the future from his death spasms.[10][non-primary source needed]
Headhunting is the practice of taking the head of a killed adversary, for ceremonial or magical purposes, or for reasons of prestige. It was found in many pre-moderntribal societies.[citation needed]
Human sacrifice may be a ritual practiced in a stable society, and may even be conducive to enhancing societal unity (see:Sociology of religion), both by creating abond unifying the sacrificing community, and by combining human sacrifice andcapital punishment, by removing individuals that have an adverse effect on societal stability (criminals, religious heretics, foreign slaves or prisoners of war). However, outside ofcivil religion, human sacrifice may also result in outbursts of blood frenzy andmass killings that destabilize society.[citation needed]
Many cultures show traces of prehistoric human sacrifice in their mythologies and religious texts, but ceased the practice before the onset of historical records. Some see the story ofAbraham and Isaac (Genesis 22) as an example of anetiological myth, explaining the abolition of human sacrifice. The VedicPurushamedha (literally "human sacrifice") is already a purely symbolic act in its earliest attestation. According toPliny the Elder, human sacrifice inancient Rome was abolished by a senatorial decree in 97 BCE, although by this time the practice had already become so rare that the decree was mostly a symbolic act. Human sacrifice once abolished is typically replaced by either animal sacrifice, or by the mock-sacrifice ofeffigies, such as theArgei in ancient Rome.[citation needed]
Successful agricultural cities had already emerged in the Near East by theNeolithic, some protected behind stone walls.Jericho is the best known of these cities but other similar settlements existed along the coast of theLevant extending north intoAsia Minor and west to theTigris andEuphrates rivers. Most of the land was arid and the religious culture of the entire region centered on fertility and rain. Many of the religious rituals, including human sacrifice, had an agricultural focus. Blood was mixed with soil to improve its fertility.[11]
There may be evidence of retainer sacrifice in theearly dynastic period atAbydos, when on the death of a King he would be accompanied by servants, and possibly high officials, who would continue to serve him in eternal life. The skeletons that were found had no obvious signs of trauma, leading to speculation that the giving up of life to serve the King may have been a voluntary act, possibly carried out in a drug-induced state. At about 2800 BCE, any possible evidence of such practices disappeared, though echoes are perhaps to be seen in the burial of statues of servants inOld Kingdom tombs.[12][13]
Servants of both royalty and high court officials were slain to accompany their masters into the next world.[14] The number of retainers buried surrounding the king's tomb was much greater than those of high court officials, however, again suggesting the greater importance of the pharaoh.[15] For example,King Djer had 318 retainer sacrifices buried in his tomb, and 269 retainer sacrifices buried in enclosures surrounding his tomb.[16]
References in theBible point to an awareness of and disdain of human sacrifice in the history ofancient Near Eastern practice. During a battle with theIsraelites, the King ofMoab gives his firstborn son and heir as a wholeburnt offering (olah, as used of the Temple sacrifice) (2 Kings 3:27).[17] The Bible then recounts that, following the King's sacrifice, "There was great indignation [or wrath] against Israel" and that the Israelites had to raise their siege of the Moabite capital and go away. This verse had perplexed many later Jewish and Christian commentators, who tried to explain what the impact of the Moabite King's sacrifice was, to make those under siege emboldened while disheartening the Israelites, make God angry at the Israelites or the Israelites fear his anger, makeChemosh (the Moabite god) angry, or otherwise.[18][non-primary source needed] Whatever the explanation, evidently at the time of writing, such an act of sacrificing the firstborn son and heir, while prohibited by Israelites (Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:9–12), was considered as an emergency measure in the Ancient Near East, to be performed in exceptional cases where divine favor was desperately needed.[non-primary source needed]
Thebinding of Isaac appears in theBook of Genesis (22), where God testsAbraham by asking him to present his son as a sacrifice onMoriah. Abraham agrees to this command without arguing. The story ends with anangel stopping Abraham at the last minute and providing a ram, caught in some nearby bushes, to be sacrificed instead. Many Bible scholars have suggested this story's origin was a remembrance of an era when human sacrifice was abolished in favour of animal sacrifice.[19][20]
Another probable instance of human sacrifice mentioned in the Bible isJephthah's sacrifice ofhis daughter in Judges 11. Jephthah vows to sacrifice to God whatever comes to greet him at the door when he returns home if he is victorious in his war against theAmmonites. The vow is stated in theBook of Judges 11:31: "Then whoever comes of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord's, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering (NRSV)." When he returns from battle, his virgin daughter runs out to greet him, and Jephthah laments to her that he cannot take back his vow. She begs for, and is granted, "two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I", after which "[Jephthah] did with her according to the vow he had made."[21][non-primary source needed]
Two kings ofJudah,Ahaz andManassah, sacrificed their sons. Ahaz, in 2 Kings 16:3, sacrificed his son. "... He even made his son pass through fire, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel (NRSV)." King Manasseh sacrificed his sons in2 Chronicles 33:6. "He made his son pass through fire in thevalley of the son of Hinnom ... He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger (NRSV)." The valley symbolized hell in later religions, such asChristianity, as a result.[non-primary source needed]
According to Roman and Greek sources,Phoenicians andCarthaginians sacrificed infants to their gods. The bones of numerous infants have been found in Carthaginian archaeological sites in modern times, but their cause of death remain controversial.[22] In a single child cemetery called the "Tophet" by archaeologists, an estimated 20,000 urns were deposited.[23]
Plutarch (c. 46 – c. 120 CE) mentions the practice, as doTertullian,Orosius,Diodorus Siculus andPhilo.Livy andPolybius do not. The Bible asserts that children were sacrificed at a place called thetophet ("roasting place") to the godMoloch. According to Diodorus Siculus'sBibliotheca historica, "There was in their city a bronze image ofCronus extending its hands, palms up and sloping toward the ground, so that each of the children when placed thereon rolled down and fell into a sort of gaping pit filled with fire."[24]
Plutarch, however, claims that the children were already dead at the time, having been killed by their parents, whose consent – as well as that of the children – was required. Tertullian explains the acquiescence of the children as a product of their youthful trustfulness.[24]
The accuracy of such stories is disputed by some modern historians and archaeologists.[25]
Retainer sacrifice was practised within the royal tombs of ancientMesopotamia. Courtiers, guards, musicians, handmaidens, and grooms were presumed to have committed ritual suicide by taking poison.[26][27]A 2009 examination of skulls from the royal cemetery atUr, discovered in Iraq in the 1920s by a team led byC. Leonard Woolley, appears to support a more grisly interpretation of human sacrifices associated with elite burials in ancient Mesopotamia than had previously been recognized. Palace attendants, as part of royal mortuary ritual, were not dosed with poison to meet death serenely. Instead, they were put to death by having a sharp instrument, such as a pike, driven into their heads.[28][29]
There is archaeological evidence of human sacrifice inNeolithic toEneolithic Europe.[30][31][32]
The ancient ritual of expelling certain slaves, cripples, or criminals from a community to ward off disaster (known aspharmakos), would at times involve publicly executing the chosen prisoner by throwing them off of a cliff.[citation needed]
References to human sacrifice can be found in Greek historical accounts as well as mythology. The human sacrifice in mythology, thedeus ex machina salvation in some versions ofIphigeneia (who was about to be sacrificed by her fatherAgamemnon) and her replacement with a deer by the goddessArtemis, may be a vestigial memory of the abandonment and discrediting of the practice of human sacrifice among the Greeks in favour of animal sacrifice.[citation needed]
In ancient Rome, human sacrifice was infrequent but documented. Roman authors often contrast their own behavior with that of people who would commit the heinous act of human sacrifice, as human sacrifice was often looked down upon. These authors make it clear that such practices were from a much more uncivilized time in the past, far removed.[33] It is thought that many ritualistic celebrations and dedications to gods used to involve human sacrifice but have now been replaced with symbolic offerings.Dionysius of Halicarnassus[34] says that the ritual of theArgei, in which straw figures were tossed into theTiber river, may have been a substitute for an original offering of elderly men.Cicero claimed that puppets thrown from thePons Sublicius by theVestal Virgins in a processional ceremony were substitutes for the past sacrifice of old men.[35]
After theRoman defeat at Cannae, two Gauls and two Greeks in male-female couples were buried under theForum Boarium, in a stone chamber used for the purpose at least once before.[36][page needed][37] InLivy's description of these sacrifices, he distances the practice from Roman tradition and asserts that the past human sacrifices evident in the same location were "wholly alien to the Roman spirit."[38] The rite was apparently repeated in 113 BCE, preparatory to an invasion of Gaul.[39] They buried the two Greeks and the two Gauls alive as a plea to the gods to save Rome from destruction at the hands ofHannibal.[citation needed]
According toPliny the Elder, human sacrifice was banned by law during theconsulship ofPublius Licinius Crassus andGnaeus Cornelius Lentulus in 97 BCE, although by this time it was so rare that the decree was largely symbolic.[40] Sulla'sLex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis in 82 BC also included punishments for human sacrifice.[41] The Romans also had traditions that centered around ritual murder, but which they did not consider to be sacrifice. Such practices included burying unchasteVestal Virgins alive and drowning visibly intersex children. These were seen as reactions to extraordinary circumstances as opposed to being part of Roman tradition. Vestal Virgins who were accused of being unchaste were put to death, and a special chamber was built to bury them alive. This aim was to please the gods and restore balance to Rome.[33][a]Human sacrifices, in the form of burying individuals alive, were not uncommon during times of panic in ancient Rome. However, the burial of unchaste Vestal Virgins was also practiced in times of peace. Their chasteness was thought to be a safeguard of the city, and even in punishment, the state of their bodies was preserved in order to maintain the peace.[42][43]
Captured enemy leaders were only occasionally executed at the conclusion of aRoman triumph, and the Romans themselves did not consider these deaths a sacrificial offering.[citation needed]Gladiator combat was thought by the Romans to have originated as fights to the death among war captives at the funerals of Roman generals, andChristian polemicists, such asTertullian, considered deathsin the arena to be little more than human sacrifice.[44] Over time, participants became criminals and slaves, and their death was considered a sacrifice to theManes on behalf of the dead.[45]
Political rumors sometimes centered around sacrifice and in doing so, aimed to liken individuals to barbarians and show that the individual had become uncivilized. Human sacrifice also became a marker and defining characteristic of magic and bad religion.[46]
There is literary evidence for infant sacrifice being practiced inCarthage, however, current anthropological analyses have not found physical evidence to back up these claims. There is a Tophet, where infant remains have been found, but after current analytical techniques, it has been concluded this area is more representative of the naturally high infant mortality rate.[47][48][49]
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There is some evidence that ancientCeltic peoples practiced human sacrifice.[50] Accounts of Celtic human sacrifice come from Roman and Greek sources.Julius Caesar[51] andStrabo wrote that theGauls burnt animal and human sacrifices in a large wickerwork figure, known as awicker man, and said the human victims were usually criminals; whilePosidonius wrote thatdruids who oversaw human sacrifices foretold the future by watching the death throes of the victims.[52] Caesar also wrote that slaves of Gaulish chiefs would be burnt along with the body of their master as part of his funeral rites.[53] In the 1st century AD, Roman writerLucan mentioned human sacrifices to the Gaulish godsEsus,Teutatis andTaranis. In a 9th-centurycommentary on Lucan, an unnamed author added that sacrifices to Esus werehanged from a tree, those to Teutates weredrowned, and those to Taranis wereburned.[54] According to the 2nd-century Roman writerCassius Dio,Boudica's forces impaled Roman captives during her rebellion against theRoman occupation, to the accompaniment of revelry and sacrifices in the sacred groves ofAndate.[55] It is important to note, however, that the Romans benefited from making the Celts sound barbaric, and scholars are more skeptical about these accounts now than in the past.[56]
There is some archaeological evidence of human sacrifice among Celtic peoples, although it is rare.[50]Ritual beheading andheadhunting was a major religious and cultural practice that has found copious support in the archaeological record, including the numerous skulls found inLondinium'sRiver Walbrook and the twelve headless corpses at the Gaulish sanctuary ofGournay-sur-Aronde.[b]
Several ancient Irishbog bodies have been interpreted as kings who were ritually killed, presumably after serious crop failures or other disasters. Some were deposited in bogs on territorial boundaries (which were seen as liminal places) or near royal inauguration sites, and some were found to have eaten a ceremonial last meal.[60][61] Some academics suggest there are allusions to kings being sacrificed in Irish mythology, particularly in tales ofthreefold deaths.[50]
The medievalDindsenchas (Lore of Places) says that, in pagan Ireland, first-born children were sacrificed at an idol calledCrom Cruach, whose worship was ended bySaint Patrick. However, this account was written by Christian scribes centuries after the supposed events and may be based on biblical traditions about the godMoloch.[62]
In Britain, the medieval legends ofDinas Emrys and of SaintOran of Iona mentionfoundation sacrifices, whereby people were ritually killed and buried underfoundations to ensure the building's safety.[50] TheWaldensians sect was later accused of child sacrifice by the Church.[63][64]
According to written sources from the 13th–14th centuries, theLithuanians andPrussians made sacrifices to theirpagan gods at their sacred places,alka hills, battlefields and near natural objects (sea, rivers, lakes, etc.).[65] In 1389 following the military victories in the land ofMedininkai theSamogitians cast lots which indicated Marquard von Raschau, the commander ofKlaipėda (Memel), as a suitable victim for gods and burnt him on horseback in full armour.[66] It possibly was the last human sacrifice inmedieval Europe.[66]
Pope Gregory IX described in a papal letter how theTavastians in Finland sacrificed Christians to their pagan gods:"The little children, to whom the light of Christ was revealed in baptism, they violently tore from this light and killed, and adult men, after pulling out their entrails, they sacrifice them to evil spirits and force others to run around trees until death, and some of the priests they blind, from others they brutally sever their hands and other limbs and wrap what is left behind in straws and burn them alive."[67]
There have been found bog graves inEstonia that have been interpreted to have been part of human sacrifice.[68] According to Aliis Moora, mostly enemy prisoners of war were sacrificed, the main reason indicated in theLivonian Chronicle as alleviating crop failure. Sacrifices were also performed as a show of gratitude after a victorious battle. Ritual cannibalism also took place, in order to gain the power of the enemy.[69] TheGesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum byAdam of Bremen written at the end of the 11th century claims that behind the island of Kuramaa there is an island called Aestland (Estonia), whose inhabitants do not believe in the Christian God. Instead, they worship dragons andbirds (dracones adorant cum volucribus) to whom people bought from slavers are sacrificed.[69] According to theLivonian Chronicle, describing the events after theBattle of Ümera, "Estonians had seized some Germans, Livs, and Latvians, and some of them they simply killed, others they burned alive and tore the shirts off some of them, carved crosses on their backs with a sword and then beheaded". The Chronicle explicitly states they were sacrificed "to their gods" (diis suis).[70]
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Humansacrifice was not particularly common among theGermanic peoples, being resorted to in exceptional situations arising from environmental crises (crop failure, drought, famine) or social crises (war), often thought to derive at least in part from the failure of the king to establish or maintain prosperity and peace (árs ok friðar) in the lands entrusted to him.[71] In later Scandinavian practice, human sacrifice appears to have become more institutionalised and was repeated periodically as part of a larger sacrifice (according toAdam of Bremen, every nine years).[72]
Evidence of human sacrifice byGermanic pagans before theViking Age depend on archaeology and on a few accounts inGreco-Roman ethnography. Roman writerTacitus reported theSuebians making human sacrifices to gods heinterpreted asMercury andIsis. He also claimed that Germans sacrificed Roman commanders and officers as a thanksgiving for victory in theBattle of the Teutoburg Forest.[73][74]Jordanes reported theGoths sacrificingprisoners of war toMars, suspending the victims' severed arms from tree branches.[75] Tacitus further refers to those who have transgressed certain societal rules being drowned and placed inwetlands. This potentially explains finds ofbog bodies dating to the Roman Iron Age although none show signs of having died by drowning.[72]
By the 10th century, Germanic paganism had become restricted to theNorse people. One account byAhmad ibn Fadlan in 922 claimsVarangian warriors were sometimes buried with enslaved women, in the belief they would become their wives inValhalla. He describesthe funeral of a Varangian chieftain, in which a slave girl volunteered to be buried with him. After ten days of festivities, she was given an intoxicating drink, repeatedly raped by other chiefs, stabbed to death by a priestess, and burnt together with the dead chieftain in his boat (seeship burial). This practice is evidenced archaeologically, with many male warrior burials (such as the ship burial atBalladoole on the Isle of Man, or that atOseberg in Norway[76]) also containing female remains with signs of trauma.
According toAdémar de Chabannes, just before his death in 932 or 933,Rollo (founder and first ruler of the VikingDuchy of Normandy) performed human sacrifices to appease the pagan gods while at the same time giving gifts to the churches inNormandy.[77]
In the 11th century, Adam of Bremen wrote that human and animal sacrifices were made at theTemple atGamla Uppsala in Sweden. He wrote that every ninth year, nine men and nine of every animal were sacrificed and their bodies hung in asacred grove.[78]
TheHistoria Norwegiæ andYnglinga saga refer to the willing sacrifice of KingDómaldi after bad harvests.[79] The same saga also relates that Dómaldi's descendant kingAun sacrificed nine of his own sons toOdin in exchange for longer life, until the Swedes stopped him from sacrificing his last son,Egil.[citation needed]
In theSaga of Hervor and Heidrek,Heidrek agrees to the sacrifice of his son in exchange for command over half the army ofReidgotaland. With this, he seizes the whole kingdom and prevents the sacrifice of his son, dedicating those fallen in his rebellion to Odin instead.[citation needed]
In the 10th century, Persian explorerAhmad ibn Rustah described funerary rites for theRus' (ScandinavianNorsemen traders in northeastern Europe) including the sacrifice of a young female slave.[80]Leo the Deacon describes prisoner sacrifice by the Rus' led bySviatoslav during theRusso-Byzantine War "in accordance with their ancestral custom."[81]
According to the 12th-centuryPrimary Chronicle, prisoners of war were sacrificed to the supreme Slavic deityPerun. Sacrifices to pagan gods, along with paganism itself, were banned after theChristianization of Rus' by Grand PrinceVladimir the Great in the 980s.[82]
In 1066, the Bishop of MecklenburgJohn Scotus was sacrificed toRadegast inRethra by the SlavicLutici.
Archeological findings indicate that the practice may have been widespread, at least among slaves, judging from mass graves containing the cremated fragments of a number of different people.[80]
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The history of human sacrifice in China may extend as early as 2300 BCE.[83] Excavations of the ancient fortress city of Shimao in the northern part of modernShaanxi province revealed 80 skulls ritually buried underneath the city's eastern wall.[83] Forensic analysis indicates the victims were all teenage girls.[83]
Theancient Chinese are known to have made drowned sacrifices of men and women to the river godHebo.[84] They also have buriedslaves alive with their owners upon death as part of afuneral service. This was especially prevalent during theShang andZhou dynasties. During theWarring States period,Ximen Bao ofWei outlawed human sacrificial practices to the river god.[85] In Chinese lore, Ximen Bao is regarded as a folk hero who pointed out the absurdity of human sacrifice.[citation needed]
The sacrifice of a high-ranking male's slaves,concubines, or servants upon his death (calledXun Zang 殉葬 orSheng Xun 生殉) was a more common form. The stated purpose was to provide companionship for the dead in the afterlife. In earlier times, the victims were either killed or buried alive, while later they were usually forced to commit suicide.[citation needed]
Funeral human sacrifice was widely practiced in the ancient Chinesestate of Qin. According to theRecords of the Grand Historian byHan dynasty historianSima Qian, the practice was started byDuke Wu, the tenth ruler of Qin, who had 66 people buried with him in 678 BCE. The 14th rulerDuke Mu had 177 people buried with him in 621 BCE, including three senior government officials.[86][87]Afterwards, the people of Qin wrote the famous poemYellow Bird to condemn this barbaric practice, later compiled in theConfucianClassic of Poetry.[88]The tomb of the 18th rulerDuke Jing of Qin, who died in 537 BCE, has been excavated. More than 180 coffins containing the remains of 186 victims were found in the tomb.[89][90]The practice would continue untilDuke Xian of Qin (424–362 BCE) abolished it in 384 BCE. Modern historian Ma Feibai considers the significance of Duke Xian's abolition of human sacrifice in Chinese history comparable to that ofAbraham Lincoln's abolition of slavery in American history.[87][91]
After the abolition by Duke Xian, funeral human sacrifice became relatively rare throughout the central parts of China. However, theHongwu Emperor of theMing dynasty revived it in 1395, following the MongolianYuan precedent, when his second son died and two of the prince's concubines were sacrificed. In 1464, theTianshun Emperor, in his will, forbade the practice for Ming emperors and princes.[citation needed]
Human sacrifice was also practised by theManchus. FollowingNurhaci's death, his wife,Lady Abahai, and his two lesser consorts committed suicide. During theQing dynasty, sacrifice of slaves was banned by theKangxi Emperor in 1673.[citation needed]
In the practice known asHitobashira (人柱, "human pillar"), a person was buried alive at the base of large structures such as dams, castles, and bridges.[citation needed]
Human sacrifice was practiced inTibet prior to the arrival ofBuddhism in the 7th century.[c]Historical practices such as burying bodies under the cornerstones of houses may have been practiced during the medieval era, but few concrete instances have been recorded or verified.[93]
The prevalence of human sacrifice in medieval Buddhist Tibet is less clear. TheLamas, as professing Buddhists, could not condone blood sacrifices, and they replaced the human victims with effigies made from dough which is still to this day dyed partially red to symbolize sacrifice.[93] This replacement of human victims with effigies is attributed toPadmasambhava, a Tibetan saint of the mid-8th century, in Tibetan tradition.[94]
Nevertheless, there is some evidence that outside of orthodox Buddhism, there were practices oftantric human sacrifice which survived throughout the medieval period, and possibly into modern times.[93] The 15th centuryBlue Annals reports that in the 13th century so-called "18 robber-monks" slaughtered men and women in their ceremonies.[95] Grunfeld (1996) concludes that it cannot be ruled out that isolated instances of human sacrifice did survive in remote areas of Tibet until the mid-20th century, but they must have been rare.[93] Grunfeld also notes that Tibetan practices unrelated to human sacrifice, such as the use of human bone in ritual instruments, have been depicted without evidence as products of human sacrifice.[93]
In India, human sacrifice is mainly known asNarabali. Here "nara" means human and "bali" means sacrifice. It takes place in some parts of India mostly to find lost treasure. InMaharashtra, the government made it illegal to practice with theAnti-Superstition and Black Magic Act. Currently human sacrifice is very rare in modern India.[96] There have been at least three cases through 2003–2013 where men have been murdered allegedly in the name of human sacrifice.[97][98][99]
Thuggees, or thugs, were an organized gang of professionalrobbers andmurderers who traveled in groups across theIndian subcontinent for several hundred years.[100][101] They were first mentioned inẒiyā'-ud-Dīn Baranī'sTarikh-i-Firuz Shahi (English:History of Fīrūz Shāh) dated around 1356.[102] Thugs would join travellers and gain their confidence. This would allow them to then surprise and strangle them by tossing a handkerchief or noose around their necks. They would then rob the bodies of valuables and bury them. This led them to also be calledPhansigar (English:using anoose), a term more commonly used in southern India.[103]
Regarding possibleVedic mention of human sacrifice, the prevailing 19th-century view, associated above all withHenry Colebrooke, was that human sacrifice did not actually take place. Those verses which referred topurushamedha were meant to be read symbolically,[104] or as a "priestly fantasy". However,Rajendralal Mitra published a defence of the thesis that human sacrifice, as had been practised inBengal, was a continuation of traditions dating back to Vedic periods.[105]Hermann Oldenberg held to Colebrooke's view; butJan Gonda underlined its disputed status.[citation needed]
Human and animal sacrifice became less common during the post-Vedic period, asahimsa (non-violence) became part of mainstream religious thought. TheChandogya Upanishad (3.17.4) includes ahimsa in its list of virtues.[104] The impact of Sramanic religions such as Buddhism and Jainism also became known in the Indian subcontinent.[citation needed]
In the 7th century,Banabhatta, in a description of the dedication of a temple ofChandika, describes a series of human sacrifices; similarly, in the 9th century,Haribhadra describes the sacrifices to Chandika inOdisha.[106] The town ofKuknur in North Karnataka there exists an ancientKali temple, built around the 8-9th century CE, which has a history of human sacrifices.[106]Human sacrifice is reputed to have been performed on the altars of theHatimura Temple, aShakti (Great Goddess) temple located atSilghat, in theNagaon district ofAssam. It was built during the reign of kingPramatta Singha in 1667Sakabda (1745–1746 CE). It used to be an important center ofShaktism in ancient Assam. Its presiding goddess isDurga in her aspect ofMahisamardini, slayer of the demon Mahisasura. It was also performed in theTamresari Temple which was located inSadiya under theChutia kings.[citation needed]
Open human sacrifices were carried out in connection with the worship of Shakti until approximately the early modern period, and inBengal perhaps as late as the early 19th century.[107][108] Although not accepted by larger section ofHindu culture[citation needed] certain Tantric cults performed human sacrifice until around the same time, both actual and symbolic; it was a highly ritualised act, and on occasion took many months to complete.[107] An occasional ritual murder, to Kali, periodically appears in the contemporary press.[109]
The free or forced burning of widows, in a Vedic practise known asSati, was noted during Alexander's invasion, of 327 BCE. A practice that was codified during the Gupta empire, and later prohibited, in Bengal viaBengal Sati Regulation, 1829, later across India, the last explicit legislation, in India, being theSati (Prevention) Act, 1987.[110]
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InAncient Hawaii, aluakini temple, or luakiniheiau, was aNative Hawaiian sacred place where human and animal blood sacrifices were offered.Kauwa, the outcast or slave class, were often used as human sacrifices at theluakini heiau. They are believed to have beenwar captives, or the descendants of war captives. They were not the only sacrifices; law-breakers of all castes or defeated political opponents were also acceptable as victims.[111][112] Rituals for theHawaiian godKūkaʻilimoku included human sacrifice, which was not part of the worship of other gods.[citation needed]
According to an 1817 account, inTonga, a child was strangled to assist the recovery of a sick relation.[113]
Some of the most famous forms of ancient human sacrifice were performed by variousPre-Columbian civilizations in theAmericas[114] that included the sacrifice of prisoners as well as voluntary sacrifice. FriarMarcos de Niza (1539), writing of theChichimecas, said that from time to time "they of this valley cast lots whose luck (honour) it shall be to be sacrificed, and they make him great cheer, on whom the lot falls, and with great joy they lund him with flowers upon a bed prepared in the said ditch all full of flowers and sweet herbs, on which they lay him along, and lay great store of dry wood on both sides of him, and set it on fire on either part, and so he dies" and "that the victim took great pleasure" in being sacrificed.[115]
TheMixtec players of theMesoamerican ballgame were sacrificed when the game was used to resolve a dispute between cities. The rulers would play a game instead of going to battle. The losing ruler would be sacrificed. The ruler "Eight Deer", who was considered a great ball player and who won several cities this way, was eventually sacrificed, because he attempted to go beyond lineage-governing practices, and to create an empire.[116]
TheMaya held the belief thatcenotes or limestone sinkholes were portals to the underworld and sacrificed human beings and tossed them down the cenote to please the water godChaac. The most notable example of this is the "Sacred Cenote" atChichén Itzá.[117] Extensive excavations have recovered the remains of 42 individuals, half of them under twenty years old.[citation needed]
Only in thePost-Classic era did this practice become as frequent as in central Mexico.[118] In the Post-Classic period, the victims and the altar are represented as daubed in a hue now known asMaya blue, obtained from theañil plant and the clay mineralpalygorskite.[119]
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TheAztecs were particularly noted for practicing human sacrifice on a large scale; an offering toHuitzilopochtli would be made to restore the blood he lost, as the sun was engaged in a daily battle. Human sacrifices would prevent the end of the world that could happen on each cycle of 52 years. In the 1487 re-consecration of theGreat Pyramid of Tenochtitlan some estimate that 80,400 prisoners were sacrificed[120][121] though numbers are difficult to quantify, as all obtainable Aztec texts were destroyed by Christian missionaries during the period 1528–1548.[122] The Aztec, also known as Mexica, periodically sacrificed children as it was believed that the rain god,Tlāloc, required the tears of children.[117]
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According toRoss Hassig, author ofAztec Warfare, "between 10,000 and 80,400 people" were sacrificed in the ceremony. The old reports of numbers sacrificed for special feasts have been described as "unbelievably high" by some authors[122] and that on cautious reckoning, based on reliable evidence, the numbers could not have exceeded at most several hundred per year in Tenochtitlan.[122] The real number of sacrificed victims during the 1487 consecration is unknown.[citation needed]
Michael Harner, in his 1997 articleThe Enigma of Aztec Sacrifice, estimates the number of persons sacrificed in central Mexico in the 15th century as high as 250,000 per year.Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl, a Mexica descendant and the author ofCodex Ixtlilxochitl, claimed that one in five children of the Mexica subjects was killed annually.Victor Davis Hanson argues that an estimate by Carlos Zumárraga of 20,000 per annum is more plausible. Other scholars believe that, since the Aztecs always tried to intimidate their enemies, it is far more likely that they inflated the official number as apropaganda tool.[123][124]
The peoples of what is now the Southeastern United States known as theMississippian culture (800 to 1600 CE) have been suggested to have practiced human sacrifice, because some artifacts have been interpreted as depicting such acts.[125]Mound 72 atCahokia (the largest Mississippian site), located near modernSt. Louis, Missouri, was found to have numerous pits filled with mass burials thought to have been retainer sacrifices. One of several similar pit burials had the remains of 53 young women who had been strangled and neatly arranged in two layers. Another pit held 39 men, women, and children who showed signs of dying a violent death before being unceremoniously dumped into the pit. Several bodies showed signs of not having been fully dead when buried and of having tried to claw their way to the surface. On top of these people another group had been neatly arranged on litters made of cedar poles and cane matting. Another group of four individuals found in the mound were interred on a low platform, with their arms interlocked. They had had their heads and hands removed. The most spectacular burial at the mound is the "Birdman burial". This was the burial of a tall man in his 40s, now thought to have been an important early Cahokian ruler. He was buried on an elevated platform covered by a bed of more than 20,000 marine-shell disc beads arranged in the shape of afalcon,[126] with the bird's head appearing beneath and beside the man's head, and its wings and tail beneath his arms and legs. Below the birdman was another man, buried facing downward. Surrounding the birdman were several other retainers and groups of elaborategrave goods.[127][128]
A ritual sacrifice of retainers and commoners upon the death of an elite personage is also attested in the historical record among the last remaining fully Mississippian culture, theNatchez. Upon the death of "Tattooed Serpent" in 1725, the war chief and younger brother of the "Great Sun" or Chief of the Natchez; two of his wives, one of his sisters (nicknamedLa Glorieuse by the French), his first warrior, his doctor, his head servant and the servant's wife, his nurse, and a craftsman of war clubs all chose to die and be interred with him, as well as several old women and an infant who was strangled by his parents.[129] Great honor was associated with such a sacrifice, and their kin were held in high esteem.[130] After a funeral procession with the chief's body carried on a litter made of cane matting and cedar poles ended at the temple (which was located on top of a lowplatform mound), the retainers, with their faces painted red and drugged with large doses of nicotine, were ritually strangled. Tattooed Serpent was then buried in a trench inside the temple floor and the retainers were buried in other locations atop the mound surrounding the temple. After a few months' time the bodies were dis-interred and their defleshed bones were stored as bundle burials in the temple.[129]
ThePawnee may have occasionally conducted theMorning Star Ceremony, which included the sacrifice of a young girl. Though the ritual continued, the sacrifice was discontinued in the 19th century.[131]
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The Incas practiced human sacrifice, especially at great festivals or royal funerals where retainers died to accompany the dead into the next life.[132] TheMoche sacrificed teenagers en masse, as archaeologist Steve Bourget found when he uncovered the bones of 42 male adolescents in 1995.[133]
The study of the images seen in Moche art has enabled researchers to reconstruct the culture's most important ceremonial sequence, which began with ritual combat and culminated in the sacrifice of those defeated in battle. Dressed in fine clothes and adornments, armed warriors faced each other in ritual combat. In this hand-to-hand encounter the aim was to remove the opponent's headdress rather than kill him. The object of the combat was the provision of victims for sacrifice. The vanquished were stripped and bound, after which they were led in procession to the place of sacrifice. The captives are portrayed as strong and sexually potent. In the temple, the priests and priestesses would prepare the victims for sacrifice. The sacrificial methods employed varied, but at least one of the victims would be bled to death. His blood was offered to the principal deities in order to please and placate them.[134]
TheInca of Peru also made human sacrifices. As many as 4,000 servants, court officials, favorites, and concubines were killed upon the death of the IncaHuayna Capac in 1527, for example.[135] A number of mummies of sacrificed children have been recovered in the Inca regions ofSouth America, an ancient practice known asqhapaq hucha. The Incas performedchild sacrifices during or after important events, such as the death of theSapa Inca (emperor) or during afamine.[133]
JuJu Human sacrifice is still covertly practiced in some parts of West Africa, though it is illegal in all West African countries.[136][137][138][139][140][141][142] TheAnnual customs of Dahomey was the most notorious example, but sacrifices were carried out all along the West African coast and further inland. Sacrifices were particularly common after the death of a king or queen, and there are many recorded cases of hundreds or even thousands of slaves being sacrificed at such events. Sacrifices were particularly common inDahomey, in what is nowBenin, and in the small independent states in what is now southernNigeria.[143] According toRudolph Rummel, "Just consider the Grand Custom in Dahomey: When a ruler died, hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of prisoners would be slain. In one of these ceremonies in 1727, as many as 4,000 were reported killed. In addition, Dahomey had anAnnual Custom during which 500 prisoners were sacrificed."[144]
In theAshanti Region of modern-dayGhana, human sacrifice was often combined with capital punishment.[145]
TheLeopard men were a West African secret society active into the mid-1900s that practisedcannibalism. It was believed that the ritual cannibalism would strengthen both members of the society and their entire tribe.[146] InTanganyika, theLion men committed an estimated 200 murders in a single three-month period.[147]
It has been reported from Spanish chronicles that theGuanches (ancient inhabitants of these islands) performed both animal and human sacrifices.[148]
During the summer solstice inTenerife children were sacrificed by being thrown from a cliff into the sea.[148] These children were brought from various parts of the island for the purpose of sacrifice. Likewise, when an aboriginal king died his subjects should also assume the sea, along with the embalmers who embalmed theGuanche mummies.[citation needed]
InGran Canaria, bones of children were found mixed with those of lambs and goat kids and on Tenerife, amphorae have been found with the remains of children inside. This suggests a different kind of ritual infanticide from those who were thrown off the cliffs.[148]
In Greek polytheism,Tantalus was said to have been condemned toTartarus for eternity for the human sacrifice of his sonPelops.[citation needed]
Many traditions ofAbrahamic religions such asJudaism,Christianity andIslam consider that God commandedAbraham to sacrifice his son to examine obedience of Abraham to His commands. To prove his obedience, Abraham intended to sacrifice his son. However, seeing Abraham's resolve, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice a ram instead of his son.[citation needed]
Judaism explicitly forbids human sacrifice, regarding it as murder. Jews view theAkedah as central to the abolition of human sacrifice. SomeTalmudic scholars assert that its replacement is the sacrificial offering of animals at the Temple – using Exodus 13:2–12ff; 22:28ff; 34:19ff; Numeri 3:1ff; 18:15; Deuteronomy 15:19 – others view that as being superseded by the symbolicpars-pro-toto sacrifice of the covenant ofcircumcision. Leviticus 20:2 and Deuteronomy 18:10 specifically outlaw the giving of children toMoloch, making it punishable by stoning; theTanakh subsequently denounces human sacrifice as barbaric customs of Moloch worshippers (e.g. Psalms 106:37ff).[citation needed]
Judges chapter 11 features aJudge namedJephthah vowing that "whatsoever cometh forth from the doors of my house to meet me shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up as a burnt-offering" in gratitude for God's help with a military battle against the Ammonites.[149] Much to Jephthah's dismay, his only daughter greeted him upon his triumphant return. Judges 11:39 states that Jephthah did as he had vowed, but "shies away from explicitly depicting her sacrifice, which leads some ancient and modern interpreters (e.g.,Radak) to suggest that she was not actually killed."[150]
According to theMishnah he was under no obligation to keep the ill-phrased, illegal vow. According to RabbiJochanan, in his commentary on the Mishnah, it was Jephthah's obligation to pay the vow in money.[149] According to somecommentators of the rabbinic Jewish tradition during the Middle Ages, Jepthah's daughter was not sacrificed, but was forbidden to marry and remained a spinster her entire life.[151]
The 1st-century CEJewish-Hellenistic historianFlavius Josephus, however, stated that Jephthah "sacrificed his child as a burnt-offering – a sacrifice neither sanctioned by the law nor well-pleasing to God; for he had not by reflection probed what might befall or in what aspect the deed would appear to them that heard of it".[152] Latin philosopherpseudo-Philo, late1st century CE, wrote that Jephthah burnt his daughter because he could find no sage in Israel who would cancel his vow. In other words, in the opinion of the Latin philosopher, this story of an ill-phrased vow consolidates that human sacrifice is not an order or requirement byGod, but the punishment for those who illegally vowed to sacrifice humans.[153][154]
Allegations accusingJews of committing ritual murder – called the "blood libel" – were widespread during theMiddle Ages, often leading to the slaughter of entire Jewish communities.[155][156] In the 20th century, similar accusations of ritual child killing by non-Christians were made as part of thesatanic ritual abusemoral panic.[156]
Christianity developed the belief that the story ofIsaac's binding was aforeshadowing of the sacrifice ofChrist, whose death and resurrection are believed to have enabled the salvation and atonement for man from its sins, includingoriginal sin. There is a tradition that the site of Isaac's binding,Moriah, later becameJerusalem, the city of Jesus's future crucifixion.[157] The beliefs of many Christian denominations hinge upon thesubstitutionary atonement of the sacrifice ofGod the Son, which was necessary for salvation in the afterlife. According to Christian teaching, each individual person on earth must participate in, and / or receive the benefits of, this divine human sacrifice for the atonement of theirsins. Early Christian sources explicitly described this event as a sacrificial offering, with Christ in the role of bothpriest and human sacrifice, although starting with theEnlightenment, some writers, such asJohn Locke, have disputed the model of Jesus' death as a propitiatory sacrifice.[158]
Although early Christians in the Roman Empire were accused of being cannibals,theophages (Greek for "god eaters")[159] practices such as human sacrifice were abhorrent to them.[160]Eastern Orthodox andRoman Catholic Christians believe that this "pure sacrifice" as Christ's self-giving in love is made present in thesacrament of theEucharist. In this tradition, bread and wine becomes the "real presence" (the literalcarnal Body and Blood of the Risen Christ). Receiving the Eucharist is a central part of the religious life of Catholic and Orthodox Christians.[161][162] MostProtestant traditions do not share the belief in the real presence but otherwise are varied, for example, they may believe that in the bread and wine, Christ is present only spiritually, not in the sense of a change in substance (Methodism)[163] or that the bread and wine of communion are a merely symbolic reminder (Baptist).[164]
In medieval Irish Catholic texts, there is mention of the early church in Ireland supposedly containing the practice of burying sacrificial victims underneath churches in order to consecrate them. This may have a relation to pagan Celtic practices of foundation sacrifice. The most notable example of this is the case ofOdran of Iona a companion ofSt Columba who (according to legend) volunteered to die and be buried under the church of the monastery of Iona. However, there is no evidence that such things ever happened in reality and contemporary records closer to the time period have no mention of a practice like this.[165]
Islam considers human sacrifice to be repugnant to the "true religion". It is also described as a common practice in pre-Islamic civilization, from Greece to Arabia[Quran6:137].[non-primary source needed] The binding ofProphet Ismaeel story is interpreted as Allah showing the superiority ofanimal sacrifices over human sacrifices.[166][non-primary source needed]
ManyIndian religions, includingBuddhism,Jainism and some sects[which?] ofHinduism, embrace the teaching ofahimsa (non-violence) which imposesvegetarianism and outlaws animal as well as human sacrifice.[citation needed]
In the case of Buddhism, bothbhikkhus (monks) andbhikkhunis (nuns) were forbidden to take life in any form as part of themonastic code, while non-violence was promoted among laity through encouragement of theFive Precepts. Across the Buddhist world both meat and alcohol are strongly discouraged as offerings to a Buddhist altar, with the former being synonymous with sacrifice, and the latter a violation of the Five Precepts.[citation needed]
In their effort to discreditTibetan Buddhism, thePeople's Republic of China as well asChinese nationalists in theRepublic of China make frequent and emphatic references to the historical practice ofhuman sacrifice in Tibet, portraying the1950 People's Liberation Army invasion of Tibet as an act of humanitarian intervention.According to Chinese sources, in the year 1948, 21 individuals were murdered by state sacrificial priests fromLhasa as part of a ritual of enemy destruction, because their organs were required as magical ingredients.[167]TheTibetan Revolutions Museum established by the Chinese in Lhasa has numerous morbid ritual objects on display to illustrate these claims.[168]
In many sects ofHinduism, based on the principle ofahimsa, any human or animal sacrifice is forbidden.[169][170][171] In the 19th and 20th centuries, prominent figures of Indian spirituality such asSwami Vivekananda,[172][non-primary source needed]Ramana Maharshi,[173][non-primary source needed] The importance of ahimsa has been emphasised bySwami Sivananda,[174][non-primary source needed] andA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.[175][non-primary source needed]
In the city ofAltamira, State ofPará, several children were raped, with their genitalia mutilated for what appear to be ritual purposes, and then stabbed to death,between 1989 and 1993.[176] It is believed that the boys' sexual organs were used in rites ofblack magic.[177]
In the coastal village Collileufu, nativeLafkenches carried out a ritual human sacrifice in the days following the1960 Valdivia earthquake. Collileufu, located in theBudi Lake area, south ofPuerto Saavedra, was highly isolated in 1960. The Mapuche spoke primarilyMapudungun. The community had gathered in Cerro La Mesa, while the lowlands were struck by successivetsunamis. Juana Namuncura Añen,[178][179] a localmachi, demanded the sacrifice of the grandson of Juan Painecur, a neighbor, in order to calm the earth and the ocean.[180][181] The victim was 5 year-old José Luis Painecur,called an "orphan" (huacho) because his mother had gone to Santiago, for employment as adomestic worker, and left her son under the care of her father.[180]
José Luis Painecur had his arms and legs removed by Juan Pañán[who?] and Juan José Painecur (the victim's grandfather), and was stuck into the sand of the beach like a stake. The waters of thePacific Ocean then carried the body out to sea. The authorities only learned about the sacrifice after a boy in the commune ofNueva Imperial denounced to local leaders the theft of two horses; these were allegedly eaten during the sacrifice ritual.[180] The two men were charged with the crime and confessed, but later recanted. They were released after two years. A judge ruled that those involved in these events had "acted without free will, driven by an irresistible natural force of ancestral tradition."[178][179] The story was mentioned in aTime magazine article, although with meagre detail.[182]
During the 1980s, a case of serial murders that involved human sacrifices rituals occurred inTamaulipas, Mexico. The drug dealer and cult leaderAdolfo Constanzo orchestrated several executions during rituals that included the victims' dismemberment.[183]
Between 2009 and 2010, inSonora, Mexico, aserial killer namedSilvia Meraz committed three murders in sacrifice rituals. With the help of her family, she beheaded two boys (both relatives) and one woman in front of an altar dedicated toSanta Muerte.[184]
The "New Light Of God" sect in the town of El Terrón,Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca,Panama, believed they had a mandate from God to sacrifice members of their community who failed to repent to their satisfaction. In 2020, 5 children, their pregnant mother, and a neighbor were killed and decapitated at the sect's church building, with 14 other wounded victims being rescued. Victims were hacked with machetes, beaten with Bibles and cudgels, and burned with embers. A goat was ritually sacrificed at the scene as well. The cult's beliefs were asyncretic blend of Pentecostalism with indigenous beliefs and someNew Age ideas including emphasis on thethird eye. A leader of the Ngäbe-Buglé region labeled the sect "satanic" and demanded its eradication.[185]
Several incidents of human sacrifice have been reported in India since independence. In 1996, a nine-year-old boy was sacrificed byJharkhand-native Sushil Murmu as an offering to goddessKali. Murmu was sentenced to death by the court but later got commuted to life imprisonment by the president of India.[186][187] According to theHindustan Times, there was an incident of human sacrifice in westernUttar Pradesh in 2003.[d] Police inKhurja reported "dozens of sacrifices" in the period of half a year in 2006, by followers ofKali, the goddess of death and time.[189][190][191][192][193] In 2010, a two-year-old boy was murdered inChhattisgarh in a Tantric human sacrifice.[194]
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, more than 100 cases of human sacrifices have been reported in India between 2014 and 2021.[195] In 2015, during the Granite scam investigations ofTamil Nadu, there were reports of possible human sacrifices in theMadurai area to pacify goddessShakthi for getting power to develop the illegalgranite business. Bones and skulls were retrieved from the alleged sites in presence of the special judicial officer appointed by thehigh court of Madras.[196][197][198]
Between June and October 2022, two women were killed and reportedly cannibalised as part of ahuman sacrifice in Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala.[199] In October 2022, a six-year-old boy was killed in Delhi by two men to please a deity.[200] In 2023, five men were arrested for the killing and decapitation of a woman with a machete in 2019, as part of a religious rite to mark the anniversary of the ringleader's brother's death, after visiting a Hindu temple inGuwahati.[201]
Human sacrifice is no longer legal in any country, and such cases are prosecuted. As of 2020 however, there is still black market demand for child abduction in countries such as Kenya for purposes which include human sacrifice.[202]
In January 2008,Milton Blahyi ofLiberia confessed to being part of human sacrifices which "included the killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart, which was divided into pieces for us to eat." He fought againstCharles Taylor's militia.[203]
In 2019, anAnti-balaka leader inSatema inCentral African Republic killed a 14-year-old girl in ritualistic way to increase profit from mines.[204]
On 22 March 2014, a group of motorcycle taxi drivers discovered theIbadan forest of horror, a dilapidated building believed to have been used for human trafficking and ritual sacrifice located in Soka forest inIbadan,Oyo State,Nigeria.[205]
Ritual killings perpetrated by individuals or small groups within a society that denounces them as simple murder are difficult to classify as either "human sacrifice" or mere pathological homicide because they lack the societal integration ofsacrifice proper.[citation needed]
The Satanic groupsOrder of Nine Angles[206][207] and theTemple of the Black Light promote human sacrifice. During theSatanic Panic some conspiracy theorists falsely claimed there were more than a million human sacrifices in the United States.[208]
In India there is a festival (Seega Maramma) where a person is chosen as a "sacrifice", and is believed by participants to die during the ritual, although they actually remain alive and are "raised" from the dead at the end after a period of lying still. Thus, this does not have the same legal implications as a true human sacrifice although participants consider it to be one.[209]
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