Download or read book Ritual Sacrifice written by Brenda Ralph Lewis and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2007-01-15 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The principle of sacrifice is as old as human life itself. This book provides an overview of sacrificial practices around the world since prehistoric times. It also examines the reasons behind these rituals, and in the case of human sacrifice an attempt is made to understand the mentality of the 'victims' who often willingly went to their deaths.

Download or read book Rituals of Sacrifice written by Vincent James Stanzione and published by UNM Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Living and working among the Tz'utujil Maya people of Santiago Atitlán in highland Guatemala for some fifteen years, Vincent Stanzione has observed, photographed, and participated in their ritual and ceremonial life, which he describes with unique authority in this account of the continuities in Mayan culture from pre-Columbian times to the present. "This book represents both a confirmation and an innovation in the scholarship and field work about the religious imagination and rites of passage of Maya peoples. I know of no book that is as able to a) link the pre-Hispanic, colonial and contemporary religious practices of these peoples into a coherent narrative, b) combine anthropological/religious studies theory with linguistics and ongoing field work as creatively and c) illuminate the debate between models of 'syncretism' and 'transculturation' about a contemporary ritual cycle as Stanzione's beautifully illustrated work."--David Carrasco, Harvard University

Download or read book Ancient Mediterranean Sacrifice written by Jennifer Wright Knust and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-08-05 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An investigation of the multiple meanings and functions of sacrifice in diverse religious texts and practices from the late Hellenistic and Roman imperial periods.

Download or read book Sacrifice in Religious Experience written by Albert I. Baumgartner and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-09-24 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents revised papers delivered at the 1998 and 1999 Taubes Minerva Center for Religious Anthropology conferences. The papers from the 1998 conference discuss the role of sacrifice in religious experience from a comparative perspective. Those from the second conference examine alternatives to sacrifice. The first theme has been much elaborated in recent scholarship, and the essays here participate in that on-going inquiry. The second theme has been less explored, and the goal of this volume is to stimulate examination of the topic by offering a set of test cases. In both sections of the volume a wide variety of religious traditions are considered. The essays show that in spite of the inclination we may sometimes have to consider sacrifice part of the idolatrous past, long overcome, it remains a persistent and meaningful part of religious experience.

Download or read book The Broken World of Sacrifice written by J. C. Heesterman and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2012-12-10 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, J. C. Heesterman attempts to understand the origins and nature of Vedic sacrifice—the complex compound of ritual practices that stood at the center of ancient Indian religion. Paying close attention to anomalous elements within both the Vedic ritual texts, the brahmanas, and the ritual manuals, the srautasutras, Heesterman reconstructs the ideal sacrifice as consisting of four moments: killing, destruction, feasting, and contest. He shows that Vedic sacrifice all but exclusively stressed the offering in the fire—the element of destruction—at the expense of the other elements. Notably, the contest was radically eliminated. At the same time sacrifice was withdrawn from society to become the sole concern of the individual sacrificer. The ritual turns in on the individual as "self-sacrificer" who realizes through the internalized knowledge of the ritual the immortal Self. At this point the sacrificial cult of the fire recedes behind doctrine of the atman's transcendence and unity with the cosmic principle, the brahman. Based on his intensive analysis Heesterman argues that Vedic sacrifice was primarily concerned with the broken world of the warrior and sacrificer. This world, already broken in itself by the violence of the sacrificial contest, was definitively broken up and replaced with the ritrualism of the single, unopposed sacrificer. However, the basic problem of sacrifice—the riddle of life and death—keeps breaking too surface in the form of incongruities, contradictions, tensions, and oppositions that have perplexed both the ancient ritual theorists and the modern scholar.

Download or read book The Highest Altar written by Patrick Tierney and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An extraordinary exploration of human sacrifice details its religious and cultural significance, and its practice, past and present. 16 pages of full-color photos.

Download or read book Blood Sacrifice and the Nation written by Carolyn Marvin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1999-03-11 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This compelling book argues that American patriotism is a civil religion of blood sacrifice, which periodically kills its children to keep the group together. The flag is the sacred object of this religion; its sacrificial imperative is a secret which the group keeps from itself to survive. Expanding Durkheim's theory of the totem taboo as the organizing principle of enduring groups, Carolyn Marvin uncovers the system of sacrifice and regeneration which constitutes American nationalism, shows why historical instances of these rituals succeed or fail in unifying the group, and explains how mass media are essential to the process. American culture is depicted as ritually structured by a fertile center and sacrificial borders of death. Violence plays a key part in its identity. In essence, nationalism is neither quaint historical residue nor atavistic extremism, but a living tradition which defines American life.

Download or read book Sacred Sacrifice written by Rick Franklin Talbott and published by Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften. This book was released on 1995 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Sacred Sacrifice" examines how analogous mythological ideas and the experience of sacred presence during the ritual act created similar ritual paradigms in two non-contiguous cultures. Vedic fire sacrifice, the Horse sacrifice in ancient India and the sacrificial development of the Christian Eucharist serve as examples. This book takes to task theories on sacrifice and ritual that emphasize the psycho-social and functionalist interpretation to the exclusion of the religious. The relationship between myth and ritual, and conscious and unconscious human behavior emerges from this analysis of universal religious structures.

Download or read book The Orifice As Sacrificial Site written by James Alfred Aho and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Orifice as Sacrificial Site bases its argument on expert histories and primary documents of selected religions. Although based on textual analysis and documentary evidence this is essentially a social study. The goal of Aho's study is to discover explanatory principles of orifice management, rather than to expound on the peculiarities of individual faiths. The work locates the attributes religions share, instead of the qualities that differentiate them. The argument of the book is that these preeminently private sites are in reality "publicly accomplished." The most secret reaches of our personal geographies, our orifices, are products of more encompassing structural circumstances, of which we have only a dim grasp. Thus, one can speak with appropriate caution, of a prototypical "Jewish mouth," and of a uniquely different "Christian mouth"; of orthodox "Brahmanic genitals" and of their diametric opposites, "tantric genitals." The task of this fascinating study is to elucidate the nature of these mysterious precincts and, above all, to demonstrate how they have come to acquire the special qualities they do. In order to do this, the author examines the prophetic moment of a people's cultural ethos, the circumstances surrounding that point in time during which their dominant faith acquired its characteristic "orifice signature"; and second, to the organizational matters concerning that faith, its boundary concerns, internal hierarchies and disputes, and the external market situation. The author aims to show how the social regulation of bodily orifices is, if not mechanically determined, at least made understandable in light of religious and theological concerns. These are examined through a social science lens that offers amply illustrated, detailed, cross-cultural studies of orifice taboos in Christianity, ancient Judaism, Brahmanism, tantric Hinduism, and some tribal cultures. Aho's argument will add support for the theory that orifices are at the center of all political and religious disputes. James Aho is professor of sociology at Idaho State University. Among his earlier books are two celebrated studies of survivalist and hate groups in the northwest, The Politics of Righteousness and This Thing of Darkness.

Download or read book Conspiracies and Secret Societies written by Brad Steiger and published by Visible Ink Press. This book was released on 2012-06-01 with total page 958 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The invisible world of influence and power revealed. Hidden agendas uncovered. Examines 250 current and historical conspiracies, secret cabals, and powerful groups. Startling allegations. Suppressed evidence. Missing witnesses. Assassinations. Cover-ups and threats. Documented connections to an even deeper intrigue. Allusions to the New World Order. Coincidences? Too many to be mere coincidence? American history is replete with warnings of hidden plots by the Illuminati, the Freemasons, the Zionists, the Roman Catholics, the Communists, World Bankers, the Secret Government, and Extra-Terrestrial Invaders, to name a few. Separating fact from fiction, this compelling work provides gripping details and presents the information without bias, including hundreds of individuals, organizations, and events where official claims and standard explanations of actions and events remain shrouded in mystery. Conspiracies and Secret Societies: The Complete Dossier examines the most common subjects among conspiracy theorists, probing and thoroughly examining cases of conspiracies and dark doings of secret societies. Bring yourself up-to-date with the latest research and findings into historical topics plus current issues, including: Historical riddles—the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, Noah’s Ark, the Sphinx, alchemy, the true relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and the churches dedicated to the Black Madonna. Classified background on U.S. Presidents—Lincoln, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Obama, Reagan, their advisers, and more. Powerful secret societies and groups—the Knights Templar, Freemasons, Illuminati, the Triads, the Rosicrucians, the Skull and Bones Society, Scientology, the Falun Gong, the New World Order, and Lightning from the East. Government cover-ups—electronic spying, MKUltra, the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations, Area 51, extraterrestrial invaders, black helicopters, satellite snooping, FEMA, the Global Bank, and the Trilateral Commission. Terrible secrets—the BP oil spill, Unit 731 and germ experiments, the 2011 tsunami in Japan, and Hurricane Katrina. Science mysteries—biochip implants, genetic manipulation, weather control, mad cow disease, AIDS/HIV, West Nile virus, and the bizarre Morgellons disease. The only way to crush these secret plots is to bring the facts to light. Don't let history repeat itself! Knowledge is our best weapon against these people, groups, and their nefarious schemes.

Download or read book City of Sacrifice written by David Carrasco and published by Beacon Press (MA). This book was released on 1999 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At an excavation of the Great Aztec Temple in Mexico City, amid carvings of skulls and a dismembered warrior goddess, David Carrasco stood before a container filled with the decorated bones of infants and children. It was the site of a massive human sacrifice, and for Carrasco the center of fiercely provocative questions: If ritual violence against humans was a profound necessity for the Aztecs in their capital city, is it central to the construction of social order and the authority of city states? Is civilization built on violence? In City of Sacrifice, Carrasco chronicles the fascinating story of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, investigating Aztec religious practices and demonstrating that religious violence was integral to urbanization; the city itself was a temple to the gods. That Mexico City, the largest city on earth, was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan, is a point Carrasco poignantly considers in his comparison of urban life from antiquity to modernity. Majestic in scope, City of Sacrifice illuminates not only the rich history of a major Meso american city but also the inseparability of two passionate human impulses: urbanization and religious engagement. It has much to tell us about many familiar events in our own time, from suicide bombings in Tel Aviv to rape and murder in the Balkans.

Download or read book Sacrificial Ceremonies of Santer a written by Ócha'ni Lele and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-08-22 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book to explore the history, methods, and thinking behind sacrifice in the growing Santería faith • Explains the animal sacrifice ceremony in step-by-step detail • Shares the ancient African sacred stories that reveal the well-thought-out metaphysics and spirituality behind the practice of animal sacrifice • Chronicles the legal fight all the way to its 1993 U.S. Supreme Court victory to establish legal protection for the Santería faith and its practitioners Tackling the biggest controversy surrounding his faith, Santería priest Ócha’ni Lele explains for the first time in print the practice and importance of animal sacrifice as a religious sacrament. Describing the animal sacrifice ceremony in step-by-step detail, including the songs and chants used, he examines the thinking and metaphysics behind the ritual and reveals the deep connections to the odu of the diloggún--the source of all practices in this Afro-Cuban faith. Tracing the legal battle spearheaded by Oba Ernesto Pichardo, head of the Church of the Lukumi of Babaluaiye, over the right to practice animal sacrifice as a religious sacrament, Lele chronicles the fight all the way to its 1993 U.S. Supreme Court victory, which established legal protection for the Santería faith and its practitioners. Weaving together oral fragments stemming from the ancient Yoruba of West Africa, the author reconstructs their sacred stories, or patakís, that demonstrate the well-thought-out metaphysics and spirituality behind the practice of animal sacrifice in the Yoruba and Santería religion, including explanations about why each animal can be regarded as food for both humans and the orisha as well as how sacrifice is not limited to animals. Shedding light on the extraordinary global growth of this religion over the past 50 years, Lele’s guide to the sacrificial ceremonies of Santería enables initiates to learn proper ceremony protocol as well as gives outsiders a glimpse into this most secretive world of the santeros.

Download or read book Area Handbook for Cuba written by Jan Knippers Black and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Awe inspiring Rites of Initiation written by Edward Yarnold and published by Liturgical Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new edition of Father Yarnold's 1972 authoritative work has been recast so that it corresponds throughout with the Rite of Christian Initiation as it now exists. Anyone with a serious pastoral or scholarly interest in the rite will benefit from this definitive, readable blend of history, theology, patristics, and liturgy. Each period and step of the RCIA is explained and compared to the fourth-century rite after which the modern one was modeled. In addition to more subtle improvements, this second edition gives a clearer and more accurate account of the three anointings, and a better explanation of the scrutinies. The sermons of Cyril, Ambrose, Chrysostom, and Theodore, which form the basis of our understanding of the rite as originally celebrated, are conveniently gathered in this one volume in an accurate and readable English translation, with introductions and notes.

Download or read book Creole Religions of the Caribbean written by Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2011-07-11 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive introduction to the syncretic religions developed in the Caribbean region Creolization—the coming together of diverse beliefs and practices to form new beliefs and practices—is one of the most significant phenomena in Caribbean religious history. Brought together in the crucible of the sugar plantation, Caribbean peoples drew on the variants of Christianity brought by European colonizers, as well as on African religious and healing traditions and the remnants of Amerindian practices, to fashion new systems of belief. Creole Religions of the Caribbean offers a comprehensive introduction to the syncretic religions that have developed in the region. From Vodou, Santería, Regla de Palo, the Abakuá Secret Society, and Obeah to Quimbois and Espiritismo, the volume traces the historical–cultural origins of the major Creole religions, as well as the newer traditions such as Pocomania and Rastafarianism. This second edition updates the scholarship on the religions themselves and also expands the regional considerations of the Diaspora to the U. S. Latino community who are influenced by Creole spiritual practices. Fernández Olmos and Paravisini–Gebert also take into account the increased significance of material culture—art, music, literature—and healing practices influenced by Creole religions.

Download or read book Complementary Alternative and Integrative Health written by Helda Pinzon-Perez and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-07-12 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Health: A Multicultural Perspective provides a critical analysis of non-allopathic healing practices, including their uses, limitations, and scientific basis. The evidence-based discussion explores complementary, alternative, and integrative health (CAIH) across various cultural and ethnic groups both in the U.S. and internationally, to give you a greater understanding of the different modalities—including a literature-backed examination of proven methods and questionable practices within a cross-cultural framework. Each chapter highlights the scientific analysis of the practices relevant to each group, and guides you toward independent analysis of the risks and benefits of the practices discussed. Emphasizing the student as a future health professional, this book includes case studies, examples, questions, and discussion problems that underscore the role of health educators in educating consumers about CAIH practices.

Download or read book Area handbook for Cuba written by Jan Knippers Black and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: