Animal sacrifice in Brazilian folk religion25 August 2009

Candomblé, a religion practiced primarily in SouthAmerica and inspired by older African beliefs,makes much use of animal sacrifice. Researcherswriting in BioMed Central's open access Journal ofEthnobiology and Ethnomedicine carried outinterviews with priests, priestesses and adherentsof the religion, documenting the role sacrifice playsin their beliefs.

Nivaldo Léo Neto, from the Universidade Estadualda Paraba, Brazil, worked with a team ofresearchers to carry out the structured and semi-structured interviews. He said, "A total of 29 animalspecies were used during sacrificial rituals,according to the priests and priestesses. Animalsare sacrificed and offered to their deities, known asorishas, for the prosperity of all life".

The practice of sacrifice is present in severalcultures, and is fundamental to many religionsincluding Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. InCandomblé, it is believed that some essence of thesacrificed animal 'feeds' one of severalsupernatural deities known as orishas, who will inturn attend to the believers' requests and desires,healing diseases and solving financial or personalproblems.

According to Léo Neto, "Domestic animals aremostly preferred for sacrificial purposes as wildanimals are often considered sacred by adherentsof the religion or are protected by environmentallaws. Of the wild species used, only the yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata) isthreatened with extinction. In general, thesepractices, compared to many other human uses ofwildlife, are not of serious conservation concern".

More information: From Eshu to Obatala: animalsused in sacrificial rituals at Candomble "terreiros"in Brazil; Nivaldo A Leo Neto, Sharon E. Brooksand Romulo R.N. Alves; Journal of Ethnobiologyand Ethnomedicine (in press); www.ethnobiomed.com/

Source: BioMed Central (news : web)

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APA citation: Animal sacrifice in Brazilian folk religion (2009, August 25) retrieved 8 November 2018from https://phys.org/news/2009-08-animal-sacrifice-brazilian-folk-religion.html

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