Home›Sacrificial Rituals›All Sacrificial RitualsBrowse ByAll Sacrificial RitualsThe ritual offering of an animal, substance or symbolic substitute to a deity or sacred power, one of the oldest ritual forms represented on the site and among the most widely, if unevenly, attested across the traditions here.FactsLearn MoreAll Sacrificial RitualsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedRites in which something is given up by a prescribed procedure to a recipient the tradition names - an animal, grain, ghee, a substitute. The one English word covers acts with no common mechanism: a Vedic oblation poured into fire, a Norse blot and an Islamic qurbani whose meat is distributed to the poor answer to different accounts of what the giving does. 2OriginsWhose Classification This IsWell-attestedThe comparative category was built by successive theorists - Tylor's gift theory, Robertson Smith's communion, Hubert and Mauss's essay of 1898, later Girard and Burkert - each generalising from a different tradition. No one theory has been accepted as covering the field, and the category holds only loosely. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedRituals 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedUsed, but its validity as a comparative category is disputed 2Learn MoreThe sacrificial rituals This group gathers sacrificial rituals, the rites of offering, in which something of value (food, drink, animal or symbol) is given to the divine, whether in thanksgiving, petition, atonement or communion. Sacrifice is among the most ancient and widespread forms of religious act. The browser will find sacrificial rituals from across the traditions. The entries describe each rite's form and meaning, noting the tradition that performs it and the purpose the offering serves.All Sacrificial RitualsFilter Results27 entriesAddressed ToAllAgni (5)Indra (1)Soma (1)Origin Period Start YearAll-1650 (1)-1500 (1)-1400 (1)-957 (1)-800 (1)-219 (1)-160 (2)622 (1)900 (1)1392 (1)Attested InAllMishnah (3)Popol Vuh (1)Unesco StatusAllInscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (1)FrequencyAllAnnual (3)As the occasion requires (19)Seasonal, at set points in the year (2)Several times a day (3)Closed Practice StatusAllClosed ceremonial knowledge, described but not reproduced (1)Partly restricted: some elements are closed to outsiders (2)ObligationAllObligatory (2)Obligatory on those who meet its conditions (1)Optional and voluntary (2)Scholarly StandingAllA standard analytic category in the study of religion (22)Used, but its validity as a comparative category is disputed (5)Social FormAllPerformed alone or together (2)Performed by a gathered group (6)Performed by an officiant for a recipient (2)Practice StatusAllEnded (1)Living tradition, practised today (4)PractitionerAllAll adherents of the tradition (3)Clergy or ordained officiants (12)Householders, those living in the world (3)Lay people (2)Officiant Led (1)Trained or authorised specialists (6)Native To RegionAllAncient Israel (6)Ancient Rome (2)Arabia (1)China (2)Greece (2)Indian Subcontinent (6)Japan (1)Korea (1)Mesoamerica (1)Mesopotamia (1)Scandinavia (1)Holds ElementAllFire (1)Originated InAllAncient Israel (5)Arabia (1)China (2)Greece (2)Indian Subcontinent (6)Italy (2)Japan (1)Korea (1)Mesoamerica (1)Mesopotamia (1)North America (1)Scandinavia (1)The Levant (2)Originates In LanguageAllClassical Chinese (3)Old Norse (1)Vedic Sanskrit (6)Kind of ritualAllChinese and Korean State Ancestral Sacrifices (2)Greek and Roman Sacrifices (2)Indigenous Sacrificial Ceremonies and Sacred Games (3)Israelite Temple Offerings (1)Vedic Sacrificial Rites (5)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 27AgnicayanaSacrificial RitualsAgnihotraSacrificial RitualsAsham (The Reparation Offering)Sacrificial RitualsAshvamedhaSacrificial RitualsBlotSacrificial RitualsChatat (The Purification Offering)Sacrificial RitualsFeng and Shan SacrificesSacrificial RitualsHomaSacrificial RitualsIyomanteSacrificial RitualsJongmyo JeryeSacrificial RitualsKorban (The Israelite Offering)Sacrificial RitualsMesoamerican BallgameSacrificial RitualsMinchah (The Grain Offering)Sacrificial RitualsNiqu (Animal Offering)Sacrificial RitualsOlah (The Burnt Offering)Sacrificial RitualsQurbaniSacrificial RitualsShelamim (The Offering of Well Being)Sacrificial RitualsSoma SacrificeSacrificial RitualsSrauta RitesSacrificial RitualsSun DanceSacrificial RitualsTaimiao Ancestral SacrificeSacrificial RitualsTamid (The Daily Offering)Sacrificial RitualsThe HecatombSacrificial RitualsThe PiaculumSacrificial RitualsThe SuovetauriliaSacrificial RitualsThysia (Greek Animal Sacrifice)Sacrificial RitualsYajna (Fire Sacrifice)Sacrificial RitualsSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005s.v. SacrificeView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.