Home›Sacrificial Rituals›Scholarly Standing›A standard analytic category in the study of religionBrowse ByA standard analytic category in the study of religionThis page groups rituals by how settled or contested their scholarly description is. Wikipedia notes plainly that "the field of ritual studies has seen a number of conflicting definitions of the term." Browsing this way lets a visitor see which rituals scholars broadly agree on and which remain genuinely disputed.FactsLearn MoreA standard analytic category in the study of religionSourcesComments (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.A standard analytic category in the study of religionFilter Results22 entriesAddressed ToAllAgni (5)Indra (1)Soma (1)Origin Period Start YearAll-1500 (1)-1400 (1)-800 (1)-219 (1)-160 (2)622 (1)900 (1)1392 (1)Attested InAllMishnah (1)Unesco StatusAllInscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (1)FrequencyAllAnnual (3)As the occasion requires (15)Seasonal, at set points in the year (2)Several times a day (2)Closed Practice StatusAllClosed ceremonial knowledge, described but not reproduced (1)Partly restricted: some elements are closed to outsiders (2)ObligationAllObligatory (1)Obligatory on those who meet its conditions (1)Optional and voluntary (2)Social FormAllPerformed alone or together (2)Performed by a gathered group (5)Performed by an officiant for a recipient (2)Practice StatusAllLiving tradition, practised today (4)PractitionerAllAll adherents of the tradition (2)Clergy or ordained officiants (9)Householders, those living in the world (3)Lay people (2)Officiant Led (1)Trained or authorised specialists (5)Native To RegionAllAncient Israel (4)Ancient Rome (2)Arabia (1)China (2)Greece (1)Indian Subcontinent (6)Japan (1)Korea (1)Mesopotamia (1)Scandinavia (1)Holds ElementAllFire (1)Originated InAllAncient Israel (4)Arabia (1)China (2)Greece (1)Indian Subcontinent (6)Italy (2)Japan (1)Korea (1)Mesopotamia (1)North America (1)Scandinavia (1)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 (2)Israelite Temple Offerings (1)Vedic Sacrificial Rites (5)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 22AgnicayanaA standard analytic category in the study of religionAgnihotraA standard analytic category in the study of religionAshvamedhaA standard analytic category in the study of religionBlotA standard analytic category in the study of religionChatat (The Purification Offering)A standard analytic category in the study of religionFeng and Shan SacrificesA standard analytic category in the study of religionHomaA standard analytic category in the study of religionIyomanteA standard analytic category in the study of religionJongmyo JeryeA standard analytic category in the study of religionMinchah (The Grain Offering)A standard analytic category in the study of religionNiqu (Animal Offering)A standard analytic category in the study of religionOlah (The Burnt Offering)A standard analytic category in the study of religionQurbaniA standard analytic category in the study of religionShelamim (The Offering of Well Being)A standard analytic category in the study of religionSoma SacrificeA standard analytic category in the study of religionSrauta RitesA standard analytic category in the study of religionSun DanceA standard analytic category in the study of religionTaimiao Ancestral SacrificeA standard analytic category in the study of religionThe HecatombA standard analytic category in the study of religionThe PiaculumA standard analytic category in the study of religionThe SuovetauriliaA standard analytic category in the study of religionYajna (Fire Sacrifice)A standard analytic category in the study of religionSources1. 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.