DIFFERENT IDEAS OF SACRIFICE
1 A sacrifice may be given individually or communally. In the case of Israel, many sacrifices were offered on behalf of the whole nation, while in Supyire the
largest group represented would be an extended family or a village. 2 The presentation of the sacrifice is made through an intermediary.
Yahweh designated Aaron and his descendants to be consecrated as his priests for the nation, to represent him to the people and the people to him. Among the Supyire, the
suitability to fill an intermediary role in a family is determined by one’s position in relationship with that family. Typically the eldest male fills the role, as he is closest
to joining the ancestors. 3 Sacrificing animals is expected to be costly to the person making the
offering. In neither society is a wild animal an acceptable sacrifice. Only domestic animals that have been cared for and fed by the individual or his family qualify. The
offerer is, in a way, giving of himself. In the procedures for several of the Levitical sacrifices, it is stated that the beast should be unblemished.
4 The life of the animal is substituted for that of the individual. This concept, which is central to substitutionary atonement at the heart of the Old Testament
sacrifice, is also found on the periphery of Supyire thought. Erstwhile sacrifice of human life has now been replaced by animal sacrifice see above p.31.
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5 There are certain dangers involved in dealing with the supernatural realm. As noted above, the Supyire exhibit a certain wariness in relation to supernatural
powers see p.53. In Leviticus, those who are ritually unclean are not permitted contact with
the holy. For example “if anyone who is unclean eats any of the meat of the fellowship offering belonging to the LORD, that person must be cut off from the
people” Lev 7:20. So, for the Israelites, it was important to keep meticulously the instructions Yahweh had given them in relation to sacrifices. The Supyire seek to
protect themselves from the potential dangers as best as possible. One old man sacrificing to the ants seen as messengers of the earth gods in order to have good
rains, had his fetish with him, in order to keep away any evil that might threaten him by touching the sacrifice.
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A folk story shows that the idea of substitution is not totally foreign to Senufo culture. In the story, a family suffering from famine cultivated a new field, but as payment to the jinas who occupied the
field they had to give a sacrifice which turned out to be a boy. The boy was tied up, but at the last moment the jinas released him and allowed a sheep and a goat to be sacrificed in his place. The
story was recounted in 1983 by Yaandurugo, a griot in Burkina Faso who speaks Sicite, whose language and culture is closer to Supyire than any other in the Senufo family.
Differences
1 Who demands the sacrifice? The ancestors are part of the extended family, and the jinas are also seen in mainly human terms because they inhabited the area
before the village founders arrived. The homage offered is to those who are more ancient and thus more powerful creatures, rather than to the uncreated God who is
wholly other. The Supyire sacrifice to a plurality of beings, the Israelites to one alone. Thus, while Yahweh demands uncompromising loyalty, the Supyire will at
times neglect one sacrifice or change loyalty depending on what seems most expedient.
2 Who benefits from the sacrifice? In Supyire thought, sacrifice is founded on the principle do ut des
: “I give in order that you give.” In other words, it is a transaction of mutual benefit. The power of the worshipped increases and in return,
he will execute the prayer of the worshipper. In the Pentateuch, Yahweh and Israel are in covenant relationship with obligations on both parties. If Israel fulfils its
obligations, which include sacrifice, it is promised blessings in return. However, there is a fundamental difference from the Supyire perspective: unlike their deities,
Yahweh is already omnipotent and stands in no need of any sacrifice to increase his power. Indeed, it is he who ultimately provides the means of sacrifice to his people
so that they can sacrifice to him for their benefit. 3 Why is sacrifice necessary? As we have seen, Israelite and Supyire
sacrifice can both have in view reconciliation between estranged parties. The reasons for the estrangement though are not identical. In the Pentateuch, sin and rebellion
against a holy God constitute the reason. Due to his holy character, he has an implacable, unwavering antithesis to sin. For the Supyire on the other hand, the
strained relationship does not have this ethical dimension to the fore. The strain may come as much from one side as from the other, due to the human-like unpredictable
moods of the ancestors and spirits. Another contrast along similar lines is that the Hebrew sacrifices in order to
purify himself of his filth before Yahweh due to his sin, while the Supyire sacrifices in order to protect himself from the
¤…m… of his wrong actions, something which is outside himself.
4 How is sacrifice effective? The shedding of blood is a powerful symbol in both cultures, but at root the symbolisms are very different. For Israel, it is a symbol
of death exacted by God in just punishment for sin. For the Supyire, it is a symbol of life-giving force,
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which has been transferred from the slaughtered animal to the recipient of the sacrifice. Just as the fetish increases in size as more and more blood
congeals on it over the years, so too does its power as it receives increasing power from the life-giving force of many animals. Jonckers talks of fetishes being fed by
the blood of sacrifices.
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For the one, it is efficacious because the living God so prescribed it. For the other, its efficacy is founded on an animistic view of the
universe with each object having its own life force which can be transferred to another through sacrifice.
5 When is sacrifice carried out? The Supyire will make sacrifices both on an annual basis and on other occasions when circumstances require it. In Israel, as well
as the annual festivals, there was need for an ongoing system of sacrifices, day in, day out, on behalf of the community as the presence of Yahweh with his people was
also ongoing. Lev 6: 9,12 stipulates that the “burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till
morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar … The fire on the
altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the
fellowship offerings on it.”
Conclusion
Despite a fair number of similarities in terms of form and function, and even the sharing of some important concepts between the Supyire and Levitical sacrifices,
there are at heart fundamental differences. The proto-typical Israelite animal sacrifice is aimed at atonement for sin before a holy, omnipotent God who has provided
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Escudero, L a Célébration Senufo du Katyire et la Célébration de L’Eucharistie. p.256 notes that in
a northern dialect of Supyire, the word for blood is the same as that for sweat, a symbol of man’s toil. A proverb runs “Sweat from a man’s toil in the fields becomes cool water symbol of
happiness for his descendants.” Henri Gravand writes:
“Parce qu’il véhicule les forces de la vie humaine ou animale comme la sève des vegetaux, le sang est un symbole de la vie. Celui qui offre une poule en sacrifice en prend une goutte et se
touche le front pour se communiquer la force vitale. Le sang stablilise et renforce la puissance de la parole dans le sacrifice. Il augmente la
puissance des talismans. Un gris-
gris est plus efficace si on a verse sur lui un peu de sang.” Quoted in Escudero,
La Célébration Senufo du Katyire et la Célébration de L’Eucharistie, p.255.
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Jonckers, La Société Minyanka du Mali p.75.
sacrifice as a means of redemption. Vegetable and other sacrifices are offered in homage to him in recognition of total dependence on him as Creator and Provider.
The proto-typical Supyire sacrifice is, in contrast, a plea for help based on the concept of a reciprocal bargain: the transfer of life force through the shedding of
blood to some greater power in return for answered prayer. While there is some overlap between the concepts of sacrifice in the two
cultures, there are also major differences. Consequently, there can be no neat categorization by which one could say that this word in Supyire corresponds exactly
to that word in Hebrew. The similarities and differences of emphases add to the complexity of translating the key sacrificial terms. So the next section will look at the
principles which can be used to guide the translator in this complex task.