THEORIES OF SACRIFICE INTRODUCTION

of the argument. 9 They rejected the evolutionary schemes of their predecessors, and aimed rather to provide a general model applicable to all religious systems. For them, the opposition between sacred and profane is the foundation of all societies. 10 Sacrifice is the means par excellence of establishing communication between the sacred and the profane worlds. Sacrifice is a rite of passage. When a victim is consecrated, it becomes progressively divine. As it penetrates the sacred zone, it becomes so sacred that the sacrificer hesitates to approach it. But he must, as his personality and that of victim are merged. The killing separates the divine principle in the victim from the body, which continues to belong to the profane world. The sacrificer then performs an exit ritual to return to profane, and to rid himself of any contamination that he may have suffered in the ritual. However de Heusch in his critique of Hubert and Mauss points out that their model suits Vedic Indian, but not necessarily the African or Indo-European contexts. 11 There is a real danger in imposing a model from outside. An example of how easy it is to fall into this trap of imposing a model is Evans- Pritchard’s study of the Nuer religion. If a Nuer man infringes an interdiction, he is in a state of nueer, kor or rual, depending on the circumstances. Evans- Pritchard translated all three by the word “sin” and argued that sacrifice fulfils a purifying and expiatory function among the Nuer. Indeed Evans-Pritchard himself clearly admits that these concepts have been imported from the Judeo-Christian worldview: “I must confess that this is not an interpretation that I reached entirely by observation, but one taken over from studies of Hebrew and other sacrifices, because it seems to make better sense than any other as an explanation o f the Nuer facts.” 12 Averbeck, surveying the different theories, comments that most “have been both reductionistic i.e. illegitimately reducing the diversity of sacrificial phenomena to one rationale and evolutionistic proposing that all offerings and sacrifices evolved from one primal form. Scholars today tend to disregard the reductionist and evolutionary features and treat them as 9 De Heusch, Sacrifice in Africa, p.2. 10 De Heusch, Sacrifice in Africa, p.3. 11 De Heusch, Sacrifice in Africa, pp.3-4. 12 Quoted in de Heusch, Sacrifice in Africa, p.9. complementary rather than contradictory, suggesting that there appears to be some truth in all or most of them, at least in certain cultures.” 13 In the light of the above discussion, I shall attempt to avoid the imposition of any model, but rather allow the biblical and the Supyire sources to speak for themselves. The Supyire people will speak through transcribed stories, texts and interviews. I shall seek to understand how they see sacrifice, and how it fits into their view of the world. I shall do the same for the biblical material, and then compare the two. It is clear that perfect objectivity is an unattainable goal, as the results are processed through the author whose own understanding of the world will inevitably influence what is selected as important and the way the results are presented. Nevertheless, this remains the best way for an outsider to gain a clear understanding of how the two different cultures look at sacrifice. 13 Averbeck, Rick, “Offerings and Sacrifices”, in W.A. Van Gemeren ed. NIDOTT Carlisle: Paternoster Press and Zondervan, p.997.

2. THE SUPYIRE PEOPLE AND CULTURE: AN OUTLINE SKETCH

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Traveling through the bush, we happened on a group of maybe thirty young people; most were wielding the typical heavy wide bladed hoe and attacking the task of ploughing the field. There was also a small group of musicians playing the drums and the balaphone, 14 and there was one figure in the middle, wearing a smart hat, singing out encouragement to the workforce. They responded vigorously with what brought to mind a dance rather than any farm labour I have ever witnessed. Bent almost double over the earth, they jumped in time to the music first to one side of the furrow they were ploughing, then to the other, each time they landed cutting the blade into the soil with the weight of their whole body. There was definitely a party atmosphere in the air. This little cameo captured the essence of Supyire life, of how the Supyire see themselves. The Supyire see themselves tied to the earth The pride and joy they feel in exploiting the soil is encapsulated in the songs such as that sung by the young man in the smart hat. The following is one such verse. Sorcerer of the earth Old Robber Cultivator Cuts the earth without pity Stirs the earth like a porcupine Crushes stones to dust Morning Star among the farmers. 14 The balaphone is an instrument similar to a xylophone, made out of wood and gourds. The Supyire are inextricably linked to their family It is likely that most, if not all, of the young people cultivating together were from one large extended family. A united family, working and living together in harmony, is of the highest priority for the Supyire. The impossibility of success outside this context is expressed in a plethora of stories and proverbs such as: You cannot lift a pebble with one single finger. The fool says, “The family is not good”, but in reality, the family is more savoury than salt in the sauce. A united family is defined as follows: “They do the same work.” “They listen to one another.” “They follow the same customs.” “They eat at the same place.” The Supyire are closely bound to the supernatural. The name of God is never far from the lips of the Supyire. They will invoke his blessings at every occasion, such as: Blessing Occasion “May God sweep the road before you.” departure on a voyage “May God make his mother’s milk sweet to him.” news of birth “May God give you a lot back in its place.” the receipt of a gift “May God open the morning.” good night greeting To have access to God, one normally has to go through the channel of intermediaries who are closer to him than humans are: spirits who live in the bush, or ancestors who live in the village of the dead. The field I witnessed being ploughed belonged to one family who would pay the young people with an animal, which the young people would keep to celebrate the annual village festival. Then it would be slaughtered in honour of the bush spirits or ancestors, and provide a communal feast. Summary Typically then, a Supyire farms in co-operation with his extended family and seeks to maintain harmony in his relations with the family, and with the supernatural