An Analysis of The Luo Sacrificial Rite: A Phenomenological Approach

Abstract

I. Introduction As we prepare to handle the concept and practice of sacrifice among the Luo community in Kenya it is important for us to outline the difficulties appertaining to the concept of sacrifice as a religious act in general. There are many theories that have been propagated about sacrifice. These theories are just but an attempt to give an explanation to the reason as to why sacrificial action has to be performed, and in some cases they are not getting to the real background of the sacrificial event. Despite all this, sacrifice has always remained one of the most problematic issues in the history of comparative religions, not exactly because it puts in doubt its real existence in history, but first, because it is difficult to find a consensus on the nature and concept of sacrifice, in as much as this category is not able to define a class of homogeneous and distinct phenomena.