Practice Of Sacrifice Research Articles

The Five Serizawas and the Practice of Sacrifice: Reframing the Stereotypes of Scientists in Godzilla Media

With the growing popularity of Godzilla and kaijū media, scholarship on these topics is also increasing. While science themes (i.e., nuclearism, genetics, and environmentalism) are regular aspects of these publications, a research gap on the scientists themselves exists. Therefore, this article focuses on the five Serizawas (Daisuke, Eiji, Ishirō, Ren, and Shigeru) of Godzilla media (namely films, novelizations, and a webtoon) to examine their significance. Haynes’ six scientist stereotypes and Frayling’s considerations of how scientists are disconnected from laypeople provide frameworks for the analysis. Yet the complexities of the Serizawas ultimately suggest that interpreting them through a lens of sacrifice (of their families, loves, creations, and lives) provides a more solid thread by which to understand these men and their utilization of what can be deemed ‘Godzilla science’—a method to (re)assert the natural order of the world on (and in) which humans and kaijū must learn to live.

An Analysis of The Luo Sacrificial Rite: A Phenomenological Approach

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.

The sacrifice of the Holy Christ in an unholy world

AbstractIn much modern christology, the notion of the incommensurate governs the relation of divine to human in Jesus Christ. In christologies influenced by Austin Farrer, and more distantly, by Nicholas of Cusa, the incommensurability of the infinite to the finite makes the idiom of paradox congenial, even necessary. Such demanding and unrelenting emphasis upon diastasis echoes a more ancient preoccupation with holiness in a fallen and unholy world. In Israel's scriptures, and in their lasting influence in the patristic era, the transcendent holiness of God threatens to prohibit the presence of the Holy One in the midst of unholy people. A record of this threat can be seen in the alien, fragmentary and unrecognisable Gospel portraits of the holy Christ to a sinful world. Yet the doctrine of the incarnation demands a divine presence to sinners and a sinful cosmos, a ‘making flesh’ as well as an ‘assuming flesh’. The concept and practice of sacrifice is proposed as a form of relation between deity and humanity such that the holy Christ can dwell and abide in an unholy world.

Female Language in Malati maitri’s Sankaraparani

Morgan found that the adi from of the clans formed on the basis of maternal rights, from which the clans based on paternal rights later developed. In this way we understand that the castes we see among the people who are tired of the ancient Social civilization are based on paternal rights and before that there were Social clans with maternal rights. As important as Darwin’s theory of evolution way in biology and how important Marx’s Philosophy of surplus value was in the field of Political, Economy, so important is the discovery that there was a Primitive maternal right that preceded patriarchy in civilized populations. The Social system that forgot this historical background enslaved the woman. set her aside from production. She was stripped of her rights and made to kneel before the man the began to paint her limbs. Myths about women and literary evidence in written form spilled out of masculine thought. Thus, the women become the most physically vulnerable in the attack on the country. In his poems, he shows the way in which the Tamil community considers activities that are considered sacred and pure. Malati Maitri writes about Social liberation, questioning the sacred practices of sacrifice, family morality, domesticity, motherhood and affection.

The idea of religion and sacrifice from Grotius to Diderot’s Encyclopédie

ABSTRACT This article outlines the concept of the early modern idea of religion through the notion of sacrifice, from Socinus on through Grotius and Spinoza to Diderot’s Encyclopedia. It is generally held that the philosophical representation of religion of the seventeenth century ‘set the stage’ for later Enlightenment philosophers. My argument runs in a different direction. I intend to show that the Enlightenment philosophers’ concept of religious history stemmed not only from the philosophical tradition, but also from their knowledge of antiquarianism. In order to understand the genealogy of the Enlightenment idea of religion it is essential to acknowledge its roots in the antiquarian history of religions of the seventeenth century when a new idea of religious belief emerged with practice of sacrifice at its core. Grotius and the antiquarians inquired into whether religion was a universal phenomenon, what were its categories – such as belief and sacrifice – and the truth and falsehood of these. Diderot considered this history of sacrifice and ceremonies as the fundamental ‘deed’ of the religious experience, which he analysed employing both the philosophical and the historical perspectives through the category of fetishism.

Dog and human from Raven's perspective: An interpretation of Raven myths of Alaskan Athabascans

Raven appears as an important character in many Alaskan Athabascan myths. He is depicted as a powerful shaman who transforms the world through magic. In this paper, I analyze an often-neglected motif of Alaskan Athabascan Raven stories: Raven as Dog-eaters. I use mythological texts and ethnographic data collected in prior studies and from my fieldwork in the community of Nikolai, Alaska. In some Alaskan Athabascan myths, Raven has a strong appetite for dog meat and assists his neighbors who slaughter their dogs for him. This motif seems to describe a sacrificial practice whereby Raven, as a transformer, receives gifts of food in exchange for providing spiritual services and protection. However, in real life, Northern Athabascans do not practice typical animal sacrifice involving domestic animals. In addition, they do not regard dogs as being suitable for human consumption. This raises several questions. What is the significance of dogs in Alaskan Athabascan societies? Why is Raven thought to be fond of dog meat in traditional Alaskan Athabascan stories? How can we explain this motif of “Dog as Raven's Delicacy” through an ethnography of human–dog–raven relations in Alaskan Athabascan societies? This paper addresses these questions from the perspectives of comparative mythology, ethology and the storytelling strategy.

The Historical and Philosophical Exegesis on Yagya in Ancient India

Yagya or sacrifice has been an integral part of Indian history and culture. More particularly in ancient India, Yagya appears as the backbone of entire social and political structure. Thus, most of the Vedic literature revolves around the sacrificial ritual in different forms for numerous purposes. In contemporary world, when the scientific temperament dominates almost all spheres of life, masses seek to comprehend everything pertaining to human lives in a rational way. However, the recognized truth is that human society exists in a dilemmatic situation where on one hand they are not ready to discard their cultural heritage, customs and traditions and on the other hand they aspire to abide with scientific logic and reason. Therefore, it is essential to trace the philosophy and common logic of one of the most consistent sacrificial practice of Indian culture, i.e. Yagya. And since the Yagya tradition traces its antiquity from the ancient India, there is a requirement to illustrate the historical existence of yagya in abundance. Thus, this paper attempts to comprehensively deal with historical and philosophical aspects of Yagya to understand its relevance in present scenario.
 For this study historical methodology has been used premised on the analysis of primary and secondary sources, and the content is descriptive.
 Since the time of oldest Indus valley civilization, we find archeological evidences of fire altars from sites such as Kalibagan(Rajasthan), Lothal(Gujrat) etc. which indicate the practice of sacrificial rituals. In entire Vedic literature, plethora of textual references elaborate the philosophy, ritual practice, benefits, norms, the hosts of yagyas, and the various types of sacrifices such as Shraut Yagya (public and royal sacrifices) and Pak Yagya (domestic sacrifices). Furthermore, both literary and archeological evidences enchant the practice and effects of distinct type of sacrifices in later Vedic age, pre-Mauryan period (6th century B.C.), age of empires (Mauryan, Shunga, Satavahana, Kanva, Kushana etc.) and Gupta period. This reveals the historical existence of our cultural tradition.
 Moreover the philosophical relevance of yagya (to sacrifice) is exponent as an idea through which Vedic Rishis facilitated the harmony between ecological system and human life, the peaceful co-existence of all the creatures of the universe and their interdependence.
 Though it overtly seems that Yagya has been a part of religious life of Vedic Aryans, but after the philosophical and historical analysis, it appears that Yagya crucially contributed to social harmony, constructing political hegemony, and facilitating public welfare in its most intense as well as external procedures. Hence, for dwindling the cultural, environmental and social quos in today’s times yagya needs to be practiced in a modified logical manner.

Who Should be Sacrificed? Human Sacrifice and Status in Plutarch: Themistocles 13, Pelopidas 21–22, Philopoemen 21

Who Should be Sacrificed? Human Sacrifice and Status in Plutarch:Themistocles 13, Pelopidas 21–22, Philopoemen 211 Marta González González The existence of human sacrifice in ancient Greece remains open to debate (Henrichs 1981, Hughes 1991, Bonnechere 1994, Georgoudi 1999, and Bremmer 2007a). Although archaeology might appear to be the best tool to obtain a definitive answer,2 information can also be extracted from the many literary testimonies available, including some passages in Plutarch. By analysing three such passages, I focus on the subject of sacrifice and build on Jan Bremmer's seminal article: "Scapegoat Rituals in Ancient Greece" (1983). I shall briefly address the historicity of the stories narrated by Plutarch and will examine two interesting questions: how did the ancient Greeks imagine human sacrifice and what kind of victim was considered suitable? At least two perspectives are necessary for a rigorous analysis of these texts: the author's (Plutarch's) own opinion of human sacrifice and [End Page 165] the opinions he ascribes to the protagonists of the Lives. Then there is the implicit but equally interesting information that can be extracted from the passages in which he addresses this topic.3 I I start with Plutarch's own opinion of human sacrifice offered to the gods. At the end of On Superstition, he writes (13.171.B–D): Would it not then have been better for those Gauls and Scythians to have had absolutely no conception, no vision, no tradition, regarding the gods, than to believe in the existence of gods who take delight in the blood of human sacrifice and hold this to be the most perfect offering and holy rite (τελεωτάτην θυσίαν καὶ ἱερουργίαν)? … Yet, if Typhons or Giants were ruling over us after they had expelled the gods, with what sort of sacrifices would they be pleased, or what other holy rites would they require? Amestris, the wife of Xerxes, caused twelve human beings to be buried alive as an offering in her behalf to propitiate Hades, of whom Plato says that it is because he is humane and wise and rich, and controls the souls of the dead by persuasion and reason, that he has come to be called by this name. Xenophanes, the natural philosopher, seeing the Egyptians beating their breasts and wailing at their festivals, gave them a very proper suggestion: "If these beings are gods," said he, "do not bewail them; and if they are men, do not offer sacrifices to them." (trans. Babbit 1928) Plutarch ascribes the practice of human sacrifice not only to Gauls, Scythians, and Persians, but also to some hypothetical Greeks: Greeks who would have been ruled by Typhons and Giants. However, this shift to mythology (to a world where monsters such as Typhon were victorious [End Page 166] in their battles with the gods) and in space (outside Greece) is in contrast with all the other episodes he relates that are located in the Greece of history. The argument Plutarch uses to oppose this brutal sacrificial practice is the humanity (so to speak) of the Greek gods: they are not monsters and would not have accepted this kind of offering. Bearing in mind that he is not narrating a specific episode whose protagonists have different points of view (as in the passages discussed below), but rather is addressing the general question of deisidaimonia ("superstition") and stating his position on the matter, it is reasonable to assume that this is Plutarch's own opinion of human sacrifice. II According to Plutarch, Themistocles sacrificed three Persian captives to Dionysos Omestes ("Eater of Raw Meat") before the battle of Salamis, following the advice of a seer and yielding to pressure from his soldiers. These captives had been taken on the island of Psytalea, which faces Salamis. This disturbing episode is problematic not only due to its uncertain authenticity, but also because of the unusual dedication to Dionysos Omestes. The main argument against the historicity of this episode is that, according to other accounts, the island of Psytalea was attacked after the battle of Salamis and all the Persians in that second skirmish were killed and none were captured.4 As for the other problem, namely the dedication to Dionysos...

Um símbolo da diferença: pertença, violência e resistência na circuncisão judaica

O presente artigo visa analisar a circuncisão como elemento constitutivo da identidade judaica enquanto símbolo da diferença. A partir dos dois textos bíblicos instituidores da circuncisão, nos relatos referentes a Abraão e Moisés, será demonstrada a circuncisão como construção doutrinária a partir da sua justificação enquanto violência necessária, que marca a pertença à cultura judaica, e que, em determinadas condições, serve como mecanismo de resistência. Assim, serão evidenciadas suas relações com o pertencimento familiar, com a prática sacrificial e mesmo com a resistência política, seja na sua prática em situações de proibição ou mesmo na sua negação em situações de imposição.

Quien Sabe Mas Lucha Mejor

This article looks at popular adult educators’ care of the self practices within social movements in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It answers the following questions: How is popular adult education practiced amongst educators in social movements? What can studying popular adult educators’ care of the self practices offer the field of adult education? To answer these questions, I look to adult educators’ practices of sacrifice and self-naming; remembering historical tragedies; and educator, classroom, and community support within the Union of Popular Organizations’ political formation school and popular adult education schools.

Selling Sacrifice on Classical Athenian Vases

Examination of the chronological development of sacrificial representations on 5th-century Athenian vases reveals a movement from procession to altar-based scenes, heightened emphasis on the preparation and consumption of meat, and increased focus on the reciprocity between mortals and gods. Sacrificial practice itself likely did not change during the Classical period. Vase painters' interest in different stages and themes, however, may suggest shifting attitudes toward thysia, as well as toward Athenian citizenship and citizen identity. Broadening the consideration of sacrificial imagery from the reconstruction of ritual to include its physical and historical contexts allows for a greater understanding of its meaning. Three appendixes supplement the discussion with examples of sacrifical procession and altar scenes.

Potentializing the Research Piglet in Experimental Neonatal Research

This paper explores the socio-moral-material practices by which the piglet is imbued with potential for human health by making it a substitute for the preterm infant in need of treatment. Based on fieldwork in a Danish perinatal pig laboratory, we view the experimental practice as a sacrifice and argue that it is characterized by two forms of exchange: a calculative exchange that defines an absolute moral difference between humanity and animality and constitutes the piglet as a raw material of science, and a corporeal exchange by which the piglet appears as a sentient substitute belonging to the same collective as the researchers. By focusing on the interaction between these forms of exchange, we highlight the existential aspects of the sacrificial practice and illuminate the many identities of both piglets and researchers produced in the interwoven processes of making, unmaking, and remaking piglets. We suggest that creating space for corporeal exchange and yet taming its power is essential to potentiali...

The Nonself of Girard

The Nonself of Girard Samuel Buchoul (bio) Girard and Philosophy According to René Girard, mimetic theory and philosophy cannot go together; mimetic theory must go beyond philosophy. More than an ideological disagreement, there is here an actual methodological divergence. Philosophy, he argues, tends to remain at the superficial level of pure intellectual understanding, whereas other human faculties must be accessed to overcome the illusions of an independent desire: In reality, no purely intellectual process and no experience of a purely philosophical nature can secure the individual the slightest victory over mimetic desire and its victimage delusions. Intellection can achieve only displacement and substitution, though these may give individuals the sense of having achieved such a victory.1 Furthermore, Girard relates the impossibility of philosophy’s real progress to its incapacity to question the ultimate levels of introspection, namely, “ego,” “personality,” or “temperament”: For there to be even the slightest degree of progress, the victimage delusion must be vanquished on the most intimate level of experience; and this triumph, if it is not to remain a dead letter, must succeed in collapsing, or at the very least shaking to their foundations, all the things that are based upon our interdividual oppositions—consequently, [End Page 101] everything that we can call our ‘ego,’ our ‘personality,’ our ‘temperament,’ and so on.2 In other words, Girard affirms that philosophy has always been biased by the romantic axiom par excellence: the existence of an autonomous self. However, one may argue that not all philosophical traditions of the world repeat this faith in the independence of the self. Buddhism is one of them, and it actually fulfils both of the aforementioned requisites of Girard’s theory.3 Buddhism, too, argues that a purely intellectual inquiry, without the practice of morality (Sīla), concentration (Samādhi), and wisdom (Prajñā), cannot suffice to reach the truth. Furthermore, Buddhism also refutes the hypothesis of an independent self; fighting this belief is actually the central element of the Buddhist path to liberation. Although Girard does not directly address ethics, we can gain much by extending his reflections into this realm. Doing so, we can discover certain values that may be common to Girard and Buddhism and that naturally point to the same conclusion: the need to forsake the romantic lie of the autonomy and independence of human beings in favor of a deep awareness of the interdependence in human life and all worldly phenomena. This awareness is the starting point and essential precondition to a new understanding of what an ethical life is.4 In this essay, I shall attempt to highlight some of the common features and possible meeting points of mimetic theory and Buddhist philosophy. This will be done on the basis of the Buddhist notion of Anattā, nonself, which Leo D. Lefebure already noted as offering a deep conceptual compatibility with the theory of mimetic desire.5 I will try to go further and present some initial arguments in favor of a more ambitious hypothesis: that mimetic theory could finally find, with Buddhism, support from a major philosophical tradition. This short article is intended as a speculative and provocative introduction to an intellectual encounter that deserves greater academic attention. In addition to advancing some preliminary arguments that will be developed further in subsequent works, the present essay, taken alone, still serves an important purpose: to introduce parts of Buddhist terminology that will be relevant for future philosophical and ethical studies of Girard’s work.6 Anattā: Nonself Anattā is one of the unique contributions of Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism who lived in the fifth-century BCE in India. Along [End Page 102] with his rejection of the caste system and the practice of sacrifice, Buddha questioned the existence of the Ātman (Sanskrit) or Atta (Pāli), the self or soul7 widely accepted in Brāhmaṇism. The Ātman concept is similar to the idea that each person or thing has an independent self, a view that is shared by several main families of Western philosophy, from the Greek era to the Enlightenment. Walpola Rahula recalls that, in the Brāhmaṇical tradition, it was believed that “in man there is a permanent, everlasting...

The role of earth shrines in the socio-symbolic construction of the Dogon territory: towards a philosophy of containment

This paper deals with the role of earth shrines in generating and maintaining social order and cohesion in a Dogon village on the Bandiagara escarpment (Mali, West Africa), in a context of scarcity. Earth shrines are erected at significant points in the landscape and in remote times symbolised the foundation of the territory. They form part of the ritual control of space by reinforcing, through sacrificial practice, a symbolic boundary that encloses and protects the village space. Through their yearly reactivation, this practice firstly enables the Dogon to strengthen their relationship with their god, their ancestors and the spirits that own the place and, secondly, it aims to renew social relationships and maintain the cohesion and continuity of the society whilst simultaneously conveying a sense of well-being. This paper examines the materiality, efficacy and activation principles of Dogon earth shrines that operate through the intervention of complementary living substances: millet and blood. These earth shrines function on an ontological principle of containment by which people protect themselves, act and dwell in the world. That is to say, they endow active principles and play a part in forming a local cosmology in a harsh and changing world.

War-Culture and Sacrifice

What would we say about the losses associated with war if we did not describe them as sacrifices? What would we say about Jesus’ life and death if we did not associate the Gospel narratives with a cosmic framework of sacrificial self giving? This article first explores and exposes the interpenetration of the ethos, institutions and culture of militarism in the United States’ culture at large. The somewhat heightened awareness regarding US ‘war-culture’ leads to questions regarding its supporting pillars and dynamics. Thus, second, the article investigates the rhetoric and practices of sacrifice that act as an electrical current running between war-culture and popular understandings and practices of Christianity in the United States of America. Frameworks of sacrifice both animate war-culture and simultaneously mask its operations with a sacred canopy. Consequently, we must face the difficult but all-important question: is there any way to rehabilitate understandings of sacrifice for Christianity without at the same time aiding and abetting war-culture?

Evidence and Orthopraxy

In the volume under review, Scheid organizes several new papers and revises a number previously published in order to present a detailed portrait of sacrificial practice at Rome, as well as an analysis of its logic. The result is an important book in a number of respects. It provides a clear statement of Scheid's methods in the study of ritual; it gives a compelling account of public sacrifice and commensality; and it extends the insights thus gleaned to non-public rites at Rome, particularly funerary banquets. To students of Roman religion in particular, it offers the opportunity to consider a number of developments in Scheid's own work and in the field more generally since he made his initial sustained contributions to the study of ritual and Roman religion over a quarter century ago.1 Besides an introduction and conclusion, Quand faire, c'est croire contains nine chapters in four parts, each part with its own introduction, and eight appendices. The parts concentrate on Roman sacrifice; sacrifice according to the so-called 'Greek rite'; sacrifice in private contexts (both domestic and funerary); and commensality, among human participants and between humans and gods in the latter case, the question being how they understood and performed the division of meat. The appendices provide French translations often enough with Latin original, but never Greek of the most significant evidence for various phenomena discussed in the text. Notably for those without easy access to Scheid's edition of the Arval acta, this includes long selections from that text; as well as extended passages from the acta of the Secular Games (and from Zosimus' report on the same); the instructions on sacrifice provided by Cato and these are compared with the Arval evidence in a chart; as well as comparisons between the Parentationes and funerary honours for Lucius and Gaius Caesar; and evidence for the sacrificial banquet.

From Eshu to Obatala: animals used in sacrificial rituals at Candomblé "terreiros" in Brazil

BackgroundThe practice of sacrifice has occurred in several cultures and religions throughout history and still exists today. Candomblé, a syncretical Afro-Brazilian religion, practices the sacrificial ritual called "Orô" by its adherents. The present work aims to document the use of animal species in these sacrificial practices in the cities of Caruaru (PE) and Campina Grande (PB) in Norteastern Brazil, and to further understand the symbolism of these rituals.MethodsSemi-structured and unstructured interviews and informal discussions were held with 11 Candomblé priests and priestesses between the months of August 2007 and June 2008. We attended rituals performed at "terreiros" where animals were sacrificed, in order to obtain photographic material and observe the procedures and techniques adopted.ResultsA total of 29 animal species were used during sacrificial rituals according to the priests and priestesses. These species were classified in 5 taxanomic groups: Molluscs (n = 1), Amphibians (n = 2), Reptiles (n = 2), Birds (n = 10) and Mammals (n = 14). According to Candomblé beliefs, animals are sacrificed and offered to their deities, known as orishas, for the prosperity of all life. There is a relationship between the colour, sex and behaviour of the animal to be sacrificed, and the orisha to whom the animal is going to be offered. The many myths that form the cosmogony of Candomblé can often explain the symbolism of the rituals observed and the animal species sacrificed. These myths are conveyed to adherants by the priests and priestesses during the ceremonies, and are essential to the continuation of this religion.ConclusionCandomblé is a sacrificial religion that uses animals for its liturgical purposes. The principal reason for sacrifice is to please supernatural deities known as orishas in order to keep life in harmony. This is accomplished through feeding them in a spiritual sense through sacrifice, maintaining a perfect link between men and the gods, and a connection between the material world (called Aiyê) and the supernatural world (called Orun).

Without the Least Tremor

Sacrifice haunts the Phaedo. In this article, I argue that the mise-en-scene of the death scene of the Phaedo, as well as other sacrificial elements in the background of the dialogue, creates a nexus that positively integrates the birth, philosophical practice, and death of Socrates into the ritualized rhythm of the life of the city of Athens. A close reading of the death scene presented as a synopsis with Walter Burkert's well-known analysis of Greek sacrifice reveals convergences and divergences between the Phaedo and Greek sacrificial practice. Socrates appears as a willing victim who accepts the city's sacrificial practice while remaining on his own terms.

'Like Green Herb': Julian's Understanding of Purity and His Attitude Towards Judaism in His Contra Galiaeos

Among the charges levelled against the Christians in Julian’s ‘Against the Galileans’ Judaism and its purity legislation play an essential role: By refusing Jewish sacrificial practice and dietary regulations, Julian argues, the Galileans abandoned the pure and priestly life prescribed by Moses to follow a new path of impurity and moral disorder. Julian aims to prove his allegations by strategically developing a close parallelism between Jews and Hellenes. Against a widespread view, therefore, Judaism plays essentially a polemical role in Julian’s reasoning. Only when we consider the continuing attraction which Judaism held for Christians, especially in Antioch, we can properly understand Julian’s polemics. Favouring the Jews and supporting the literal interpretation of Scripture he affirmed on the one hand indirectly the Hellenic pure way of life, on the other hand he tried to nourish inner-Christian conflicts.

"Sacrifice Honors God": Ritual Struggle in a Liberian Church

Studies on African Religions have neglected the topic of animal sacrifice in African Initiated Churches. I examine the role and meaning of sacrifice in a Liberian church called the United Church of Salvation I encountered over two decades ago. The church observed two forms of sacrifice: a Sin Sacrifice that mandated immolation of a goat; and a Life Sacrifice that mandated immolation of a ram. Animal sacrifice provided an effective ritual strategy that obviated direct accusations of witchcraft, yet reminded each member of his or her responsibility to the moral order of the church. The church's practice of sacrifice, however, would change with the emergence of Diaspora branches, new affiliations, and circuiting with global Pentecostalism. I contend that sacrifice needs to be understood in terms of ritual struggle, denoting an agonistic theme that continues whether sacrifice persists or disappears.