1.. Do you practice
ritual killing of animals?
Animals are sacred in African Religions, and are used (as in
ancient Biblical, Hindu and Holy Koranic texts) as offerings to our gods and
ancestors in both our healing, initiation, and atonement ceremonies.
Additionally,contrary to the Hollywood
hype, animals are not the focus nor the center of our ceremonies.
They are merely consecrated offerings, made sacred for
communal meals by the intiate, to share with their gods and ancestors.
The "rituals" surrounding this routine event are
no more spectacular than the prepartion of foods and farm anmials for a family
meal, or the Jewish ritual of kashruth (Kosher slaughtering) in making an
animal sacred for offerings and consuming.
Animal offerings are a sacred, humane, and essential
religious rite, that has been in practice in many cultures all over the world
for thousands of years, even up until the present.
For example, because all aspects of African ritual and
religious practice has been routinely demonized and maligned, few realize that
their ritual practices are no different than (for example) the animal offerings
used in tantrik yoga.
In fact, such was the importance of animal offerings in
tantrick yoga, Hinduism, and other Eastern religious practices, that its
specifics were detailed in the sacred sutras, such as the following:
Bali (animal sacrifice) is viewed as
essential in many of the tantrik texts themselves, although even this has an
inner meaning.
The bipeds and quadrupeds to be sacrificed must be male.
"O dark one, wondrous and excelling in every way,
becomes the accomplishment of those worshippers who living in this world freely
make offering to Thee in worship of the greatly satisfying flesh, together with
hair and bones, of cats, camels, sheep, buffaloes, goats and men."
Karpuradistotra v.19, Woodroffe's translation: According to
the Kaula commentary on this verse, the animals represent six enemies to
sadhana, the goat standing for lust, the buffalo anger, the cat greed, the
sheep delusion, the camel envy, and man pride and arrogance.
This is all very well, but animal sacrifice is still
practised today in nominally Shakta areas. As recently as 1980, a goat was
sacrificed to Kali at her temple at Amber fort in Rajasthan, a practice banned
by the government, which does not, however, seem to have taken similar steps
against Pizza Hut or MacDonalds in India. (Sacrifices of quadrupeds to the
multinationals seems to be OK, just as long as no religious element is
involved.)
Additionally, contrary to popular misconceptions, animal
sacrifice is an integral part of many Islamic traditional religious practices
around the world. Consider the following instructions given on the type and age
of animals as dictated by Allah's Messenger:
The least permitted ages of various animals at the time of
sacrifice are prescribed as under:
Camel: under five years
Cow: under two years
Ewe (goat/sheep) under one year
The sacrifice is lawful of any animal of the three species
viz.; camel, cow, goat, although it may be only a Sunyy but not younger;
excepting however, a sheep which may be sacrificed when a Jad'ha'a or so young
as to have no teeth.
Muhammad Iqbal Siddiqui. 1990: The Ritual of Animal
Sacrifice in Islam. New Delhi:
International Islamic Publishers
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Religions