I have some test questions and one essay to complete based on the course religion and violence in the attached Question sheet.

But generally. one does not venture to approach sacred ~z The'Scheme of Sacrifice things directly and alone; they are too lofty and serious a matter. An intermediary, or at the very least a guide, is necessary. a 6 This is the priest. More familiar with the world of the gods, in which he is partly involved through a previous consecration, a 7 he can approach it more closely and with less fear than the layman, who is perhaps sullied by unknown blemishes. At the same time he prevents the sacrifier from committing fatal errors. Sometimes the profane person is even formally I~xcluded from the sanc- tuary and the sacrifice. 8 8 In this case the priest becomes, on the one hand, the mandatory of the sacrifier, a 9 whose condition he sh~res and whose sins he bears. 90 On the other hand, however, he is sealed with a divine seal. 91 He bears the name,92 the title,93 or the robe94 of his god. He is his minister, even his incarnate presence,96 or at the very least the repository of his power. He is the visible agent of consecration in the sacrifice. In short, he stands oIl the threshold of the sacred and the profane world and represents them both at one and the same time. They are linked in him. Because of his religious character, it might be supposed that he at least can enter upon the sacrifice without any preliminary initiation. This is in fact what took place in India. The Brahmin appeared with a nature almost entirely divine. Thus he had no need for a special con- secration, save in extraordinary circumstances 9 6_ for there are rites that require a previous preparation by the sacrificer as well as by the sacrifier. This differs from that which we have described for the layman only inasmuch as it is generally less complex. As the priest is naturally nearer to the sacred world, simpler operations are enough to enable him to enter it completely. . Among the Hebrews, despite the fact that the priest C 25 The Scheme of Sacrifice was ordained, he had to take certaln extra precautIOns m order to be able to sacrifice. He had to wash before enter- in g the sanctuary. 9 7 Before the ceremony he had to d I . . d 9 B He P ut on abstain from wine and fermente IqUl s. . linen garments, 9 9 which he took ?ff immediately after the sacrifice.loo He laid these away m a consecrated place, for they had already become holy, fearfulobject~ ~hich h f t t C h 101 In hIs mter- were dangerous for t e pro ane 0 ou. . course with the divine-although this was habItual for him-the priest himself was perpetually under the threat ofthe supernatural deathl 02 that had struck down ~aron's two sons,lOS and those of Eli,104 as well as the prIests of the famHy of Baithos.l05 By increasing his personal sanc- tity,l 0 6 he made the difficult approach to the sanctuary easier, and safeguarded himself. . But he did not sanctify himself wholly for hIS own sake: he did so also on behalf of the person or society in whose nam€ he was acting. Because he exposed to danger not only himself but those whose delegate he ~as, he w~s obliged to take even greater precautions. ThIs was partI- cularly noticeable at the festival of the Great Pardon.lo 7, . Indeed, on that day the high priest represents the people of Israel. He seeks pardon for himself and for Israel-for himself and his family by the bullock, for Israel by the two goatS.10B Only after this expiation, a~d having. set light to the incense, does he penetrate behI~d the veIl of the Holy of Holies,l 0 9 where he finds G?d III the cl.oud. Such grave functions required very specIal ~reparat.IOns, as befitted the quasi-divine role that the prIest fulfIlled. Due allowance being made, the rites resemble those of the diksha discussed above. Seven days before the feast the high priest shuts himself off from his family,110 and remains in the cell of the paredri (the assessors).1l1 2+ The Scheme cif Sacrifice the Hindu sacrifier, he is the object of all sorts of atten- tions. The evening before, old men sit round and read to him the section of the Bible in which is laid down the ritual of Kippur. He is given little to eat. Then he is con- ducted into a special room,112 where he is left alone after having been adjured to change nothing in the rites. 'Then, both he and they weeping, they parted. '113 The whole night long he must stay awake,114 for sleep is a time during which defilements may unwittingly be con- tracted.1l5 Thus the entire pontifical rite tends toward the same purpose: to give the high priest an exceptional sanc- tity116 which will enable him to draw near to the god hidden behind the mercy-seat and to bear the burden of the sins that will be heaped upon his head. (3) The place, the instruments. For the sacrifice proper to begin, it is not enough for the sacrifier and the priest to be sanctified. It cannot take place at any time or any- where. For not all times of the day or year are equally propitious for ~acrifice; there are even times at which it must be ruled out. In Assyria, for example, it was for- bidden on the 7th, 14th, and 21st of the month.1l7 According to the nature and the purpose of the ceremony, the hour of celebration differed. Sometimes it had to be offered during the daytime;118 sometimes, on the other hand, during the evening or at night.119 The place of the ceremony rp.ust itself be sacred: out- side a holy place immolation i~imere murder.12o When the sacrifice is performed in a temple121 or in a place already sacred in itself, preliminary consecration is un- necessary or at least is very much shortened. This is the case with the Hebrew sacrifice as laid down in the ritual of the Pentateuch. It was celebrated in a single sanctuary consecrated beforehand,122 chosen by the divinity123 and 25 The Scheme of Sacr.ifice made divine by his presence.IU Thus the texts that have come down to us contain no provisions. relating to the repeated sanctifying oithe place of sacrifice. Nevertheless, the purity and sanctity of the temple and the sanctuary hC!.d to be maintained: daily sacrificesl25 and an annual cere~ mony of expiation were the means of fulfilling this need.12 6 The Hindus had no temple. Each could choose for him- self the place where he wished to sacrifice.l2 7 But this place had to be consecrated in advance by means of a certain number of rites, of which the most essential was the setting up of the fires.l28 We shall not describe it in detail. The complicated ceremonies of which it is made up have as their object the kindling of a fire in which only pure elements, already consecrated to Agni,12 9 will enter. One of these fires is even kindled by friction, so that it is entirely new.130 In these conditions there is a magical power which wards off evil spirits, harmful spells, alld devils. The fire is the slayer of demohs.131It is even more than this: it is the god, it is Agni in his complete form.132 In the same way, according to certain Biblical legends also, the fire of sacrifice is none other than the divinity itself, which consumes the victim, or, to put it more exactly, the fire is the sign of consecration which sets h on fire.133 What is divine in the fire of the Hindu sacrifice is thus transmitted to the place of sacrifice and conse- crates it.134 This site consisted of a fairly large!rect- angular space, caned the vihara.135 Within this area is another space called the vedi, whose sacred character is even more pronounced. This corresponds to the altar. Thus the vedi occupies a position even more central than the fires. These, indeed, contrary to what is the case in most other cults, are not on the altar itself, but surround it.13 6 The outline of the vedi i$ 26 The Scheme of Sacrifice carefully marked outon the ground;13 7 to do this a spade is taken--or in other cases, the magical wooden sword--' and the earth is lightly touched with it, with the words 'The wicked one is killed.'13 8 By this all impurity is destroyed; the magic circle is traced out, the site is con- secrated. Within the boundaries thus delimited, the ground is dug and levelled; the hole formed in this way constitutes the altar. After a lustration that is both ex- piatory and purificatory the bottom of the hole is covered with different kinds of turf. It is on this turf that the gods to whom the sacrifice is addressed come and sit. there , , invisible yet present, they attend the ceremony.13 9 We shall not describe in detail the various instru- ments140 which are laid upon the altar,141 after having been either made ad hoc or carefully purified. But one of them must claim our attention, for it really forms part of the altar.142 This is the yupa, the stake to which the animal is to be bound. It is not a piece of rough wood, but the tree from which it was hewn had already in itself a divine nature,143 which unctions and libations have fur- ther reinforced.144 It also occupies a prominent position, for it is there that the victim will stand, the most im- portant of all the visible personages that will take part in the ceremony.U5 Therefore the Brahmanas represent it as one of the points at which all the religious forces that are in operation in the sacrifice converge and are con- centrated. By its slender trunk, it recalls the manner in which the gods mounted up to heaven;] 4 6 by its upper section it gives power over heavenly things, by its middle part, over the things of the air, by its lower part, over those of the .earth.14 7 But at the same time it represents the sacrifier. It is the height of the sacrifier that deter- mines its dimensions.14 B When it is anointed, the sacrifier 27 The Scheme of Sacrifice is anointed; when it is made firm, it is the sacrifier that is strengthened.1u In it takes place, in a more marked manner than in the priest, that communication, that fusion of the gods and the sacrifier, which will become even more marked in the victim.150 The scene is now s'e1. The actors are ready. The entry of the victim will mark the beginning of the drama. But before introducing it, we must point ou t an essential characteristic of the sacrifice: the perfect continuity that is h . h b 151 necessary to it. From the moment t at It as egun, it must continue to the end without interruption and in the ritual order. All the operations of which it is com- posed must follow each other in turn without a break. The forces at work, if they are not directed in exactly the way prescribed, elude both sacrifier and priest and turn upon them in a terrible fashion.152 Even this outward continuity of the rites is not enough.153 There must also be a like constancy in the mental state of sacrifier and sacrificer, concerning the gods, the victim, and the prayer that one wants answered.l54 They must have unshake" able confidence in the automatic result of the sacrifice. In short, a religious act must be accomplished in a religious frame of mind: the inward attitude must correspond to the external one.155 We see how, from the very outset, sacrifice demanded a credo (shraddha is the equivalent of credo, even philologically), and how the act carried faith with it.156 . THE VICTIM We said above that in the Hindu rite the construction o~ the altar consists in describing a magic circle on the ground. In reality all the operations we have just con- sidered have the same purpose. They consist in tracing 28 The Scheme of Sacrifice out a kind of series of concentric magic ciicles within the sacred area. In the outer circle stands the sacrifier; then come in turn the priest, the altar, and the stake. On the perimeter, where stands the layman on whose behalf the sacrifice takes place, the religious atmosphere is weak and minimal. It increases as the space in which it is developed grows smaller. ,The whole activity of the place of sacrifice is thus organized and concentrated round a single focus. Everything converges on the victim who is now about to appear. Everything is ready for its reception. It is broiight in. Sometimes it was consecrated by the mere fact of its birth: the species to which it belonged was joined to the divinity by speciallinks.15 7 Having thus a divine charac- ter by nature, it did not need to acquire one specially for the occasion. But, more usually, fixed rites were neces- sary to confer upon it the religious condition that its destined role demanded, In certain cases where it had been marked out long before, these ceremonies had taken place before it was brought to the place of sacrifice.15 8 But often at that moment it still had nothing sacred about it. It was merely in a state to fulfil certain conditions that made it eligible to receive consecration. It had to be with- out defect, sickness, or infirmity. 15 9 It had to be of a certain colour,16o age, and sex, according to the result to be brought abouL161 But to bring this general aptitude into action, to raise it to the required level of religiosity, the victim had to submit to a whole gamut of ceremonies. In certain countries it was dressed up,162 painted or whitened, like the bas cretatus of Roman sacrifices. Its horns were gilded,l63 a crown was placed upon it, it was bedecked with ribbons.164 These adornments imparted to it a religious character. Sometimes even the costume that 29 The Scheme of Sacnf£ce was put on it brought it closer to the god who presided over the sacrifice: this was the purpose of the disguises used in the agrarian sacrifices, of which traces only remain.166 The semi-consecration thus conferred upon it could moreover be obtained in another way. In Mexico16 6 and at Rhodes1 6 7 the victim was made drunk. This drunkenness was a sign of possession. The divine spirit was already pervading the victim. But the Hindu ritual will enable us to follow more closely the whole series of operations in the course of which the victim is progressively made divine. After it has been bathed,16 8 it is brought in, whilst various liba- tions are made.16 9 It is then addressed, laudatory epithets being heaped upon it, and it is exhorted to keep calm.l7 0 At the same time the god who is the lord of the animals is invoked, in order to ask him to agree to the use of his property as a victim.171 These precautions, propitiations, and marks of honour serve a dual purpose. Firstly, they acknowledge the sacred character of the victim: by being termed something excellent, the property of the gods, it becomes so. But above all it must be persuaded to allow itself to be sacrificed peaceably, for the welfare of men, and not to take vengeance once it is dead. These usages, which are extremely frequent,172 do not signify, as has been said, that the beast sacrificed is always a forme~ totemic animal. The explanation lies closer at hand. There is in the victim a spirit which it is the very aim of the sacrifice to liberate. This spirit must therefore be conciliated, for otherwise it might become dangerous when freed; hence the flattery and preliminary apologies. Then the victim is bound to the stake. At that momeDt the sacred character it is in the act of acquiring is already so great that the Brahmin can no longer touch it with 50 The Scheme of Sacrif£ce his hands, and the sacrifier himself hesitates to approach it. He must be invited to do so, and encouraged by a special formula addressed to him by a priest.173 Yet, in order to develop this religiosity, already so intense, to the utmost extent, three series of rites are required. The animal is given water to drink,l?4 for water is divine; its body is lustrated above, beneath, and on every part.l 7 5 Then it is anointed with melted butter on the head then , on the withers, the shoulders, the croup, and between the horns. These anointings correspond to those which were made with oil in Hebrew sacrifice, to the ceremony of the mola salsa in Rome, or to the OUAOc( or barley grains that in Greece the bystanders threw upon the animal.l7 6 Like- wise, almost everywhere are to be found libations analo- gous to those of which we have just spoken. They had as their purpose to heap sanctity on the victim. Lastly, after these lustrations and anointings there comes in the Vedic ritual a final ceremony whose effect is to enclose the victim itself in a final magic circle, smaller and more divine than the others. From the fire of the gods a priest plucks a brand, and with it in his hand walks three times round the animal. This circumambulation took place in India round all the victims, with or without fire. It was the god Agni who surrounded the animal on all sides , consecrated it, and set it apart. I 7 7 Yet, even while continuing to move onward into the , world of the gods, the victim had to remain in touch with mankind. In the religions we are considering here, the ,means used to ensure this contact are provided by the yprinciples of magical and religious sympathy. Sometimes ,there is a direct and natural representation: a father is ;,represented by his son, whom he sacrifices, etc.178 In ~'general, since a sacrifier is always obliged to undertake 31 The Scheme if Sacrifice The Scheme if Sacrifice the expenses in person, there is, by virtue ofthisvery fact, it, thereby making the consecration definitive and a Inore or less complete representation. I 7 9 But in other irrevocable. This is the solemn moment. cases this association of the victim and the sacrifier is That which now begins is a crime, a kind of sacrilege. brought about by a physical contact between the sacrifier So, while the victim was being led to the place of (sometimes the priest) and the victim. This contact is slaughter, some rituals prescribed libations and expia- obtained, in Semitic ritual, by the laying on of hands, and tions.183 Excuses were made for the act that was about to in others by equivalent rites.18 0 Through this proximity be carried out, the death of the animal was lamented,lS4 the victim, who already represents the gods, comes to one wept for it as one would weep for a relative. Its par- represent the sacrifier also. Indeed, it is not enough to say don was asked before it was struck down. The rest of the that it represents him: it is merged in him. The two per- species to which it belonged wet~ harangued, as if they sonalities are fused together. At least in the Hindu ritual were one vast family, entreated not to avenge the wrong this identification even becomes so complete that from about to be done them in the person of one of their num- then onwards the future fate of the victim, its imminent ber.185 Under the influence of these same ideasl86 the death, has a kind of reverse effect upon the sacrifier. instigator of the slaughter might be punished by beat- Hence an ambiguous situation results for the latter. He ingl87 or exile. At Athens the priest at the sacrifice of the needs to touch the animal in order to remain united with Bouphonia fled, casting his axe away. All those who had it, and yet is afraid to do so, for in so doing he runs the " taken part in the sacrifice were called to the Prytaneion. risk of sharing its fate. The ritual resolves the difficulty . ~ They threw the blame upon each other. Finally, the knife by taking a middle course. The sacrifier touches thevic- was condemned and thrown into the sea.18 8 The purifica- tim only through the priest, who himself only touches it tions which the sacrificer had to undergo after the sacri- through the intermediary of one of the instruments of ..~ flce resembled moreover the expiation of a criminal.189 sacrifice.181 Thus this process of drawing together the So, once the beast is placed in the prescribed position sacred and the profane, which we have seen come about~; and turned in the direction laid down in the rites,l 9 0 progressively through the various elements of the sacri~ '.~ everyone keeps silence. In India the priests turn round; fice, is completed in the victim. il The sacrifier and the officiating priest also turn round,191 We have now arrived at the culminating point ofthe*, murmuring propitiatory mantras.192 Nothing is to be ceremony. All the elements of the sacrifice are nowi'! heard save the orders given in a simple voice by the priest present; they have been brought into contact for the last 'it .the sacrifier. The latter then tightens the bond that time. But the supreme act remains to be accomplished.18ls , encircles the neck of the animal,193 and 'quietens its The victim is already sanctified to an extreme degree. But~ ,; breath ',194 as the euphemism employed has it. The the spirit residing in it, the divine principle which it nOW);i is dead; the spirit has departed. contains, is still pent up in its body and attached by this;~ The rites of slaughter were extremely variable. But last link to the world of profane things. Death will release,~ cult insisted that they be scrupulously observed. To 52 . 55 The Scheme of Sacrifice The Scheme of Sacrifice modify them was generally a fatal heresy, punishable by Through this act of destruction the essential action of excommunication and death.1s 5 This was because the act the sacrifice was accomplished. The victim was separated of slaughter released an ambiguous force-or rather a definitively from the profane world; it was consecrated, blind one terrible by the very fact that it was a force. It it was sacrified, in the etymological sense of the word, ' . therefore had to be limited, directed, and tamed; thIS and various languages gave the name sanctificCltl'on to was what the rites were for. Most usually the nape of the the act that brought that condition about. The victim victim's neck, or the neck itself, was severed.1s 6 Stoning changed its nature, as did Demophoon, as did Achilles, as was an ancient rite that no longer took place in Judaea did the son of the king of Byblos, when Demeter, Thetis, except in certain cases of penal execution, or in Greece and Isis consumed their humanity in the fire.206 Its except as a token in the ritual of some festivals.19 7 Else- death was like that of the phoenix: 2 0 7 it was reborn where the victim was knocked senseless1s 8 or hanged,19 9 sacred. But the phenomenon that occurred at that So serious an operation could not be accompanied by too moment had another aspect. If on the one hand the many precautions. For the most part it was wished that spirit was released, if it had passed completely 'behind d~1h-.showcl be pro~pt, and the passage of the victi~ the veil' into the world of the gods, the body of the from its earthly life to its divine one was hastened so as animal on the other hand remained visible and tangible. not to leave evil influences ti~~ to. vitiate thesaCt1[~ial And it too, by the fact of consecration, was filled with a act.. If the animal's cries were held to be bad omens, an: sacred force that excluded it from the profane world, attempt was made to stifle or prevent them.aoo Often, in In short, the sacrificed victim resembled the 'de~d whose order to avoid any possible deviations once consecration souls dwelt at one and the same time in the other world had taken place, the attempt was made to control the and in the corpse. Thus its remains were treated with a effusion of the consecrated blood. 2 01 Care was taken that religious respect: 208 honours were paid to them. Th e it fell only on a favourable spot,aoa or things were so slaughter thus left a sacred matter behind it, and it was arranged that not a single drop of it was shed.203 Some- this, as we shall now see, that served to procure the use- times, however, these precautions were considered un-: ful effects of the sacrifice. For this purpose it was sub- necessary. At Methydrion in Arcadia the rite ordained mitted to a double series of operations. What survived of that the victim should be torn to pieces. a 04 There might. the animal was attributed entirely to the sacred world, even be an advantage in prolonging its agony.20S Slow,.: attributed entirely to the profane world, or shared death, like sudden death, could lighten the responsibility; '. between the two. ofthe sacrificer. For reasons already explained, the rituals r The attribution 'to the sacred world, whether to pro- were ingenious in discovering attenuating circumstances..tecting divinities or to maleficent spirits, was brought The rites were simpler when only flour or cakes were. about by differing procedures. One of these consisted in sacrificed instead of an animal. The oblation was cast 'bringing certain parts of the animal's body into contact wholly or partially into the fire'jWith the altar of the god, or with some objects which were 54 ' 35 The Scheme of Sacrifice The Scheme of Sacrifice especially consecrated to him. In the Hebrew hattat for When the god intervened in the sacrifice he was con- Yom Kippur, as described in the opening verses of Levi- sidered as consuming materially and in reality the sacri- ticus chap. iv,209 the sacrificer soaks his finger in the ficedflesh:itwas'hismeat'.224TheHomericpoemsshow blood which is presented to him. He sprinkles it seven us the gods seated at the sacrificial banquets.225 The times before Yahweh, that is, on the veil, and smears a cooked flesh reserved for the god226 was presented to him little blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense, and set before him. The god was to consume it. In the within the sanctuary.210 The rest was poured at the foot Bible on several occasions the divine fire spurts forth and of the altar of the 'olah which stood at the entrance. In consumes the flesh lying upon the altar.227 the ordinary hattat the priest smeared the blood on the From the flesh that was left over from this preliminary horns of the altar of the 'olah.211 The blood of the victims destruction, other portions were taken away. The priest of the 'olah and the shelamim was simply poured out at' took his share. 2'2 S Now the share of the priest was still the foot of the altar.212 Elsewhere the sacred stone or the' considered a divine share. The writers of the Pentateuch face of the god was daubed with it.213 In Greece, at the were concerned to know whether the victim of the hattat sacrifices to the water-gods, the blood was allowed to was to be burnt or eaten by the priests; according to Levi- flow into the water;214 or after having been collected in a ticus229 Moses and the sons of Aaron were in disagree- goblet, it was poured into the sea.215 When the victim ment on this point. Clearly, the two rites had thus the had been skinned, the idol might be dressed in the skin. 218 same meaning. 2 so In the same way, in the Roman rites This rite was particularly observed in ceremonies at which of expiation the priests ate the flesh.231 In the zebah a sacred animal was sacrificed, no matter what form was shelamz'm the priests kept for themselves the parts given to the idol. 217 In any case, the victim that had been especially presented to Yahweh-the shoulder and the killed was presented just as he had been presented before breast,232 the tenu1!hah and thel (erumah. The portions the consecration.21s In the 'olah the assistants, having, reserved for the pnests could be eaten only by them and cut up the victim into pieces, bear them with the head! their families, in a sacred place.233 The Greek texts con- to the officiating priest, who places them upon the.t~ tain much information, no less precise in nature, con- altar.219 In the ritual of the shelamim the portions pre.;.';,! eerning the portions of the victims and the oblations sented received significant names: terumah, the raised:,\yeserved for the sacrificers.234 Sometimes, it is true, the offering, tenuphah, the 'turned' offering.22oiv IJ. rites appear to be not very exacting; thus the priests take Another method was incineration. In all the H~br..@w:;, ,:~their portions home with them; money is made from the sacrifices, in the same way as the blood was completely'i~ _