Topic: 2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century)
Religious sacrifices across various cultures and contexts sparked widespread interest in Early Modern Europe. As Christianity expanded into regions inhabited by "infidels" and "pagans", Europeans encountered a diverse array of sacrificial customs, ranging from the Sati rituals in India to the Aztec sacrifices in the Americas. This cross-cultural exposure captivated a wide audience, including theologians, philosophers, political thinkers, antiquarians, orientalists, missionaries, poets, artists, and even the general public. These encounters broadened the European understanding of sacrifice and led to a critical reassessment of classical and biblical sacrificial rites. This section includes:
- Sources: A selection of early modern printed materials, which include descriptions of the Americas, Asia, and Africa, alongside antiquarian and philological studies on religious sacrifice in classical antiquity and beyond. It also presents early modern works of ethnological observations and the first attempts to compare different sacrificial practices in various traditions and contexts, laying the groundwork for disciplines like the history of religions and anthropology.
- Iconographic Representations: A rich collection of images from the 16th to 18th centuries, illustrating a range of sacrificial rituals and practices as seen in different cultural and geographical contexts.
- Related Bibliography: An extensive bibliography spanning scholarly works from the 19th to 21st centuries, providing contemporary analyses and interpretations of these early studies and observations.
Religion', 'Ritual' and the Opposition 'Sacred vs. Profane'. Notes Towards a Terminological 'Genealogy'
in: Ansichten griechischer Rituale Geburtstagssymposium für Walter Burkert, Castelen bei Basel, 15. bis 18. März 1996, pp. 9-32
Stuttgart - Leipzig: B.G. Teubner, 1998.
Modi di comunicazione con il divino: la preghiera, la divinazione e il sacrificio nella civiltà greca
in: I greci: storia, cultura, arte, società, pp. 239-284
Torino: Einaudi, 1996.
Des musulmans immigrés aux musulmans français: le statut du sacrifice de l’Aïd al-Kabir
in: Maghreb Review, v. 33 (2008), issue 1: pp.2-20.
La célébration de l’Ayd el-Kébir en France: les enjeux du sacrifice
in: Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions, v. 68 (1989), issue 1: pp.9-35.
La ‘part’ de Dieu, des jnoun et des hommes dans le sacrifice et la cuisine de l’aïd al-kabîr au Maghreb
in: Food and History, v. 6 (2008), issue 2: pp.191-207.
L’égorgement des moutons en souvenir du sacrifice d’Abraham
in: Panomariques, v. 29 (1997), issue : pp.86-94.
“L’évolution de la pratique du sacrifice de l’aïd el‑kebir en contexte urbain français
in: Ethnologie Française, v. 168 (2017), issue : pp.607-622.
“Le sacrifice de l’ʿAyd al-Kabîr en France (1990-1995)
in: Migrations - Etudes, v. 63 (1996), issue : pp.1-12.
‘Tears of Rejoicing Spirits’ Happiness and the Mediation of Human–Spirit Relations in a Mongolian Mountain Sacrifice
in: Inner Asia, v. 23 (2021), issue 1: pp.131–149 [Open Access].
Fire from Heaven : from Abel's Sacrifice to the Eucharist. A Theme in Syriac Christianity
in: Fire from heaven : studies in Syriac theology and liturgy, pp. Chap. 5
Aldershot,: Ashgate, 2006.
2. Sacrifice and religion: Comparisons, Antiquarians, Anthropology (16th-18th Century) 4. Sacrifice and Eucharist (16th-18th Century)
Temple and Sacrifice in Rabbinic Judaism
Evanston: Seabury-western Theological Seminary, 1963.
in: Late Carthaginian Child Sacrifice and Sacrificial Monuments in their Mediterranean Context, pp.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
Translocality, texts and discourses: ritual transformations of Islamic sacrifices in Tanzania
in: Translocal connections across the Indian Ocean: Swahili speaking networks on the move, pp. 132-159
Leiden: Brill, 2018.
The first coming of the English to Bengal
in: Bengal Past and Present, v. 27 (1924), issue 53-54: pp.143-146.
Aztec temple, sacrifices to Huītzilōpōchtli (1602)
from: Jansz, Bernhardus - Bry, Theodor de. [Collectio peregrinationum in Indiam occidentalem] : 9 : Americæ Nona & postrema Pars. Qua de Ratione Elementorum: De Novi Orbis Natura: De Huius Incolarum Superstitiosis cultibus, Frankfurt, Bekerum, 1602
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna
Primogeniti solennibus ceremoniis Regi sacrificantur (1591)
from: Le Moyne de Morgues, J. Brevis narratio eorum quae in Florida Americae provincia Gallis acciderunt, secunda in illam navigatione duce Renato de Landonniere Classis praefecto, Frankfurt, Theodor de Bry, 1591, p. 34
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Soldiers of Outina Holata skinning and scalping their enemies. Sacrifices of the enemies (1591)
from: Le Moyne de Morgues, J. Brevis narratio eorum quae in Florida Americae provincia Gallis acciderunt, secunda in illam navigatione duce Renato de Landonniere Classis praefecto, Frankfurt, Theodor de Bry, 1591, p. 14
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
Tenochtitlan, human sacrifice on Templo Mayor.VIII. Qua ratione Indi Mexicani, mactatis hominibus sacrificent (1602)
from: Jansz, Bernhardus - Bry, Theodor de. [Collectio peregrinationum in Indiam occidentalem] : 9 : Americæ Nona & postrema Pars. Qua de Ratione Elementorum: De Novi Orbis Natura: De Huius Incolarum Superstitiosis cultibus, Frankfurt, Bekerum, 1602, VIII. Qua ratione Indi Mexicani, mactatis hominibus sacrificent
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna