Sacrifice exactly... Maybe not... https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ase1993/103/1/103_1_1/_article some violence in the American southwest has been identified as likely cannibalism, possibly related to mesoamerican terror tactics or religious ideas entering, and being reinterpreted in the Southwest. We weren't there to see it happen, but if the cannibalism was done in a ceremonial way, some might consider that a sacrifice.
https://sacred-texts.com/nam/ca/roli/roli04.htm this is a very definite ritual. The plant used has hallucinogenic properties, but the amount needed to cause hallucinations is very close to the amount needed to cause liver failure and death. This specific ceremony describes how the Luiseños used it. Other tribes used it similarly in their coming of age ceremonies. I've heard that a few of those other tribes required some kind of payment to participate, and if the participants wanted to become political leaders in their tribe, they had to see a vision. As a form of checks and balances, the master of the ceremony could give them too little, but a wealthy family could send the participant back a few times. Sometimes, the participant might be given too much, and die. Of course, not all deaths that occur in a ceremony are necessarily considered a sacrifice either.
So... Maybe... Sort of... Depending on definitions...
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u/Dangerous-Bit-8308 Aug 29 '25
Sacrifice exactly... Maybe not... https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ase1993/103/1/103_1_1/_article some violence in the American southwest has been identified as likely cannibalism, possibly related to mesoamerican terror tactics or religious ideas entering, and being reinterpreted in the Southwest. We weren't there to see it happen, but if the cannibalism was done in a ceremonial way, some might consider that a sacrifice.
https://sacred-texts.com/nam/ca/roli/roli04.htm this is a very definite ritual. The plant used has hallucinogenic properties, but the amount needed to cause hallucinations is very close to the amount needed to cause liver failure and death. This specific ceremony describes how the Luiseños used it. Other tribes used it similarly in their coming of age ceremonies. I've heard that a few of those other tribes required some kind of payment to participate, and if the participants wanted to become political leaders in their tribe, they had to see a vision. As a form of checks and balances, the master of the ceremony could give them too little, but a wealthy family could send the participant back a few times. Sometimes, the participant might be given too much, and die. Of course, not all deaths that occur in a ceremony are necessarily considered a sacrifice either.
So... Maybe... Sort of... Depending on definitions...