About the practice of animal sacrifice in the Santeria faith.
Last updated 2009-09-15
About the practice of animal sacrifice in the Santeria faith.
Animal sacrifice is central to Santeria. The animal is sacrificed as food, rather than for any obscure mystical purpose.
Followers of an Orisha will offer them food and sacrifice animals to them in order to build and maintain a personal relationship with the spirit. The process not only brings the worshipper closer to their Orisha, but makes them more aware of the presence of the Orisha within them.
This is a mutual process; the food is essential for the Orishas, who will die without being fed, and in return the Orishas are able to help the worshippers. Orishas are also nourished by other forms of worship and praise.
Sacrifices are performed for life events such as birth, marriage, and death. They are also used for healing.
Without sacrifice the religion would die out, as sacrifice is essential for initiation into the faith community and the 'ordination' of priests.
The animals are killed by cutting the carotid arteries with a single knife stroke in a similar way to other religious methods of slaughter.
Animals are cooked and eaten following all Santeria rituals (except healing and death rites, where the sickness is believed to pass into the dead animal). Eating the sacrificed animal is considered a sharing with the Orisha, who only consumes the animal's blood, while the worshippers eat the meat.
Sacrificial animals include chickens (the most common), pigeons, doves, ducks, guinea pigs, goats, sheep, and turtles.
The USA Supreme Court has stated (Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, 1993 - see related links) that it is constitutional for Santeria worshippers to kill animals for such a ritual sacrifice.
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