Some of the deadliest human sacrifices in history

The article below is not specifically describing the actual situation in one or more African countries. The article is brief and superficial. The reason why I decided to post it here is that it illustrates the fact that ritualistic killings, human sacrifices, and the belief that sacrificing a human being in a ritual with the objective to please the gods or the ancestors are as old as mankind and have occurred or are still occurring all over the world.

It goes without saying that although these age-old practices occur world-wide, they have no place in the 3rd millennium of mankind.
(webmaster FVDK)

SOME OF THE DEADLIEST HUMAN SACRIFICES IN HISTORY

Published: December 12, 2022
By: Oluwatomiwa Ogunniyi – Guardian, Nigeria  

In the past, human sacrifices were prevalent all over the world.  The manner in which they were carried out was dreadful and not for the faint-hearted. We have compiled a list of some of the deadliest human sacrifices in history; you wouldn’t believe some of them!

  1. Persecution of People with albinism

Albinism is a genetically inherited condition that is very rare and it affects approximately one in every 20,000 people worldwide. Though rare in the western world, albinism is fairly common in sub-Saharan Africa, most likely, as a result of consanguineous alliances. Even though albinism occurs in both males and females and is not specific to any race or ethnic group, many still believe that it is a punishment from God or a result of hard luck.

Some Africans still believe that certain parts of an albino’s body have magical powers. This belief has led to many witch doctors and those seeking ingredients for their rituals to kill them. As a result, thousands of people with albinism have been killed and dismembered, and their graves of dug up and desecrated. The scary thing is that this practice is still common in Africa today. 

  • The Lafkenches Tribe Sacrifice

In the year 1960, the strongest earthquake and tsunami ever recorded on the moment magnitude scale hit Chile, thereby, killing thousands of people and destroying many homes and properties in the process. This earthquake became known as the great Chilean earthquake and it led to widespread fear of the possible cause. The people came to the conclusion that the god of the sea was angry with them and so they decided to offer a sacrifice.

They chose a five-year-old child and sacrificed him in a horrifying manner: he had his legs and arms and was stuck into the sand of the beach like a stake and the beach carried him away so that the waters would be calmed. The culprits were arrested and charged but they were released after two years.

  • The Mayan Sinkhole Sacrifices  

During the pre-Columbian era, the Mayans are known to have carried out all manner of ritual sacrifices, as they believed that human sacrifice was the ritual offering of nourishment to the gods. And one manner of sacrifice practised was the sinkhole, where they deposited valuables and human bodies into the cenote as a form of sacrifice to the rain god Chaac.

They also believed that the sinkholes and cenotes were portals to the underworld and they would appease dead spirits by offering human sacrifices to them. Explorers have discovered many sinkholes including the Sacred Cenote, a water-filled sinkhole at the pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site on Peninsula. Archaeological investigations have removed thousands of objects from the bottom of the cenote, including artefacts made from gold, jadeite, copal, wood, rubber and cloth, as well as thousands of human skeletons.

  • The Child Sacrifice in Carthage

Child sacrifices were very common in ancient cultures maybe because they believed that children possessed innocent souls and therefore were acceptable as forms of sacrifices to gods.

The Carthaginians would have a sacrificial fire pit where children would be thrown into by their parents. The practice became very repulsive to the Carthaginian parents who became tired of killing their own children. In response, they decided to buy children from neighbouring poor tribes, or care for their servant’s children who would then be offered as sacrifices. And during calamities like war, drought or famine, the priests demanded that even the youth be offered as a sacrifice. The sacrifices were carried out on a moonlit night, the children would be killed generously and their bodies would be tossed into the fiery pit amidst singing and dancing.

  • The Killing of Twins in Nigeria

This is another form of child sacrifice as the killing of twins was a cultural practice among some ethnic groups in Nigeria. Back then, multiple births were seen as an abomination against the earth deity and giving birth to twins was considered a bad omen that could bring devastation or calamity upon society. Twin babies were believed not to be humans but evil.

In 1876, Mary Slessor, a Scottish missionary assigned to Calabar, gradually worked towards changing the cultural belief that twins were evil. However, by 1915, following intervention by the British government, twins and their mothers were fully integrated into their communities. 

Source: Some of the deadliest human sacrifices in history

Nigeria: how 18-yr-old boy killed girl, 12, for money ritual (2014 article)

This is the third posting in a row on ritualistic murders in Nigeria, locally known as ‘money rituals’. All articles were originally published in 2014. On December 20, I posted ‘Nigeria: ritual killings everywhere‘ and on December 21 ‘Nigeria: ‘How I killed, drained teenager’s blood for money ritual’ – Suspect‘. The reason for including the 2014 articles here is to demonstrate that the occurrence of ritual murders in Nigeria is not a recent phenomenon.

In fact, the history of ritual murders in Nigeria is a long one although nobody knows when the first ritual murder was committed or the total number of ritual killings. Nigeria as an independent country exists since 1960. A partial overview of ritual murders since the year 2000 can be found on the website ‘Liberia: Past and Present of Africa’s Oldest Republic, on the page ‘Not only in Liberia – ritual killings in Nigeria.’ The overview includes over 60 ritual murder cases, but it should be emphasized that it does not pretend to be exhaustive.

Warning: Readers are warned that the following article contains a graphic description of a ritualistic act (webmaster FVDK). 

How 18-yr-old boy killed girl, 12, for money ritual

Ikechukwu Friday, the suspect

Published: January 8, 2014
By: Vanguard, Nigeria – Ifeanyi Okolie      

LAGOS — The police in Lagos State, yesterday, said they have arrested an 18-year-old boy, Ikechukwu Friday, who allegedly killed a 12-year-old girl for money ritual.

The suspect, who is currently being interrogated at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, was paraded before newsmen.

According to him, a pastor he asked for money instructed him to kill a young girl and obtain her faeces.

He said the pastor promised him N100,000 if he was able to accomplish the task.

According to him, “I attend a popular church around Ketu Street, Aguda but I live with my parents in Badagry. I just finished secondary school and I have been very broke so I approached the pastor for money but he told me that I should strangulate a little girl.

“He said when strangulating the girl, she would pass out faeces. The pastor said I should obtain the faeces and bring it to him. He said if I could do this, he would give me N100,000.

“So, on December 30, 2013, I approached a young girl, Bose Ogoja. Her mother sells food in Badagry and I usually patronise them, so she trusted me. I told the girl that I wanted to show her something and that she should follow me. So I took her to an abandoned NITEL building and locked the door.

“I pressed her neck tightly and she passed out faeces. I was, however, not able to get the faeces because I was caught before I could escape.”

The suspect, an indigene of Onitsha, Anambra State, pleaded for mercy, adding that this was his first crime.

State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said the boy was arrested by neighbours in the area and handed over to the Badagry Police Division.

Braide said the pastor, who allegedly gave the boy the instruction, had been arrested and was already cooperating with the police.

While displaying the gruesome picture of the slain girl, Braide said: “He was arrested in an uncompleted building. The security guard manning the building told the police that he saw the boy entering the building with the girl.

“He said a few minutes later, he heard the girl screaming and later saw the boy leaving. The security guard raised the alarm and the neighbours were alerted and they arrested the boy.”

On entering the building, the discovered that the girl was dead.

“The picture of the girl’s corpse shows that the girl was naked and defecated on the floor.”

Source: How 18-yr-old boy killed girl, 12, for money ritual