![]() It is this legendary belief of connecting the dead/the supernatural with the living which motivates human societies all over the world to engage in ritual murder in order to gratify the gods who in return would 'bless' and enrich the offerer. The potency of the muti would allow robbers to access the room and steal almost everything while the occupants are sleeping like 'the dead'. It is believed that when such water mixed with muti (African magic) is sprayed into the bedroom, people would sleep like corpses. For example, one of the beliefs making the rounds among some African societies is that robbers ritualise waste/water which has been used to wash the human dead body for stealing purposes. Numerous factors are subsumed to precipitate the killing of humans for ritual purposes among African societies. African belief systems are complex and mysterious. Although the OT does not explicitly mention that Abraham intended to sacrifice his son Isaac in a ritual which could be described in terms of human sacrifice, societies (especially African) who are familiar with ritual sacrifices would recognise some striking parallels between the two contexts which are separated by both time and geopolitical space. The historical development of sacrifices and offerings in the Old Testament (OT) is extensive (Bvunabandi, 2008:280), since they played a significant role in the Jewish religion. Keywords: Ritual Murders Human Sacrifice African Perspective The article concludes by offering some recommendations towards obliterating ritual killing. In addition, a comparative approach is employed to demonstrate that ritual murder is not unique to Africa. The study problematises phenomena of ritual murders by utilising narrative research in which human sacrifice, as depicted in the Old Testament, is the focus of attention. ![]() This article is multifaceted in its form. During ancient biblical times, it was common that a son would be offered on the altar as a sacrifice to the gods. The mortiferous character of ritual killing is not unique to African communities. Cases have been reported of human body parts allegedly removed from the corpses. African countries that are implicated in ritual killing include, but are not limited to: Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Reports of such murders have become cause for concern. Ritual murders have recently been widespread among African societies in general. IIDepartment of Biblical and Ancient Studies University of South Africa IFaculty of Humanities University of Limpopo Mogomme Alpheus Masoga I Temba Rugwiji II A reflection on ritual murders in the biblical text from an African perspective
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