Coins for blood and blood for coins: Towards a genealogy of sacrifice in the Transvaal Lowveld, 1930-1993
Date
1994-03-14
Authors
Niehaus, Isak A.
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Abstract
In 1889 Tylor defined sacrifice as a form of gift-giving to spiritual beings (Tylor
1958:461). This definition has formed the conceptual framework for both classical and
contemporary anthropological understandings of sacrifice. Subsequent theorists have
viewed these gifts-to-gods as fundamentally different from gifts-to-people. Indeed,
sacrifice has been seen as essential to the quest for morality, purity and salvation. The
sacrificial gift, it has been contended, is offerred to establish communion with the
sacred and to sacrilize the sacrificer (Robertson-Smith 1984, Hubert and Mauss 1964).
Evans-Pritchard (1970) described Nuer sacrifices as aimed at ridding individuals from
the dangerous state of nueer brought about by pathogenic contact with the Divinity.
More recently, Gregory (1980) and Parry (1986) have viewed sacrifice as a 'pure gift'
which is surrendered without the expectation of recall and return in this life. Parry
(1986: 460-61) suggests that in salvation-orientated religions ultimate destiny is
determined by supernatural reward. As such unreciprocated gifts mean liberation from
the bondage of the profane world and create an image of the other world in this one.
Whilst these contributions yield general insight, there is an urgent need to refocus
attention on the meanings of sacrifice in particular performative and narrative contexts
(Hoskins 1993). Generalized and static formula often obscure intricate, diverse, and
changing emic models of sacrifice.
This article investigates continuities and changes in concepts of sacrifice among
Sotho and Tsonga-speakers of the Transvaal lowveld. It warns against the generalized
formulation of sacrifice as a moralistic act and contemplates the possibility that
sacrifice may well be motivated by more imediate and materialistic concerns. My
analysis is based on fieldwork I have conducted, for intermittent periods over past four
years, in the lowveld village of Green Valley. Green Valley has a population of
approximately 20 000 people. It forms part of the Setlhare chiefdom and is situated in
the Mapulaneng area of Lebowa.
My account is diachronic, but genealogical rather than historical. The aim is not to
provide a comprehensive overview of process based on the chronology of events, but
merely to highlight prominent cultural assumptions underlying the conceptions of
sacrifice at different times [1]. Along with Cousins and Hussain (1984) I see the critical
potential of the genelogical method as lying in its ability to trance symbolic connections
between seemingly diverse phenomena. As such phenomena can be shown as not
nearly as timeless and distinct as they appear. My analysis differs significantly from
earlier functionalist and structuralist accounts of sacrifice in the lowveld (Junod 1966,
Krige and Krige 1965, Monnig 1988, Hammond- Tooke 1981, de Heusch 1985). I do
not merely focus on the performative aspects of offerings to the ancestors, but incorporate reference to mythical and imagined sacrifices. As such I explore the wider
meanings of sacrifice in cultural discourses. These discourses are located within
changing local religious, socio-political and economic contexts.
Description
African Studies Seminar series. Paper presented 14 March 1994.
Keywords
Sacrifice. South Africa. Transvaal, Sotho (African people). Rites and ceremonies, Tsonga (African people). Rites and ceremonies, Transvaal (South Africa). Religious life and customs