Ofiara zwierzęca w obrzędowości starożytnych Rzymian: rekonstrukcja rytuału ofiarnego w świetle antycznych świadectw literackich

Religious ceremonies in ancient Rome, foundational for its cult, made manifest the communal piety by the means of sacrificial rites. Adopting a formalist religious approach, the Romans carefully regulated the sacrificial process (sacrificium). Partially preserved literary sources in theory allow one to reconstruct the sequence of acts comprising a Roman sacrificial rite, with the following article employing said sources to propose a template for a Roman animal sacrifice ritual.

Kurban in the Context of the Gagauz Orthodox Identity: History and Modernity

In this article, the Kurban rite (animal sacrifice), which occupies an important place in the Gagauz calendar and family rituals, is analyzed through the prism of Orthodox identity. The form and content of various varieties of this rite are considered, as well as its role and significance in the ethnocultural code of the Gagauz people. The author especially dwells on the study of the qurban of the church, in which the elements of Christian-pagan syncretism are clearly manifested. Based on the analysis, it is concluded that over time, the Kurban rite among the Gagauz people acquired the form of a ritual institution and became an important component of Orthodox rituals. The fact that it has survived is not a small merit of the Orthodox clergy. The article provides information that in the second half of the 20th – early 21st centuries. As a result, the ritual acquired a more Christianized form, but, despite this, some of its archaic features continue to be preserved. It is emphasized that in the Gagauz folk-religious culture this form of sacrifice is associated with the Old Testament tradition – the Abrahamic sacrifice, the plot of which is widely represented in the Gagauz song folklore. It is concluded that both the ethnic component of the Gagauz Orthodoxy and their characteristic Balkan cultural and regional identity are clearly expressed in private and general holiday celebrations, of which Kurban is an integral part. In conclusion, it is noted that the Kurban rite continues to remain an important part of the Gagauz Orthodox rituals and identity, being an integral component of their ethnocultural code. This is evidenced by the degree of preservation of this institution of sacrifice and its significance in the religious and folk ideas of the Gagauz people.

Bulls and rams. The sacrifice to Erechtheus

The earliest literary reference to animal sacrifice in Athens is the passage in Homer’s Iliad (2.550–551) that mentions Athenian youths propitiating their legendary king Erechtheus with bulls and rams. It is surprising that this passage has not been associated with the north frieze of the Parthenon, where twelve young men are leading four bovines and four sheep to sacrifice, in contrast with the ten cows on the south frieze which clearly represent the hecatomb for Athena Polias at the Panathenaia. While it is difficult to ascertain the sex of these eight animals, the horns and size of the sheep suggest that they are male. Given the prominence of the cult of the hero Erechtheus on the north side of the Acropolis, it is reasonable to identify these sacrificial animals as an offering to the pater patriae of the Athenians.

عید الاضحیٰ کی قربانی سے پہلے اور اُس کے بعد کے مراسمِ عبودیت ( جاوید احمد غامدی صاحب کے موقف کا ایک تنقیدی مطالعہ)

Jāvaid Aḥmad Ghāmidī, a contemporary Muslim modernist scholar, holds that the three established rituals of ḥajj and ‘umrah can be regarded as independent rituals in religion, which he categorises asnadhar (votive offering). The ritual is performed by fulfilling three conditions: 1) abstaining from removing body hair, 2) refraining from clipping nails, and 3) trimming or shaving the head. According to Ghāmidī, all believers can perform this rite, without any spatio-temporal restriction, as a supererogatory act. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.), he believes, encouraged Muslims to voluntarily observe it on the occasion of ‘īd al-aḍḥā. This is inferred by combining the information found in two Prophetic narrations, one reported by Umm Salamah and the other by ‘Abd Allah b. ‘āmr. In Ghāmidī’s view, all believers whether or not they are offering the animal sacrifice may offer such nadhar. For doing so, they would follow the two aforestated restrictions from the beginning of Dhū al-Ḥijjah (the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar) and trim or shave their heads on the ‘Īd day after the animal has been slaughtered (if they are to offer the sacrifice) orin anytime during the day (if they are not to offer the sacrifice). This last act is seen as a token of the completion of their votive offering to God. After a careful discussion of Ghāmidī’s view, this article concludes that the religious and rational arguments put forward by Ghāmidī are insufficient to relate the three rites (separately mentioned in the above Prophetic narrations) to the corresponding rites of ḥajj and ‘umrah and generalize them, out of the context, as one standalone ritual.

FENOMENOLOGI APLIKASI TIKTOK BAGI USAHA ONLINE MARICA FARMS

The TikTok phenomenon has become a widespread phenomenon throughout the world. The TikTok application is now a trend as well as evidence of technological developments that help humans carry out their activities. Not only as a medium for self-existence but also used by online business actors, one of which is Marica Farms. This study aims to describe the phenomenology of the TikTok application for Marica Farms' online business. Marica Farms is an online animal sacrifice business that uses the TikTok application to help market its products. Using a phenomenological approach, the researcher finds out the meaning of the TikTok application for Marica Farms' online business. Equipped with Uses and Gratification Theory which helps researchers in analyzing the phenomenon of the TikTok application for Marica Farms online business. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with the owners of Marica Farms. The results of this study are the phenomenology of the TikTok application for Marica Farms' online business, namely as a medium that makes it easier for online businesses to have things out of the box, reach a broad market and help increase knowledge and awareness of Marica Farms' online business. The content provided by TikTok Marica Farms has also been adapted to the needs of its audience, such as information and entertainment needs so that the audience feels satisfied.

A Novel Dental Caries Model Replacing, Refining, and Reducing Animal Sacrifice

In vitro and in vivo models simulating the dental caries process enable the evaluation of anti-caries modalities for prevention and treatment. Animal experimentation remains important for improving human and animal health. Nonetheless, reducing animal sacrifice for research is desirable. The aim of the study was to establish a new reproducible in vitro caries model system and compare it to an in vivo model using similar conditions. Hemi-mandibles were extracted from previously euthanized healthy 10-week-old BALB/C female mice. Jaws were subjected to saliva, high-sucrose diet, and dental caries bacteria Streptococcus mutans UA159 for 5 days. Similar caries induction protocol was used in vivo in fifteen BALB/c female mice (6–7 weeks old) and compared to the in vitro model. Caries lesions were assessed clinically by photographic analysis and µCT analysis, and bacterial growth was evaluated. Under in vitro experimental conditions, carious lesions evolved within 5 days, prominently in the depth of the occlusal fissures in the control group as depicted by photographic analysis, µCT analysis, and bacterial growth. The developed in vitro caries model presented in this study may be a novel animal sparing model for caries disease studies and can be used widely to evaluate the efficacy of different antibacterial dental materials.

Violence and Cruelty

Our close relatives, chimpanzees, are known at times to be violent and aggressive. This chapter acknowledges the presence of violence, but challenges the common perception that killing is somehow ‘natural’ to our species. The chapter discusses the capacity for violence and aggression in chimpanzees as it relates to specific types of human violence. How far and to what extent did the first humans begin to show an inordinate capacity for organized violence and cruelty? How should biblical accounts of violence, animal sacrifice, and cruelty be interpreted in the light of this evidence? Treating humans as if they were animals is a way of degrading them and denying their humanity in biblical texts. Humans have the capacity to identify with their species and use misappropriated language towards other, often domesticated, species in a way that is deliberately cruel. The chapter will argue that the capacity for warfare and cruelty in humans does not simply build on aggressive behaviour found in other animal societies or towards other animals, but involves instead a deliberative and cooperative capacity that is highly distinctive for our lineage. Such insights need to be qualified in the light of capacities for reconciliation and, with the onset of warfare, strategic peacefare.