In the reading, Sacrifice: Its
Nature and Function by Hubert and Mauss it starts off by defining the term
sacrifice and they really want their audience to understand by its meaning. There
is a difference between sacrifice and the idea of consecration and Hubert and
Mauss want to clarify this idea right off the bat because these two ideas tend
to cause a lot of confusion. In the first chapter, they write about how many
readers hear about this and are confused by the idea thinking that the two
notions are similar. With the idea of sacrifice, something is consecrated and
it passes from the common domain to the religious. But where these two terms
differ is that not all consecrations are the same kind. The example that is
used if that of a king being consecrated. The king’s personality undergoes a
religious transformation, but that it the only thing that happens. Everything
else remains the same.
As
the reading continues throughout the first chapter, Hubert and Mauss explain
more terminology around sacrifice. They name a “sacrifier”, which is the identity
who undergo the benefits of the sacrifice. This can typically be a specific
person, a family, or even a tribe. It is also explained in the reading that a
sacrifier does not always and is not always a person, or people. Sometimes a
sacrifier is an item that is associated with that person or persons.
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