DISCUSS THR ROLE OF SACRIFICE IN REGULATING SOCIAL ORDER AMONG THE

NUER.

SOCIAL ORDER is a fundamental concept that refers to the way the various
components of society work together to maintain the status quo. It includes
social structure and institution, relations, interactions and cultural features
such as norms, beliefs and values. Within all of these the social order is mostly
hierarchical and the practices , behaviours, values that are counter to those of
the social order are typically framed as deviant, and is curtailed through laws,
rules , norms and taboos. Durkheim through his study of the role of religion in
primitive and traditional societies, came across to the fact that social order is
aroused out of the shared beliefs,values and norms of a given group. He
located the origin of social order in the association with rituals and important
events.

Similarly, E.E.Evans- Pritchard studied the Nuer tribe of South Sudan

particularly in the context of their religion. He did an extensive field work in
order to understand how their religion is complex from other tribal religion.
Pritchard saw Sacrifice as the most typical and expressive act of the Nuer
religion, taking this in to account he proceeds to showcase how the social
order is regulated in tribe with the act of sacrifice. According to
Pritchard(1956:197) Nuer regard spirit and creature belonging to different
order that stand in opposition, where spirit is always seen as dangerous to man
even if it aids the man in some form. Thus under these observations the
expressive act of Nuer religion, i.e. the turning to God in the rite of sacrifice is
to be examined. The sacrifice will throw light on what they conceive man’s
relationship to God should be.

The Nuer perform sacrifices on numerous occasions: when a man is sick,

when sin has been committed, when a wife is barren, at marriage, at funerals
etc. Pritchard categorised these several types of sacrifice in two main broad
categories – Personal Sacrifice and Collective Sacrifice, they differ in intention,
as former has piacular intention, while the latter is confirmatory. Most of the
sacrifice is made to avert some risk over people , for example- to get rid of
misfortune which has already fallen and is a indicator of spiritual activity.
These are performed for a person and not for social groups and involve ideas
of propitiation, expiation etc. Other sacrifice caters social activities- initiation,
marriage and death.

Pritchard’s main area of focus is personal sacrifice, but he briefly mentions that
primary grounds of collective sacrifice, which is also their main function is “to
establish or to add strength, a change in social status”(Pritchard,1956:199).
The ceremonies are considered to be partial without sacrifice. Though sacrifice
is only a section in a complex of ceremony, nonetheless it is crucial as it
sacralises the social events and the social relationships which sprout. It
changes the social status of the relationship and also validates it religiously.
The collective sacrifices have a pronounced structural character. For
performing the sacrifice special representatives of the groups are appointed,
thus it specifies The Nuer Thought- sacrifices which are performed as a
segment of social activities are concerned with the relations within the social
order and not with the relation between men and their natural environment.
They are not much concerned about nature and are passive towards it . The
sacrifices are predominated with moral and spiritual crisis rather than a natural
crisis.

Pritchard further delves in to whom the sacrifices are made in particular. He

mainly deals to trace the specific relations of certain person to a spirit
associated to it in one or other special form as a spirit. These spirits have been
regarded earlier as hypostases,refractions of god, thus any sacrifice to one of
them is equivalent to one made to God. The spirit framed as God doesn’t
clutches people, rather expect a special tribute- payment for protection and
favour etc. which is not demanded by God. The sacrifices are also made to god
on occasions that directly deal with dead. Sacrifice that are performed at a
mortuary ceremony or when a man memorialises his dead father, here the
victim is not sacrificed to the ghost rather it is sacrificed for the dead man and
the life of the victim is given to god.

To understand the sacrifice among the Nuer it is important to examine what is

being sacrificed. The main sacrificial animal is Ox, but a barren cow may take
its place. It is important for ceremonies such as weddings and for settling
feuds. Whereas bulls may be sacrificed only when there is closing of a blood
feud. Apart from these oxen, goats, and some beast may be sacrificed
according to the seriousness of the problem. The fertile cows are only
sacrificed at the mortuary ceremony for a senior individual. Now the question
is by whom the sacrifice is made, when and where. Pritchard insists on
distinguishing between the people on whose behalf the sacrifice is made, the
one identified as a sacrificer. As there can be several men who may take part
in consecration and other who deliver invocation. Usually, the head of the
family officiates at personal sacrifice. A youth will not officiate till the older
man is present but it is only a matter of social convention. Women don’t make
sacrifice rather they may assist in these acts of consecration. Personal
sacrifices may be done any time if the need arises.

A sacrifice is also considered as a feast and the most suitably held in the
surroundings of huts and byres. What is important to notice in sacrifice is how
it is being carried out, with the right intention as a matter of disposition. Before
the animal is sacrificed , the entire act of sacrifice passes through four main
stages- presentation, consecration, invocation and immolation. The first act is
called the ‘Pwot’,the driving into the ground of tethering peg and the tethering
of the animal to it. The victim is presented to god by the officiate. The
individual who stakes the animal is called ‘Pwot Yang’, the tetherer of cow. In
collective sacrifice this is generally done by master of ceremonies of the family
concerned. After the staking a libation of milk, beer or water is poured over the
foot of the peg. The act of Consecration is associated with rubbing of ashes.
The man who utters the first invocation rubs ashes of cattle dung lightly on the
victim’s back and it is done with the right hand. In the third stage i.e.
Invocation, the sacrificer holds the spear in his right hand and communicates
to god over the consecrated victim. Invocation states the intention of the
sacrifice. In the last stage which is called Immolation or ‘Kam yang’ in Nuer
language referred to offering of the victim when speaking of the personal
sacrifices, it is called ‘Nak’ when there is collective sacrifice. One remarkable
thing about the sacrifice is that they not wait for the animal to urinate before
killing it. When the victim is ox, it is speared on the right side. Sheep and goats
have their throat cut.

According to Pritchard(1956:212) the Nuer are not that ritualistic as it is

informal and there is absence of ceremony about the whole sacrificial act.
Nuer believes that God takes the ‘Yeigh’, the life and ‘Tie’ , the soul. Everything
in sacrifice belongs to god are the blood, reim which soaks into the ground.
Human blood has particular physical value among Nuer, it is supposed to have
some vitality of its own. Thus the initiation is insisted to be conducted in the
homestead as the blood of the initiates must not be shed outside the home.

In most of the sacrifice the meat is consumed by the members of the family
and the kin on whose behalf it was performed. Whereas in marriage and
collective sacrifice it is distributed among both paternal and maternal relatives
in traditional portions. To regard the eating of the animal as part of the
sacrificial rite would be similar to a wedding feast as a part of the marriage
service. A sacrifice even if it is piacular, and has a feast furnished the share of
neighbours is bound to exist.

Further Pritchard notices that there are different order and procedure in some
sacrifices. For instance the mortuary ceremonies begin with the slaughtering
of one or more beast before sunrise and the invocation don’t take place till
later in the day and they are not spoken over the victims as in other sacrifice.
The variation could also be seen in the disposal of the carcass. He also stated
that most sacrifices have piacular intentions. Though sacrifices having the basic
piacular meaning in common, certain tones are emphasised more in some
sacrifices than others and thus use special words in reference to the intentions.
Nuer would not use many words when speaking of sacrifice unless the rite is
perceived more than one thing by them.

Pritchard subsequently discusses in detail the two objects which outlined the
sacrificial rite – The Spear flourished in the right hand of the officiant while
delivering the invocation near the victim and the beast awaiting his death. The
movement made by the officiant while brandishing the spear forms a integral
part of the expression of the intention. Among the Nuer the meaning of the
symbol is evident as it represents the inborn relations between the symbols
and what it stands for. The brandishing of spear is an essential action of when
the invocation states the intention of the sacrifice and its words projects the
desire of the person as he turns towards the spirit. They primarily perceive the
logical fitness of the symbol to its purpose.

A man’s fighting spear called ‘Mut’ is constantly in his hand even during the
activities like hunting,travelling, herding etc. A Nuer is very proud of his spear,
they sense it as animate as it is an extension and external symbol of right
hand, which implies strength, vitality and virtue of the person. It is a
projection of self, as when a man uses his spear he cries out either ‘my right
hand’ or the name of the ox with which he is identified. It also stands for
everything that is strong, masculine and the lineage(paternal). He cites the
example of how in the byre of bride’s home the bridegroom’s sit on the right
side and get the right fore and hind left of the oxen sacrificed at the wedding
and the left side is allotted to the bride’s people , thus discussing the polarity
of right and left side, where the left side symbolises femininity and evil. The
left-right polarity was not only limited to life and death but also to the cardinal
points of east and west. Nuer believe that Nuer youth should highlight the
disparity between two hands by avoiding the left arm out of action, they use
several method to do so like pressing a series of metal rings into the flesh of
the left arm from the wrist upwards, but at the same time it is important to
notice that Nuer don’t regard left hand as being evil in material sense. They
simply see it evil symbolically and not in itself.
Since spear is seen as a reflection of right hand it doesn’t go with femininity.
The women don’t bear the fighting-spears. The spears are given only at
initiation to manhood by the fathers. Thus a women and child is not allowed to
have a spear and thus cannot perform sacrificial invocations. The spear of
concern here is Mut- the Metal Fighting Spear which is only used for sacrifice.
The one used for invocation are the Iron-Fighting Spear, The Spear of
Ancestor. It is seen as a valuable possession,a heirloom but certainly not a relic
and was replaced when worn out of practical use. The spear thus symbolises
two complex social representations- that of a person and that of a lineage.
The fighting spear is considered by Nuer not merely a weapon but a part of
themselves. This is well projected as a boy may just possess a fishing-spear
prior to his initiation and only at his initiation as a ceremonial gift which
expresses the formal recognition of his manhood he will be presented a metal
spear by his father. Thus it is not a spear but a new status that is being given.

Important activities like war, dance, martial exercises were associated with use
of spear and therefore it has moral significance. It is the activities associated
with the spear that are stressed. The use of spear serves as an index of social
personality and stands for a very complex set of social relations. The Spear of
Cutting thus indicates the sacramental change as well as social change. The
symbolic representation of spear is considered as most important for
understanding the Nuer sacrifice. A Nuer also identifies himself with the clan
by colligating his spear with that of ancestor of the clan. It is his own spear that
is brandished but the name which he cried out is the Spear-Name(The one
with Ancestor’s Name). Each of Nuer clan has a spear name and sometime the
large lineage of a clan has a secondary name which is different. It spear name
is called out while holding it in the right hand. It is important to note that no
actual spear of the clan ancestor exists, it is only the spear name with the
virtue in the idea of the ‘Spear of Our Father’ , nothing material. This
symbolises clan as a whole. The spear symbols of the Nuer clan and lineage are
only names and is called out in reference to a descent group as an exclusive
group and in case of marriage. The spear-name is also shouted by the master
of ceremonies as the opening word for sacrificial invocations. Thus are highly
charged with symbolising the unity and continuity of clan and lineage.
Pritchard(1956:245) attempted to show that brandishing of spear in sacrificial
invocations implies for a person,but when this person speaks as a
representative as in collective sacrifice it stands for the clan. In one instance
the right hand of the individual and in other the right hand of the ancestor is
stressed. The spear is closely related with the idea of clan as a battle host and
thus mut symbolises going to war and making sacrifices. The officiate in
sacrifices turns to be the representative of the clan.

Further Pritchard goes on to discuss the sacrificial role of cattle. Nuer are a
cattle herding people dwelling the swamps and savannah of the southern
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Cattle milk is very important for the Nuer. So, they
depend much on the milk of their herd as the climatic conditions and
environment are very rough, both Nuer and the cattle become dependant on
each other for survival. Women are interested in the cows for dairy work,
while the men are interested in cows for obtaining wife. But for all Nuer
members, cattle remains their greatest-treasure, a constant source of pride
and joy. Talking about the religious significance of the cattle, the Nuer
surrenders the cattle in a sacrifice as the most priceless possession. They are in
general fond of meat and whether an animal is killed in sacrifice or a natural
death they consume it. A man must not kill the cattle except in sacrifice
because if he does so he lowers his resources for food, marriage and religious
purposes. The religious significance of cattle is necessary for salvation, for the
sanctification of the social undertakings and for the overcoming evil in its two
fold character of sickness and sin.

There is a sense in which the Nuer could said to be identified with the ox. This
is specially true of the ox which the young man receives from his father at his
initiation and gives him a means by which the youth enters into new relation to
god, lineage and the guardian spirit of the family as the ox names are
essentially the name of the men and is retained by men for life . The ox is
regarded as one of the most respected cattle. It is the name of the ox that a
man shouts in a war, hunting, dancing. After the initiation there is a change of
relation between the man and his cattle. There is a collective identification of
clan and lineage with their herds, this is expressed in the designated title of
clans and thus put forth the idea of association between a social group and
its ancestral herd. ‘The social cleavage is represented in tradition as a cleavage
in the herd’(Pritchard,1956:258). When Nuer give their cattle in sacrifice they
very much give a part of themselves.

Pritchard traces on what grounds he has established the views regarding the
Nuer sacrifice- firstly there are two broad type of sacrifices where one is
concerned with the social relations, change in social status and interactions of
social groups, the other is related to moral and physical welfare of the
individual. The second type is piacular type which are performed in order to
avert the danger caused by intervention of spirit in human life. It is centered
around the idea that life of ox is a substitution for life of man. Secondly all
sacrifices have four moments,but invocation and consecration are of utmost
importance. The invocation presents the intention of the sacrifice and in
consecration by rubbing the ashes on the back of victim with right hand is the
identification of man with the victim. Pritchard mentions about two main
theories of sacrifice- the Communion Theory and the Gift Theory.

The Communion Theory proposes that primitive sacrifice are a feast in which
god and worshippers consume together hence was a act of fellowship. The
sacrificial victim was a sacred beast and was also the totem of the clan- same
blood as the people. This theory gives us a little aid to understand the Nuer
sacrifice to god, but can be only seen in a mystical way and not in material
sense. One has to keep in mind that main idea of Nuer piacular sacrifice is to
manifest contact with god rather than preventing the god in order to
establish a union with him. The sacrifice is made to separate god and man and
the intention of sacrifice is to free the sufferer form the spiritual influence, it’s
a paradox that god is separated from man by the act which brings them
together. This leads to the ambiguity of Nuer concept of god as a origin of
good and ill. As far as the Gift Theory is concerned here the sacrifices are the
gifts that are made to deity as a chief. In Nuer’s piacular sacrifice to god, the
paramount idea was that of substitution- a life of beast given in exchange for
the life of man, but among the Nuer the dialectic of exchange and contrast
goes way beyond. This seems a problem as the Nuer eat the carcass of the
victim and it rises the question what does the god receives? Nuer say that god
gets the life and it is his already right from the start.

Nuer believe that greater crisis should cater greater offerings. In mortuary
ceremonies oxen even cows are sacrificed and in case of serious sin or sickness
it is advised to sacrifice an ox if one can be spared. In lesser crisis even a
cucumber or a goat. Men and oxen are symbolically equivalent in the logic of
sacrifice,so whatever is sacrificed is an ox. The idea of substitution and
exchange provide evidence and purpose of sacrifice as social rather than
religious. The intention of the sacrifice is of utmost significance and not what
is sacrificed, it focus is not on receiving but giving with intention. The rubbing
of ashes as an act of consecration is also an act of identification- recognizing
sacrificer with the victim. But if a man gives himself in the sacrifice it is done in
the symbolism of substitution which is called Figuration. Therefore the Nuer
sacrifice can be summed up in one word i.e. substitution.

But the sacrifice among the Nuer also extends to the scale on which the spirit
is figured to the Nuer at different levels. While examining the sacrifices made
to the spirits it is sure that the relation between man and spirit is different and
thus support the meaning of sacrifice distinctively. We have seen that god
demands nothing whereas spirits need attention and cannot be satisfied with
cucumbers, they require blood offerings. Though both sacrifice to god and
spirit are piacular in nature but they don’t have the same meaning. The spirits
and man has prophet as his representative where as god has no representative
, the leopard-skin priest is man’s representative of god.

Finally Evans Pritchard centres his attention around spirits and the social order.
In Nuer religion the concept of spirit is of utmost importance. They play an
important role as they live in sky as well as on the earth too. The spirits for
them are two types, those of the above and those of the below. Since in Nuer
there are different spiritual conception, in general Nuer use the word ‘Kwoth’
either in the sense of god or in the sense of one or other spirits of the above or
of the below. A great variety of meanings are attached to the word Kwoth in
different contexts. When Nuer prays to god, they usually address him as Kwoth
in Nuer totemism.

The diverse spiritual figures of Nuer thought are to be regarded as social

refractions of the god. It is thought of in relations to a variety of social groups
and activities and to categories of person. Kwoth has a structural dimension,
at one end spirit is thought of in relations to man and the world in general as
omnipotent god. At the other end it is conceived of in relations to individuals in
a private capacity as nature spirits. Nuer represents the interrelationships of
the spirit in a genealogical metaphor. God here is figured as common father
and god of all men, he is also the patron of political leader when figured in
spirit of air , also represented in various totem, patron of lineage and families
and individuals. Pritchard explains the ceremony of homicide by spear in order
to understand the different titles of kwoth(spirit), kwoth a nhial(spirit of sky),
kwoth wec(spirit of home), kwoth ring etc. used during the invocation.
Besides these titles expressions such as kwoth gwara (spirit of our fathers)
and gwandong(grandfather) was also used.

The leopard skin preist acts a mediator to cease the feud by sacrifice,
between the groups who are opposed to each other in this ceremony. Thus
each person involved in the invocation pray to god , as well as in special
relation to the group they represent. In another ceremony which Pritchard
provides as a case , the spirit were merely addressed as spirits and were not
designated by refractions. The emphasis is given to refraction only when a
social groups marks itself off from other groups and makes sacrifice on behalf
of itself. God thus may be figured in various references to a social group, it is
suggested to distinguish between class names and individual names. The
possession of different names by some spirit can be a Matter of Ownership as
they are sometimes owned by the people. Therefore the social structure of the
Nuer thought is spotted in moral as well natural credits of spiritual refractions.
Pritchard(55,1953:212) stresses that spirits in symbolic configuration have the
same position in relation to each other as they do in the structure which we
perceive in sociological analysis- a social order. The spiritual hierarchy is
indicated in terms of descent values in political implications. Nuer see the
symbolic configuration in terms of space and degree of immanence. This is
seen in the genealogical representation of spirit i.e. father comes before
children and they come before grandfather. Thus spirits are consider by Nuer
via their social configuration of symbolic representation as outside their social
order but also with in it as a being which is figured in all representations in
relation to their social life and events of importance.

Nuer religious activity thus is part of their social life; they formulate it as
expression essentially a relationship between man and something which is
facade to his society. Therefore it is important to study their religion while
understanding the sacrifice as the central act which regulates the social order
among the Nuer.

REFERENCES-
Evans-Pritchard, Edward E. 1985. Nuer religion. New York: Oxford University. Press.

Evans-Pritchard, E. E. “The Nuer Conception of Spirit in Its Relation to the Social Order.” American
Anthropologist 55, no. 2 (1953): 201–14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/664587.