Ritual killing
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A ritual killing is the killing of a victim performed in a ritualistic fashion or on a basis of rituals. If it takes place outside the societal norm, it is subject to criminal prosecution, and qualifies as ritual murder.
There is no clear line that can be drawn between ritual killing and capital punishment, since in many cases, convicted criminals were chosen as victims for human sacrifice, and execution is almost invariably combined with religious ritual even in modern instances of capital punishment. Notably, the Roman capital punishment of crucifixion became central as a symbol of sacrifice in Christian mythology.
Variations
Ritual killings and murders have occurred throughout the history of many cultures. Reasons were e.g. of religious, cultural or ethnic origin.
Ritual murders have undoubtedly occurred in the past in the form of human sacrifice, and are still occurring today, for example in medicine murder (also known as muti killings).
