Slavery and Human Sacrifice in Yorubaland: Ondo. c. 1870-94

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Periodical article

Title:	Slavery and Human Sacrifice in Yorubaland: Ondo. c. 1870-94
Author:	Ojo, Olatunji
Year:	2005
Periodical:	The Journal of African History
Volume:	46
Issue:	3
Period:	November
Pages:	379-404
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	Yoruba ritual murder 1850-1899 History and Exploration Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Labor and Employment Ethnic and Race Relations colonialism Religion and Witchcraft
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/4100637
Abstract:	This article examines human sacrifice in Ondo, eastern Yorubaland, Nigeria, in the late 19th century. It considers the circumstances which facilitated as well as discouraged human sacrifice and how these were shaped by internal and external forces. The first part of the article deals with the history of Ondo, the importance of the 'orisa' religion, and the disruptions in the Yoruba region during the 19th century. The second part discusses the operations of human sacrifice and its connections with Ondo ancestor worship and elite funerals. It shows that human sacrifice was an ideological weapon for the celebration of elitism and a means of social control. The third and final part explores the process of abolition of human sacrifice. The abolition marked the end of a long era in which Ondo both benefitted and suffered from warfare, slavery and social insecurity. Notes, ref., sum. [ASC Leiden abstract]