| From at least 5,000 years ago in early agricultural societies of Europe, human sacrifice was practiced (Parker-Pearson, www.bbc.co.uk, par. 3). According to Dr. Mike Parker-Pearson, in the article Bodie for the Gods: The Practice of Human Sacrifice, "Danish farmers sacrificed their stone axes and flint tools, their amber jewellery and their food, by depositing them in pots, together with human offerings, in bogs" (www.bbc.uk, par. 1). In "Looking for a Rain God" a story by Bessie Head, human Sacrifice is present, and precisely in exchange for a supernatural assistance. In the story, Neo and Boseyong are sacrifice in exchange for rain, this as a part of an ancient ritual based on African practices. In the story Bessie Head shows how "human beings" (the characters) resort to extreme religious practices or false faiths in desperate moments, in order to solve their problems. This point that Bessie renders can be analyze from Psychological, New Historical and Biographical Criticisms; she also exposes her points clearly with Literary Conventions of fiction. |
