Rituals compared

Sacrifice and offering across the world

Why give something to the gods? In offering, something of value is handed over to a god, spirit or ancestor: an animal, food, blood, incense, paper money or a human life. Many traditions share the offering afterward in a communal meal, so that the gift binds the community to the divine and to itself. They differ sharply on what may be given, from grains and flowers to animals and, in a few cases, people.

Most traditions developed offering independently. The Islamic sacrifice of Eid al-Adha commemorates the same Abrahamic story as Jewish tradition, and one scholar's suggestion that Hindu puja evolved from Vedic yajna has not gained broad recognition.

Across the world

Version	Tradition	What is done, and why
Yajna 1,500 BCE	Historical Vedic Religion	Oblations and libations are offered into a sacred fire (agni) with mantras; by the time of the Rigveda it was a fully developed institution. The word itself means worship, devotion and offering; the rite is described in the Brahmanas and the Yajurveda.
Puja 500 BCE	Hinduism	Hindus offer light, flowers, water and food to one or more deities at home or in temples. It is devotional homage and prayer, a loving offering to the divine. The year is approximate: one of the earliest mentions of puja is in the Grihya Sutras, dated to about 500 BCE.
The Egyptian offering formula 2,500 BCE	Ancient Egyptian Religion	Tombs and funerary objects carried the formula "an offering given by the king", naming bread, beer, oxen, fowl, alabaster and cloth for the dead. It was believed to let the deceased share in offerings presented to the gods in the king's name or brought by family.
Korban 950 BCE	Judaism	The Torah describes many kinds of sacrificial offering, usually animals, brought to the Temple; they ceased after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, since Jerusalem was the only permitted place. Offerings were given to God to show homage, win favour or secure pardon. The year is approximate: it marks Solomon's Temple, believed to have stood from the 10th century BCE, though some scholars doubt a temple that early; in the biblical account, sacrifice in the Tabernacle came first.
Hecatomb 750 BCE	Ancient Greek Religion	A sacrifice of a hundred cattle, or in practice as few as twelve, offered to gods such as Hera, Athena, Apollo and Zeus, for example at the end of the Olympic Games. The great offering honoured the gods at major festivals and is already described in the Iliad.
Suovetaurilia 160 BCE	Ancient Roman Religion	A pig, a sheep and a bull were sacrificed to Mars; Cato the Elder preserves the rite for purifying private fields. It blessed and purified land and people.
Blot 1075 CE	Norse / Germanic Paganism	An animal was killed and offered to a particular being, and its meat was usually cooked and eaten by the community, often in a ruler's hall. Old Norse sources present it as a central rite connected with many aspects of life; Adam of Bremen's account of Uppsala may exaggerate human sacrifice.
Qurbani at Eid al-Adha	Islam	On the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, during the Hajj season, Muslims who can afford it sacrifice an animal and share the meat. It commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son at God's command.
Shinsen 927 CE	Shintō	Food such as rice, seafood, mountain produce and seasonal specialities is offered at shrines or household altars, then eaten together afterwards. The blessed food welcomes the kami, and sharing it joins people with the gods. The year is that of the Engishiki, completed in 927, which lists many specific offerings; the custom itself is older.
Burning joss paper	Chinese Folk Religion	Paper money and paper models of goods are burned as offerings on festivals, at funerals and in ancestral worship. The offerings are meant to provide for the spirits of the dead in the afterlife.
Royal bloodletting 723 CE	Maya Religion	Rulers and elites cut or pierced their own bodies to offer blood in public ritual. It legitimised the ruling lineage and was held vital to the well-being of the community. The year is approximate: it is that of Yaxchilan Lintel 24 (about 723 to 726), the best-known Maya depiction; an Epi-Olmec stela of about AD 155 already seems to describe a ruler's bloodletting.
Aztec heart sacrifice 1487 CE	Mexica (Aztec) Religion	The most common form of human sacrifice was removal of the heart; the practice was older than the Aztecs and probably went back to the Olmecs. The heart was thought to be the seat of the person and a fragment of the Sun's heat. The year is the re-consecration of the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the largest sacrifice reported by some post-conquest sources; the practice itself is much older.
Capacocha 1438 CE	Andean Religion (Inca and earlier)	Children were chosen from across the Inca empire and sacrificed at major shrines (huacas), some on high peaks such as Llullaillaco. It was one of the most important Inca rites of offering to the sacred places of the empire. The year is approximate and rests on tradition: Pachacuti is named as the first Sapa Inca to make this sacrifice, and his reign is dated from 1438 in the standard chronology, though radiocarbon dates suggest the early 15th century.

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