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A blood ritual is any ritual that involves the intentional release of blood. A common blood ritual is the blood brother ritual, which started in ancient Europe and Asia. Two or more people, typically male, intermingle their blood in some way. This symbolically brings the participants together into one family. This can be an unsafe practice where blood-borne pathogens are concerned; the use of safe, sterilized equipment such as a lancet can mitigate this problem. Body piercing can also be part of a blood ritual. Though piercing does not always cause bleeding, it certainly can. Piercing has been practiced in a number of indigenous cultures throughout the world, usually as a symbolic rite of passage, a symbolic death and rebirth, an initiation, or for reasons of magical protection. Blood rituals often involve a symbolic death and rebirth, as literal bodily birth involves bleeding. Blood is typically seen as very powerful, and sometimes as unclean. Blood sacrifice is sometimes considered by the practitioners of prayer, ritual magic, and spell casting to intensify the power of such activities. The Native American Sun Dance is usually accompanied by blood sacrifice. Some blood rituals involve two or more parties cutting themselves or each other followed by consumption of blood. The participants may regard the release or consumption of blood as producing energy useful as a sexual, healing, or mental stimulus. In other cases, blood is a primary component as the sacrifice, or material component for a spell. Blood rituals are practiced by various groups of people, including those with religious or political affiliations. Some of the rituals involving blood have been practiced for many centuries, and are still being practiced in the 21st century (Baker 1, Copeman 2, Malik 2). The Shi’ite Muslims practiced a ritual called Matam in 2002 in Britain (Malik 2). However, the Aztecs participated in blood rituals around 500 years ago (Pendragon 1). The blood in the rituals has a symbolic meaning, depending on the group and ritual being performed. ==Aztec== Around 1376 to 1521 AD, Aztecs used blood and sacrifice frequently as an offering to the Sun God (Pendragon 2). The Aztecs saw death as part of life, just like birth (Pendragron 2). They believed the gods sacrificed their own blood to create the universe, so in turn, the Aztecs offered blood to the Gods as a sort of exchange and gift for their creations (Pendragon 2). Furthermore, the supply of ritual blood was believed to maintain plentiful fertile crops and aid in the continuation of the Aztec world. The author Jasmyne Pendragon, who has a bachelor of archaeology, stated in her Article The Purpose of Aztec Blood Rituals Part 1, that “The Aztecs lifestyles were governed by a need to supply fresh-blooded sacrificial victims to the sun god who required the hearts of men to give life to the world and assist the souls of dead warriors to the Aztecs version of heaven” (2). The rituals maintained a relationship between Aztecs and their gods (Pendragon 2). The Aztecs believed the gods would provide plentiful crops and healthy long lives as long as blood was ritually given (Pendragon 2). If blood was not sacrificed to the gods, the humans believed they would be punished and endure excessive pain “more violent than any man could ever do” (Pendragon 3). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「blood ritual」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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