About this Book

Since time immemorial, human beings the world over have sought
answers to the vexing questions of their origins, sickness, death and
after death; the meaning of natural phenomena such as earthquakes,
eclipses of the sun and moon, birth of twins etc. and how to protect
themselves from such mysterious events. They invented God and gods and
the occult sciences (witch craft, divination and soothsaying) in order
to seek the protection of supernatural powers while individuals used
them to gain power to dominate others and to accumulate wealth. Human
sacrifice was one way in which they sought to expiate the gods for what
they believed were punishments for their transgressions. One example,
the Ghana Asante Kingdom's very origins are associated with human
sacrifice. On the eve of war against Denkyira, individuals volunteered
themselves to be sacrificed in order to guarantee victory. Later, human
sacrifice in Asante was mainly politically motivated as kings and
religious leaders offered human sacrifice in remembrance of their
ancestral spirits and to seek their protection against their enemies.

The Asante Kingdom is one of several examples included in this study
of human sacrifice and ritual killing on the African continent. Case
studies include practices in Sierra Leone, Tanzania (Mainland),
Zanzibar, Uganda and Swaziland. Advertisements relating to the occult
was a common feature of Drum magazine, the popular South African
magazine in Southern, Eastern and Central Africa in late years of
colonial and early years of postcolonial periods, indicating a wide
belief in these practices among the people in these countries?

Each case examined is introduced by an expose of folklore that puts
in perspective beliefs in the supernatural and how folklore continues to
perpetuate them. Through careful study of these select cases, this book
highlights general features of human sacrifice which recur with
striking uniformity in all parts of sub Saharan Africa, and why they
persist until today. He draws upon extensive written sources to expose
these practices in other cultures including those in Western societies.