077 Woman performing blood sacrifice

Title: 077 Woman performing blood sacrifice
Description: Batek believe that thunderstorms are sent by a superhuman being, Gobar, as punishment for people breaking certain prohibitions. To stop the storm, they scratch their shin with a knife, mix the blood with water, and throw some of the mixture on the ground, for the earth deity, and into the air, for the thunder-god. Women do this more often than men, in part because they tend to take responsibility for their childrens transgressions. Here a woman is cutting her leg. She will then rub the blood on the leg of her son, who committed the prohibited act of laughing at butterflies, to pick up his smell. Then she will mix the blood with water in a metal bowl (bottom) and throw it to the deities while reciting a ritual formula.
Coverage: Malaysia
Creator: Endicott, Kirk M.
Date: 1976
Format: JPG
Identifier: https://commons.keene.edu/s/KSCArchive/item/12845
Rights: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Type: Stillimage
Provenance: Keene State College