Om prosjektet

The study is about reading Leviticus 3:1-11 from a Bara perspective, using the traditional ritual (hazomanga) of the Bara tribe of Madagascar as a heuristic interpretive tool to understand the ritual text. Leviticus 3 is a ritual text, about the “well-being” offering, which meaning has been debated, and its symbolism ambiguous.

Its rites are similar to those of the hazomanga of the Bara people, which is a sanctuary that they inherited from their ancestors, used as a way to communicate with God the Creator and the ancestors. At the hazomanga the priest performs the sacrificial ritual in different occasions, and most importantly for thanksgiving. The presentation rite, touching the sacrificial victim, slaughtering, blood manipulation, and burning rite: these are almost the common denominators of all sacrificial rituals at the hazomanga (the same for those in Leviticus 3)­.

This study firstly seeks to contribute in highlighting the Bara hazomanga ritual: an anthropological investigation into the social meaning of the hazomanga. Secondly, it seeks to show its implication in understanding Leviticus, using the hazomanga as interpretive lens: how it informs an understanding of Leviticus 3.

Bakgrunn

Master i teologi, VID vitenskapelige høgskole, vår 2022.

Forskningsgruppe

CollECT