Prayer and sacrifice historically go together, and logically are
indissoluble. Sacrifice, whether realised in an offering dedicated or
in a sacrificial meal, is prompted by the worshippers' desire to feel
that they are at one with the spirit worshipped. That desire manifests
itself specially on certain regularly occurring occasions (harvest,
seed time, initiation) and also in times of crisis. At harvest time
the sacrifices or offerings are thank-offerings, as is shown by the
fact that a formula of thanksgiving is employed. Primitive prayer does
not consist solely in petitions for favours to come; it includes
thanksgiving for blessings received. Such thanksgivings cannot by any
possibility be twisted into magic.
Analogous to these thanksgivings at harvest time is the solemn eating
of first-fruits amongst the Australian black fellows. If this solemn
eating is not in Australia a survival of a sacramental meal, in which
the god and his worshippers were partakers, it must be merely a
ceremony whereby the food, which until it is eaten is taboo, is
"desacralised." But, as a matter of fact, such food is not taboo to
the tribe generally; and the object of the solemn eating cannot be to
remove the taboo and desacralise the food for the tribe.
If the harvest rites or first-fruit ceremonials are sacrificial in
nature, then the presumption is that so, too, are the ceremonies
performed at seed time or the analogous period.
At initiation ceremonies or mysteries, even amongst the Australian
black fellows, there is evidence to show that prayer is offered; and
generally speaking we may say that the boy initiated is admitted to the
worship of the tribal gods.
The spring and harvest customs are closely allied to one another and
may be arranged in four groups: (1) In Mexico they plainly consist of
the worship of a god--by means of sacrifice and prayer--and of
communion. {xx} (2) In some other cases, though the god has no proper
or personal name, and no image is made of him, "the new corn," Dr.
Frazer says, "is itself eaten sacramentally, that is, as the body of
the corn spirit"; and it is by this sacramental meal that communion is
effected or maintained. (3) In the harvest customs of northern Europe,
bread and dumplings are made and eaten sacramentally, "as a substitute
for the real flesh of the divine being"; or an animal is slain and its
flesh and blood are partaken of. (4) Amongst the Australian tribes
there is a sacramental eating of the totem animal or plant. Now, these
four groups of customs may be all religious (and Dr. Frazer speaks of
them all as sacramental) or all magical; or it may be admitted that the
first three are religious, and maintained that the fourth is strictly
magical. But such a separation of the Australian group from the rest
does not commend itself as likely; further, it overlooks the fact that
it is at the period analogous to harvest time that the headman eats
solemnly and sparingly of the plant or animal, and that at harvest time
it is too late to work magic to cause the plant or animal to grow. The
probability is, then, that both the Australian group and the others are
sacrificial rites and are religious.
Such sacrificial rites, however, though felt to be the means whereby
communion was effected and maintained between the god and his
worshippers, may come to be interpreted as the making of gifts to the
god, as the means of purchasing his favour, or as a full discharge of
their obligations. When so interpreted they will be denounced by true
religion. But though it be admitted that the sacrificial rite might be
made to bear this aspect, it does not follow, as is sometimes supposed,
that it was from the outset incapable of bearing any other. On the
contrary, it was, from the beginning, not only the rite of making
offerings to the god but, also, the rite whereby communion was
attained, whereby the society of worshippers was brought into the
presence of the god they {xxi} worshipped, even though the chief
benefits which the worshippers conceived themselves to receive were
earthly blessings. It is because the rite had from the beginning this
potentiality in it that it was possible for it to become the means
whereby, through Christ, all men might be brought to God . . . 175-210