Home2015November12THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD IN SACRIFICE PART-2 Intro. to Yoruba THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD IN SACRIFICE PART-2 Part Two: The Significance of Blood in Sacrifice Blood as a transporter. The transportation of oxygen throughout the body is one of thesingle most important functions of blood. Without oxygen, most complex organisms would not live. There are microscopic bacteria, called anaerobes that do not utilize oxygen. However, for most organisms, oxygen (O2) and water (H2O) are the two key compounds that are necessary for life. Blood is the major transporter of both of these compounds as it is 92% water and is the primary agent for the transport of O2 Thus, blood is the primary transporter agent for life. To understand blood’s essential role in sustaining life, let’s consider what happens when an animal dies.means that the cells in the body will no longer receive blood and oxygen. Since the blood is no longer being pumped through the body it will drain from the blood vessels at the topof the body and collect in the blood vessels on the lower part of the body. The upper partof the body will become pale and the lower part of the body will become dark. If theperson is lying on their back, the front of their body and face will be very pale or evengrey while their back will be much darker and look almost like it is bruised. This is called lividity or liver mortis and is one of the first things that a scientist will look at to try to determine when someone died and if they were moved after death. At this point most of the cells in the body are still not dead. While the brain cells die in the first few minutes after the heart stops, muscle cells can live for several hours and skin and bone cells can stay alive for days. How is this possible? Well, the cells use a different type of respiration than when the heart and lungs were working. While the person was alive the cells used aerobic respiration (with oxygen), but after death the cells continue to survive using what is called anaerobic respiration (without oxygen). However, one of the by-products of anaerobic respiration is lactic acid. Lactic acid eventually builds up and causes the muscles to stiffen. This is the same thing that happens to a person’s legs when they run a long distance. The heart and lungs can’t keep up with the demand so the leg muscles start to use anaerobic respiration. In a living person this lactic acid will eventually be cleared out by the circulatory system, but in a dead body this isn’t possible so the entire body stiffens. This is called rigor mortis. Rigor mortis usually starts about 3 hours after death and lasts 36 hours. Eventually all of the cells die and the body can no longer fight off bacteria. The cells’ own enzymes and the enzymes of bacteria begin to cause the body to decompose and the muscles lose their stiffness. Like liver mortis, rigormortis is another tool that scientists can use to determine the time of death.”As noted above, Once the body stops pumping blood, and thus stops receiving oxygen,the physical body dies. It should be noted that the brain cells die within the first five minutes of the depletion of oxygen because they are the most sensitive to oxygen. Lack of oxygen to the brain is called cerebral hypoxia. Cerebral hypoxia can be caused by stoke, drowning, suffocation or any other event that causes a lack of oxygen to the brain. After the oxygen supply is cut off, the body’s anaerobic (non oxygen needing) processes kick in to sustain some of the body’s cells for a few hours, however, without the presence of oxygen, those too eventually die. It is interesting to reiterate here the perceived connection between the brain and Ori in the Yoruba cosmology. The fact that the brain is the first part of the body to die, adds evidence to the notion that it is a person’s Ori (personal spirit/inner spirit/destiny) that “leaves” the body immediately after death. It is the lack of blood flow that stimulates this spiritual event (death), and thus we can view blood as being a most essential substance for life itself. Lastly, in reference to blood’s transport capabilities, it also transports waste products out of the cells of the body. In this way, blood also acts as a purifier for the cells. When proteins are broken down in the body, the waste products of this reaction are expelled into the blood plasma. These waste products are creatinine, uric acid, and ammonium salts. The blood plasma is then responsible for transporting these waste products from the tissues of the body to the kidneys, where they are filtered from the blood and released in urine. A build up of these waste products in the system would be detrimental to the function of the body’s organs. Blood helps to cleanse the body’s tissues of these waste products so that the body’s organs can continue to function normally without complication. Blood as an agent of communication. Another important function of blood is its role in cell to cell communication. Within the endocrine system of complex organisms there are several important hormones that regulate everything from physical growth to organ function to brain development. Blood plays an active role in the communication process that allows cells to know when to activate or deactivate the production of a particular hormone. Blood transports hormones to their target cells, where they bring about a variety of biochemical and physiological changes. For example, hormones stimulate growth and development; they promote water retention; they raise or lower the level of blood glucose; and they induce the development of male sex characteristics, just to name a few function setc. At the target cell, hormones bind to specific membrane receptors or to receptors within the cell. Blood is the important element by which all of this communication takes place. Again we see blood in the role of transport, however this time with an extra added function that relates to cells communicating with each other for specific function.Without blood continuing to communicate the proper signals for initiation and conclusion of hormone function, the body would not be able to properly operate, grow, and change as necessary The significance of blood in ebo. Given the previous explanation of ebo and our understanding of the functions of blood within complex organisms, we have come up with the following hypothesis: “Blood is the essential transporter and communicator of life/energy/ase; thus, it is used as the central activator and communication agent for going between the physical and spiritual worlds..” Oxygen gives life to cells. It is the compound that gives us breath. Once oxygen is depleted, life in the physical form stops. Blood is the component of the body that ensures that this crucial compound molecule circulates through the system. Likewise Additionally, blood is also the element in the body that communicates activation of various functions within the body. As a primary connective tissue, it is solely responsible for the strength and form body overall. It’s primary function as a transporter and agent of communication makes blood a critical component for life. In relation to ebo, blood serves as the activator of the signal that communicates that work must take place on the specific items and situation. It is the transporter in the physical world and therefore can be viewed as the most appropriate component of an organisms to use for transporting, signaling or stimulating an effect in the spiritual world. Blood is thego between. It is the carrier of life and therefore is most suitable for linking between the physical and spiritual worlds. It carries the effect of the ebo into the spiritual world. Other types of cells such as hair, skin, finger nails, bones, muscles etc. do not serve the critical function of enabling life and therefore do not have the same impact on the spirit world upon death. In discussing the importance of oxygen and it’s function within the body, we are also reminded of plants, which expel oxygen as a waste product, which we then breath in. An interesting fact that may be parallel to what is discussed in this post is that the cytosol and cytoplasm in plants may be likened to blood as it also transports oxygen and waste products throughout the plant and into the atmosphere. When ewe Ifa (omi ero) is made,cytosol is released into the concoction as the herbs are crushed and mixed into the water, thus providing the same type of energy that serving a similar function as blood provides forin ebo.As stated earlier. For the purposes of this post we have taken the perspective that, the act of ebo is one that happens when is a specific set of acts in the physical world that causes a reaction in the spiritual world. As in all chemical and biological reactions, there arespecific components of the reaction that cause an activation to occur. This leads to a series of steps that ultimately result in the reaction in order for the reaction products to take place. In relation to ebo, one can view this activator/catalyst is as blood: The transporter and communicator of life. Article written by Babalawo Asegun Oladigbolu Aláṣejù ajá ní ńlépa ẹkùn. / Only an intemperate dog stalks the leopard. – Yoruba Proverb Obara Meji Share This Previous ArticleTHE SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOOD IN SACRIFICES Next ArticleINITIATION TO AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION - GETTING THERE November 12, 2015
