In religious traditions throughout the world, there are ceremonies which involve sacrifice, such as killing a goat or a chicken as an offering to the gods. This type of offering is based on an idea of religious reciprocity: by offering an animal which is important to the society, the gods or god will reciprocate by responding favorably to the requests of the people. The sacrifice of animals was a part of the requests for ordinary things, such as good crops or success in war, but for extraordinary things, such as ending a long-term drought or dealing with other disasters, more important sacrifices were needed.
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