Sacrifice of a young boar, Greece, 510 BC–500 BC.
In ancient times (Greece and Egypt come to mind) ritual slaughter and animal sacrifice was one and the same. And while many religions have changed practice and now have different offerings to diety there still are traditions that perform ritual animal sacrifice. A series of recent news articles about animal sacrifice in the US (about Theodists, Orthodox Jews, Santeria) led me to look into this issue, with some interesting tangents along the way (Tongans in Texas, kashrut and halal dietary laws, and Supreme Court cases). Continue reading →
The Paiwan are an indigenous tribe of 70-80,000 in Taiwan. Past generations of Paiwan children went to Christian schools opened by missionaries because there were no schools in their villages, and fewer learned about their native tradition as a result. Faced with a reduction in their traditional shaman/mediums one woman has received government funding to start a class to train new spirit mediums. The teachers, elders in their 70s and 80s, are teaching chants, about their gods, and honoring the ancestors. Read more for articles, ritual videos, and art of the Paiwan people. 
There was an interesting find at a long term dig in Britain last year. Touted as possibly being the grave of a druid circa CE 43, the group Honouring the Ancient Dead is asking for respectful treatment of these remains. There is also a link to a find in Israel of a 12,000 year old grave believed to be that of an ancient shaman.