# Did they really sacrifice virgins to volcanos? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 18, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-they-really-sacrifice-virgins-to-volcanos/606643 "2011-12-18T16:40:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-they-really-sacrifice-virgins-to-volcanos/606643/41 "2011-12-20T02:16:09Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Re Other Cultures > > Some of the peat bog mummies of the UK are definitely human sacrifice. They show signs of ritual killing. They were either royalty or treated like it. I don’t think there’s any question that ancient cultures practiced human sacrifice, but the OP’s question was did any a) target virgins, b) sacrifice to or on volcanoes or c) both. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-they-really-sacrifice-virgins-to-volcanos/606643/42 "2011-12-20T03:17:22Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I don’t think there’s any question that ancient cultures practiced human sacrifice, but the OP’s question was did any a) target virgins, b) sacrifice to or on volcanoes or c) both. The Inca practiced [child sacrifice,](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/sacrificial-ceremony.html) of both male and female children, who were presumably virgins. However, the sacrifices were made on the tops of high mountains. Other pre-Columbian societies, including the Mayans, also practiced child sacrifice, but not as far as known by means of volcanoes. In fact, the purpose seems often to have been to dedicate a building so the victims were buried in the foundations. Mt. Bromo, an active volcano in Indonesia, sounds like it could be the prototype for the “volcano sacrifice” idea. From the [Wiki article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Bromo): > [@](#): > > On the fourteenth day of the Hindu festival of Yadnya Kasada, the Tenggerese people of Probolinggo, East Java, travel up the mountain in order to make offerings of fruit, rice, vegetables, flowers and sacrifices of livestock to the mountain gods by throwing them into the caldera of the volcano. The origin of the ritual lies in the 15th century legend where a princess named Roro Anteng started the principality of Tengger with her husband, Joko Seger. The couple were childless and therefore beseeched the assistance of the mountain gods. The gods granted them 24 children but stipulated that the 25th child, named Kesuma, must be thrown into the volcano as human sacrifice. The gods’ request was implemented. Today it looks like the sacrifices are made by flinging them into the caldera from the rim, not into the actual active vent in the center. Here’s a video of a rather inept attempt to [sacrifice a chicken.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoYqkXteWBc) Here’s another video on the [ceremonies.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ly5lPSsNZE&feature=related) As has been said, approaching the vent of most volcanoes closely enough to throw a victim in is going to be nearly as dangerous for the sacrificers as the sacrificee. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-they-really-sacrifice-virgins-to-volcanos/606643/43 "2011-12-20T18:28:26Z")
> [@](#): > > As has been said, approaching the vent of most volcanoes closely enough to throw a victim in is going to be nearly as dangerous for the sacrificers as the sacrificee. But one must make sacrifices for one’s religion, Colibri! ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-they-really-sacrifice-virgins-to-volcanos/606643/44 "2011-12-21T01:15:46Z")
> [@Geek\_Mecha](#): > > Mana. I’d seen it written _manu_, perhaps trying to mimic the Polynesian pronunciation better, or trying to avoid role playing games comparisons. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-they-really-sacrifice-virgins-to-volcanos/606643/45 "2011-12-21T01:44:32Z")
I once saw a documentary on the subject called _Joe vs. the Volcanno_. If you don’t sacrifice virgins, movies like _Sleepless in Seattle_ and _You’ve Got Mail_ will destroy your culture. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-they-really-sacrifice-virgins-to-volcanos/606643.md?page=2)