Ritual Sacrifice of "Birthmothers" and
Ritual Sacrifice of Virgins
- from an Adoption
Blog, reprinted with permission
In the historical fiction book "The Sacrifice" by Diane
Matcheck, a 15-year-old Apsaalooka (Crow) Indian girl wanders
into a "trap" set by another tribe. The story is set
in the 18th century. According to the notes at the end of the
book, "At the time of the story, the Skidi, or "Wolf"
band of Pawnee had been performing the Morning Star sacrifice
for so many years that no one knows when it began, and the details
of why it was performed are no longer clear."
Her father's death has left her an orphan and the girl is an
outcast among her people. She leaves her tribe and travels, overcoming
many challenges and then wanders into the domain of the Wolf and
lives among them. Although unaware of it, she is being "counseled"
and groomed for the sacrifice. In a conversation with the boy
who is her "counselor" the girl makes some interesting
observations. The boy, Wolfstar, tells her "Our lives are
not really our own." and also "We must follow the path
given to us." He believes he must follow many dictates of
his culture - that he cannot travel or marry outside his culture.
He says, "...if I refuse to do what is asked of me, my people
will perish." The girl is stunned by this.
When harvest-time comes, the people prepare for the sacrifice.
The girl has learned the language quickly, which works in her
favor. She overhears a conversation she is not supposed to hear.
Wolfstar's father tells him "The girl must be at the ceremony
tonight...The Morning Star must have the blood of that girl's
heart, no matter what feelings you have for her." The boy
she had trusted and thought of as her friend says "I have
only done what you taught me: be kind to her, keep her happy and
ignorant of her fate so that she may be led through the ceremony
willingly when the time comes."
Later, during the ceremony the girl - still partly under the
"spell" - submits to being "prepared" and
to having her hands tied by the priest. She becomes panicky, as
everyone begins to chant as part of the ritual. The suddenly it
dawns on her that no one has touched her body directly. Guessing
they must be forbidden to touch her, she decides to try it - she
gets up and simply walks away. They cannot touch her. She has
no horse, no weapon to help her survive. Her hands are still bound.
But, she is alive and she manages to overcome the remaining obstacles.
This story of ritual sacrifice of a virgin closely matches a
ritual sacrifice practiced in the United States and in some other
countries - that is the ritual sacrifice of a family that is not
of the "family-unit" type. In a culture where people
believes it is inevitable, a pregnant mother is lured into the
trap. She is "counseled" and groomed for the sacrifice.
She is called a "birthmother" ("sacrificial offering"
) well in advance. The people she trusts believe they must go
through with it or their "people", their culture, will
perish. If they do not sacrifice this mother-and-child, there
will be more instances of family that are not "family-units"
- there may be grandparents helping to raise their grandchildren,
there may be single fathers taking responsibility for their children.
The mother who does not comprehend the real truth behind the biased
"positive adoption language" - and who does not have
the opportunity to overhear the true motives of the "adoption
counselor" - may not extricate herself from the situation
in time. The "birthmothers sacrifice" will please the
gods and the people will profit from a great harvest - the harvest
of a human baby for adoption.
But what about the sacrificial offering - the mother (and adopted
person)? The mental health impacts of adoption are serious. The
psychological impacts of adoption are horrifying and also fascinating.
"It" is still alive, although "it" may have
become numb just to cope with the loss. Many such "sacrificial
offerings" later describe themselves as "sleepwalking"
for years, with no one even to talk to. Upon awakening to reality
the mothers may go through a traumatized re-living of events and/or
obsessive thinking about their child.
Some mothers ("birthmothers", "sacrificial offerings")
are so thoroughly traumatized by the shameful treatment they received,
by the loss of their child and by the complete lack of recognition
of that loss, that they are completely unable to face it or mention
it to anyone.
But some moms do come "out of the closet" and eventually
a few even regain a little sense of humor about their family dismemberment.
....Perhaps some day they'll put together a country or rock band
called the Wrong Tummy Momsters with songs like "Bitter Momma",
"Living in Hell", and "Don't Mess With My Baby".
They'll start out concerts with jokes about adoption lawyers at
the bottom of the ocean and social workers begging St. Peter to
be let into heaven. The last song of the night will be a rousing
rendition of "Don't ^%ck With Me, Infertile B*tch!"
And perhaps they will publish a newsletter called the "Stolen
Children, Angry Mammas News".
