Book Title: Weird Beliefs
Author(s): Barry Wilson
Publisher: Barry Wilson

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Page 16
________________ The Giant Flying Head The Iroquois Indians of the eastern United States have legends about a strange creature called the Flying Head. According to the legends, this creature originated from a head that was chopped from the body of an ancient tribal chief and thrown into a lake. Somehow this chopped-off head was transformed into a giant flying head more than six feet tall, with eyes made of fire, and fangs as sharp as needles. It flew by means of its long flowing hair which could spread out like wings to catch the wind. The Flying Head would descend from the sky at night and devour both humans and animals. Although it was just a head without a body, it was still big enough to eat enormous amounts of meat. The people of the region were so terrified that many of them packed up their belongings and moved to other areas. But finally the monstrous head left the region and was never seen again. Animal Sacrifice Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal in the belief that the action will win favor from a god or goddess. The sacrifice is often intended to be a substitute punishment, with the sacrificed animal being killed instead of the sinful person who actually deserves to die. One of the oldest descriptions of a sacrifice can be found in the biblical story of Cain and Abel. As described in Genesis 4:2-8, Abel sacrificed an animal to God, and Cain made an offering of some of the crops he had grown. God accepted Abel's animal sacrifice, but rejected Cain's offering of crops. The story suggests that an offering won't be accepted unless blood is shed. Note: When Cain's offering of crops was rejected, he got so angry that he killed Abel. This was the first murder in history.

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