User:Christopher Parham/Sandbox

Ritual substitution is a process in which one object replaces another for the purpose of a ritual. An expendable object may be substituted for a valuable one: for instance, the Nuer tribe of southern Sudan used cucumbers to replace valuable oxen in sacrificial rituals. [1] In other rites, people may represent gods or other people; for instance, in a séance the medium may act as a ritual substitute for the dead person with whom communication is attempted.