“ The hearts and other organs are gifts for favors asked. ” Tysick described the ritual as “ a threat. ” Tysick, who said he has learned from Voodoo priests in New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia, said placing a sacrifice in a grave is meant to intimidate and reflect vengeance or aggression toward the asleep or surviving syndicate members. The number of animal hearts in the bag “ probably present family members, ” and the separate bags, the gods the ritual was meant to evoke, Tysick said. “ I know it sounds far-fetched, but I ’ ve seen it all over the U.S., ” Tysick said. “ We are living in desperate times, and people of all socioeconomic and educational backgrounds are will to try anything to better their lives or to get judge or revenge. ” Gro Hungan Yabofe Novanyon Idizol, a high priest of haitian Voodoo and president of the National African Religion Congress in Philadelphia, said Santeria and Voodoo are benevolent religions and practitioners cook — and normally consume — their sacrifices. therefore, based on the description, he believes the raw, spoiling organs are more probably the cultivate of “ Palo ” believers, a religion that originated in central Africa and spread to Cuba and Puerto Rico via bondage. It ’ s “ frowned upon ” by practitioners of Voodoo and Santeria because “ a lot of time Palo is meant to harm people, ” Idizol said.
One things is for sure, Tysick said : “ This is a clear indication that aboriginal religions that worship colored or low entities are alive and active in our own