Despite protestant legends such as that just recorded, despite formal disclaimers, human sacrifice existed long after the period of the Rig Veda, where it is alluded to; a period when even old men are exposed to die.[41] The _anaddh[=a]purusha_ is not a fiction; for that, on certain occasions, instead of this 'man of straw' a real victim was offered, is shown by the ritual manuals and by Brahmanic texts.[42] Thus, in _Cat.Br_.

vi.
2.1.

18: "He kills a man first....

The cord that holds the man is the longest." It is noteworthy that also among the American Indians the death of a human victim by fire was regarded as a religious ceremony, and that, just as in India the man to be sacrificed was allowed almost all his desires for a year, so the victim of the Indian was first greeted as brother and presented with gifts, even with a wife.[43] But this, the terrible barbaric side of religious worship, is now distinctly yielding to a more humane religion.

The 'barley ewe'[44] is taking the place of a bloodier offering.