Ritual Murder

Strangling of widows by their brothers in Fiji 

One custom, however, seems to have been everywhere practised, namely the strangling of widows that they might be buried with their dead husbands. On the death of a great chief, many women were thus sacrificed, the victims being generally his watina lalai, or "little wives," i.e., women of inferior rank, though sometimes one or more of the watina mbau, who were all marama, or ladies of rank, would volunteer to be buried with him. The strangled women were called the thotho, or "carpeting of his grave."

http://www.omg-facts.com/History/Fiji-Used-To-Not-Have-Widows-Why/55303
http://www.masseiana.org/fison.htm

The sacrifices at the Temple at Uppsala 

At this point I shall say a few words about the religious beliefs of the Swedes. That nation has a magnificent temple, which is called Uppsala, located not far from the city of Sigtuna. In this temple, built entirely of gold, the people worship the statues of three gods. A general festival for all the provinces of Sweden is customarily held at Uppsala every nine years. Participation in this festival is required of everyone. Kings and their subjects, collectively and individually, send their gifts to Uppsala; - and – a thing more cruel than any punishment – those who have already adopted Christianity buy themselves off from these ceremonies. The sacrifice is as follows; of every kind of male creature, nine victims are offered. By the blood of these creatures it is the custom to appease the gods. Their bodies, moreover, are hanged in a grove which is adjacent to the temple. This grove is so sacred to the people that the separate trees in it are believed to be holy because of the death or putrefaction of the sacrificial victims. There even dogs and horses hang beside human beings. (A certain Christian told me that he had seen seventy-two of their bodies hanging up together.) The incantations, however, which are usually sung in the performance of a libation of this kind are numerous and disgraceful, and it is better not to speak of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamla_Uppsala