People were performing blood sacrifice in many ancient cultures, but the blood was supposed to be for the gods, not for the people performing the sacrifice. One reason vampires are supposed to be so evil and unnatural is that they take what belongs to the gods (the lifeblood) for themselves. Thus they become "as the gods." Which is hybris.
The kosher laws and so on came about to prevent people from accidentally taking any of which might be given to God - animals had to be slaughtered in such a way that no blood was shed, for instance. Yes, if there were Mosaic laws prohibiting the drinking of blood, that meant that someone, somewhere was doing it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the practice was commonplace. For that matter, remember that there were health reasons involved as well. Pigs were outlawed because of trichinosis. Animal blood is often unclean, full of bacteria which makes people sick.
but these people were not known as vampires, vampyres or vampiric their rites were simply common-place pagan practices of the time
Given to deities which were arguably vampiric. Yahweh, the Morrigan, Baal, the Greek gods (esp. Hecate and Persephone), Inanna, Marduk, Odin, Quetzlcoatl on the American soil...all were notoriously bloodthirsty. That's just for a start. Oh, and what about the Indian deities, such as Shiva and Durga Kali?
moses and other hebrew elders were well aware of the power of these rites, but they were considered un-cosher there was too much of a pagan association and not enough yawehism
Yahweh was just as bloodthirsty as Astarte and Baal. He demanded animal sacrifice as well; he was the one that rejected Cain's perfectly decent gift of the finest fruits of the harvest, after all.
as with other religious prescriptions, (such as vestal virgins), the law was probably made with the idea of breaking it on certain holy occasions thus sanctifying the act
I don't remember a time in Roman history when the Vestal Virgins were EVER allowed to be touched sexually. EVER. Even the raped virgins were executed. Holy laws are not meant to be broken.
Not by the priestly elite, not by anybody.
but anyone who has ever tried to stamp out any pagan form of religion, without complete extermination of the practicing population, will know that old habits die hard
Although they do assimilate easily. anyone who tries to argue that Voudoun is the original African ancestor or deity worship is talking bubbles. Voudoun is a mixture of various African traditions, plus a good deal of Catholicism. Syncretism is what generally happens when pagan traditions are imposed on by outsiders. The traditions might not die out, but they change past all recognition.
For instance, "family traditionalist" witches, according to Margot Adler in _Drawing Down The Moon_ (Adler is herself a Wiccan as well as an anthropologist) might have been witches for centuries; but their traditions change subtly with each generation because it's safer to hide behind an "acceptable" front. In the 1880's, fam trads called themselves Theosophists, and taught their children magic with Theosophist overtones so that they could pass as Theosophists. Now it's semi-acceptable to call oneself a Wiccan or a New Ager. The witchcraft stays the same, but the trappings change. Children of Fam-Trads today do not know the same traditions that their great-grandparents knew; the traditions have mutated over the generations. Adaptation is what keeps the witchcraft alive.
This is one argument, by the way, that is used to prove that the idea of calling Wicca the "old religion" is absolute bunk. There are many pagan traditions being revived today, but a revival is not the same thing as an unbroken line of succession; and a revival will be coloured by the needs and prejudices of the revivalists.
the official line, might be that the custom has died out, but in places away from the cities, the remote country areas, where laws and religious tabboo's and proscriptions are hard to enforce....
And time changes everything, even custom. Ask any storyteller or anthropologist how oral tradition often mutates.
But this is getting off subject.
in voodun these rites still occur and some modern pagan groups will use blood rites upon occasion satanists, i believe do as well, both for the power invoked and for the simple reason that moses made a religious tabboo out of it
Some Satanists still perform blood sacrifice, yes, but not all. And yes, in Voudoun, Santeria, etc blood sacrifices are part of the rituals; and the sacrificed animals are rarely wasted. Blood is a very powerful substance; most of the magic I work is based on blood, sex, or a mixture of the two.
as someone else said, we are not the mythic vampires.... none of us are descended from Dracula, Lestat, the Lost Boys etc
I believe that was me :)
so in fairness, Vampire is probably an incorect term for us after all..... we have not died, having led normal lives to become undead predators.... our canines have not grown dramatically due to blood drinking
Well, probably not. (I'm still wondering if my own near death experience counts. I have been kind of hard to kill, after all. And I do seem to be aging awfully slowly. Get back to me in a couple of decades on this one, and I'll be able to come up with a definite yes or no on that count.)
As for the rest - I'm not sure vampire is an incorrect term, any more than "witch" is an incorrect term for the people who cast spells but don't fly on broomsticks, have carrots for noses, etc.
we dont explode or become a pile of dust when confronted with sunlight (well i dont anyway)
I don't either, but sometimes i sure feel like it. :( Then there are the days when it's so hot that I drip sweat (I rarely perspire; i'm usually one of those people who glows rather than sweats) and I wish I could evaporate into dust because it would feel a lot nicer than sweating...
about the only thing we have in common with REAL real vampires is that our vampiric activity would no-doubt cease if some twat of a transylvanian hammered a 3 foot wooden stake through one of our vital organs
Which would kill or incapacitate anyone, of course.
what we are though.... are people who are not afraid to break tabboos
I'll agree with you there. In fact, I think we embody taboos.
who are practicing ancient (pagan) rites.... whether we know it or not,
I'm not sure I agree with you there. There are plenty of vampire atheists who would be a bit offended at the notion of accidentally taking part in pagan religious rites when they don't want to touch religion with a ten foot pole. If these are religious rites we do, then it's because we make them religious ourselves. I personally cannot divorce myself from a sense of worship when I drink blood, but I'm a hopeless sentimentalist.
In most cases completely away from a religious scenario.... more often than not in our love lives, whether they be polyamorous or monogamous.... simply because their is a power involved that we dont quite understand - if we did, there would be no need for a list like this ,and everyone would be doing it
Maybe. I think some of the people on this list are here for the support, and to be among those of like kind. Shadow and Mara certainly weren't here to learn religious mystery, when they were on - they're modern Satanists who don't acknowledge a deity or a higher power.
but what the heck..... Vampires are Cool!
Oh, we're DEFINITELY cool. :)