Goats were used as sacrifices to appease Mari, and while the goat cult was originally organized as an attempt to explain and control natural phenomena, it later became a strong cultural resistance movement that was used to fend off orthodox religions. The Basques were the last pagan strongholds in Western Europe, with only a few converting to Christianity in the late 1600’s. Priests allowed, and participated in the Witches’ Sabbats that were held in remote mountainside communities.
