Holy cow
A holy cow is a domestic cattle that is revered for religious or other cultural reasons and declared inviolable . In addition to their religious veneration, especially in ancient Egypt and to this day in India , cattle (cows and bulls / oxen) are considered a status symbol and gauge of wealth in some societies - such as the Nuer and Dinka in South Sudan .
As a phrase, “a holy cow” means in a figurative sense a taboo , something that must not be touched or that cannot be shaken.
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Cattle cult in ancient cultures
Domesticated cattle have been a supplier of food, clothing and shelter since ancient times, as well as a source of energy as draft animals . The world of animals was closely linked to human life. Animals, especially bulls in agriculture, were included in rituals in religions . In the Middle East and the Mediterranean , priests slaughtered animals ceremonially, and part of the meat was sacrificed to the gods.
Traces of cattle cults can be found in German-speaking countries both in southern Germany and in Austria , such as the cattle drive in autumn and the specially decorated Pentecostal ox . A 6000 year old bull sculpture was found in Bavaria , the back of which forms a chalice. Cattle burial was a Stone Age cult in the north and east . Even in the Hallstatt period , the bull was considered a sacred animal, as countless traces prove. From the Middle Ages to the early modern period, the people of Salzburg were called 'bullwashers', still today simply: 'Salzburg bulls'.
The bull cult was pronounced among the ancient Italians . The name Italy probably goes back to this (from 'vituli', which means 'young bulls' or 'sons of the bull god'). The bullfights of the Iberian Peninsula and southern France are of cultic origin, as is the bull-hunting without killing in other countries. In Minoan Crete , there was a bull cult. The Minotaur and bullfights played a role in this.
In the Mithras cult , the killing of a bull was one of the central cult acts.
Even in early ancient Egypt , the cow enjoyed religious high esteem. The sky was regarded as a great food-giving cow that was standing with four feet on the ground. Later identified with Isis , her slaughter, even for sacred purposes, was taboo .
India
In India , the Sanskrit name aghnya (the inviolable) already points to a comparable tradition. In the Hindu religions, the protection of the cow is an important element to this day. For most Hindus, the cow is inviolable. Even with those for whom it is not 'sacred' but merely an important symbol, it still has a special status, and killing cows is unthinkable for most. For traditional Hindus this would be a particularly polluting offense; and not all are vegetarians, so most of them are excluded from eating beef. In history, cow protection was so important that Islamic conquerors often drove cows ahead of their armies, preventing Hindus from attacking them.
In the economic-ecological view of the Hindu doctrine, which forbids the consumption of beef, it is generally spoken of an irrational ideology through which Indians disregard an abundant valuable food and are instead content with scarcer, less high-quality food. However, the current situation of cattle farming is not only a consequence of the principle of non-violence ( ahimsa ) applied to cattle , but is also the result of a long lasting ecological adaptation.
According to the anthropologist Marvin Harris (1927-2001), whose first article on the subject ( The Myth of the Sacred Cow ) appeared in 1965, the Indian cows (especially the cattle roaming freely in the country and sometimes in the cities) take up to one to a certain extent a useful role for humans. Their usefulness is seen as a reconfirmation that the principle of ahimsa should continue to be maintained. The practical use of cattle in India includes the production of milk, dung as fuel in rural households, use as draft animals in agriculture, fur processing and the recycling of vegetable residues and other vegetable waste. Even if sacred cows are not slaughtered, they still do not reach old age on average. Many animals that have become unusable die from a lack of food and ultimately from complete neglect.
The utilitarian theories Harris, after which the ratio of the Indians was due to the cows only on environmental considerations, criticized Ariel Glucklich accused (1997), Harris, he would shut expect the sanctity of the cow to a Kalorienzählerei. In the controversy initiated by Harris, other researchers introduced ecological, political, religious-philosophical and psychoanalytic arguments without reaching agreement on the fundamental assessment.
Myths and Rites
Even in the oldest Indian writings, the Vedas , the cow appears as a goddess in pictorial language, the embodiment of the earth, Prithivi Mata . Later Hindu scriptures also refer to her as a goddess in some places. The dream cow, the fulfillment of wishes with the name Kamadhenu, appears particularly frequently.
Krishna , the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu , which is particularly popular today , is strongly associated with the cow . He grew up among cow herders, he is Gopala , the cowherd. The cow plays an important role in the Bhagavatapurana , the sacred scripture that tells the story of his life.
The importance of the cow is also expressed in the importance of its products for the rite. Without Ghi , the clarified butter for light and sacrificial food, and without milk and yoghurt as sacrifices, no puja (formal Hindu worship) can take place. Tradition has it that all cow products are particularly pure and cleansing.
If the term cow refers to both female and male animals, the female has a higher status. As Nandi, the bull is the companion animal of the god Shiva . Nandi statues are very often found at the entrance to Shiva temples. In early times, Shiva was worshiped in this form himself.
The female cow is only worshiped in its living form, never in images. On special holidays or on special private occasions - such as a memorial day or a pilgrimage - one can ritually touch the animal and say certain prayers , sometimes under the guidance of a brahmin . In rural areas, cows are honored on certain days in connection with the Divali Festival of Lights : Then they are cleaned, decorated and fed with a special feed. Many Hindu scriptures recommend a cow as the greatest gift (with which the greatest merit is earned). The ritual of giving a cow is usually carried out symbolically today.
Today's Hindus justify the special position of the animal with the statement that the cow is a mother who gives people everything to live. They see it as a symbol of care and life support. The Atharvaveda writes: "The cow is Vishnu , the lord of life". Vishnu is considered a sustainer in the Hindu world of gods.
Importance of cows in India
In the old days the cow literally had the function of sustainer in Hinduism; human survival depended heavily on it. It provided not only food and clothing, but also valuable fertilizer, shelter, medicine and labor. Even today it is the only draft animal for many poor farmers in India and thus the mainstay of agriculture; For millions in cities and villages, their dung is the most important fuel for daily cooking, and it is essential for building houses in the villages. It is also added to the water that is used to clean the house and yard, especially the place for worship. According to believing Hindus, this purification takes place not only on the material but also on the spiritual level.
The manure has also been shown to be an effective insecticide. Corresponding products are manufactured commercially today. The traditional folk medicine Ayurveda uses dung and urine from cattle against various diseases. A mixture of dung, urine, milk, ghee and yoghurt under the name Panchagavya ( Sanskrit , about "five products of the cow") is used as an organic fertilizer, in Ayurveda and as a sacrificial food ( prasad ) in temple service.
There is a simple reason for the cows walking the streets, which Europeans consider particularly typical of India : Many farmers let their cows roam free so that they can feed themselves on garbage, thereby also serving an important purpose for the community.
Slaughter of cows
Traditionally, Hindus do not slaughter cattle, the consumption of beef is a food taboo ; After milk production, a cow was usually fed until it died naturally. However, economic pressure is very strong in the countryside. This is why farmers sometimes let unproductive animals die in an "accident" or sell them for little money. In order to calm their conscience, they often pretend not to know that in the end they are usually slaughtered after all (for leather production, for example) instead of receiving their bread of grace in a strange stable, as they were promised. In some areas in India there are so-called goshalas , animal shelters, where sick or old cows are fed for the rest of their lives. Wealthy private individuals or temple institutions support these stables with donations.
Most Indian states prohibit the killing of cows, but there are no Union-wide regulations. In 2014, a Ministry of Cow Welfare was established in the state of Rajasthan . In West Bengal and Assam it is permitted to slaughter cattle that are over 14 years of age and no longer suitable for livestock , as well as injured animals. The reason for this is likely to be the economically important leather industry. There are no legal regulations in the states of Kerala , Manipur , Meghalaya and Nagaland . In some states concessions are made - for a limited time - in favor of the Muslim part of the population.
The prosecution of crimes against cows in northern India is the starting point for widespread violent crime and corruption by organized guard militias, which is decisively promoted by the government appointed by the nationalist-populist Hindu party BJP . Overall, one can speak of a split in India into a more dogmatic-strict north and a more liberal-tolerant south.
See also
literature
- Annika Backe : The bulls of Zeus. Taurus and Myth in Ancient Greece . KulturKommunikation, Uplengen / Remels 2006.
- Peter Jaeggi : The Sacred Cow - A Little Indian Cultural History. Paulusverlag Friborg / Switzerland 2009, ISBN 978-3-7228-0753-9 .
- DN Jha: The Myth of the Holy Cow. Navayana Publishing, New Delhi 2009
- Frank J. Korom: Holy Cow! The Apotheosis of Zebu, or Why the Cow Is Sacred in Hinduism. In: Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 59, No. 2, 2000, pp. 181–203
- Maarten J. Vermaseren : Mithras. Story of a cult. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1965, DNB 455233276 , ( Urban books 83).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hans Bonnet: Cow. In: Lexikon der Ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte , Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-937872-08-6 , pp. 402–405.
- ^ Marvin Harris : The Cultural Ecology of India's Sacred Cattle. In: Current Anthropology , Vol. 33, No. 1, Supplement: Inquiry and Debate in the Human Sciences: Contributions from Current Anthropology, 1960-1990 . February 1992, pp. 261-276, here pp. 262, 267
- ^ "Marvin Harris, the ecological anthropologist, reduced the sanctity of the cow to a calculus of calories." In: Ariel Glucklich: The End of Magic. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1997, p. 189
- ^ BK Desai, BT Pujari: Sustainable Agriculture: A Vision for Future. Nipa, New Delhi 2014, p. 268, ISBN 978-8189422639
- ^ The states where cow slaughter is legal in India. The indian Express, October 8, 2015
- ↑ organized cow guards
- ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung : Terror in the name of the cow , dated June 29, 2017, loaded on July 27, 2018