The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1906-03-13

From the days ~ Adam and Eve 20
the present time there has been not
only forbidden fruit. hut forbidden
meats aud vegetables Tor one rca-
son or another people have resOlutcly
refused to est any aud al kinds ~
flesh. nsh. fowl fruits aud plants.
Thus the apple. the pear. the strnwbcr.
~. the quncc. the bean. the onion. the
lock. the asparagus. the wOodpcckcr.
the pigeon. the goose. the deer. the bear.
the turtle nnd the eel these to name
only few ratabIc. have been avoid
cd ss n uuwholrsomc or positively In-
furious to health and digestion.
A, We aU know. the Jews have long
had hereditary nntlpathy 20 pork on
the other hand. swines flesh was h.gh.
ly esteemed by the ancient Greeks and
Romans This fact is revealed by the
many references 10 pig az a dainty bit
% food AZ the great festival held an
nually in honor Ot Drmeter roast pig
was the piece de- resistance in the bill
" fare bccuusc the pig was the sacred
animal OF Dcmcter AristOphsucs Ia
The Frogs makes one Of the char.
acters hint tliat Some ot the others
smell Of roast pig Those people uu.
doubtcdly hai been ~ the festival.
knows ~ the Thcsmophorin. and had
eaten freely pf roast pig 1hosc who
took p1ri n another Greek mystery or
fest OIL. known af iir ElrusinIa. alb
s,slnrd from rrr'ru fool and. above
nll from bean
Again. aE $50 40 know. n..ev are 80.
tccmcd in China aud Toe some parts "
India bur ilr nac'out Egyptians.
Greeks ard Jews abhorrci mice aud
would not touch mouse meat. Rats and
Held mice were sacred In Old Egypt
aud were not 10 bc cutcu on this nc.
count. So. too. In some parts of Greccc.
the mouse WAS tho sacred animal Of
Apollo. and micc were fed In his TEN.
pies. The chosen people were forbid.
den 10 eat the weasel aud the mouse
and the tortoise after his kind" These
came under tue designation of unclcln
But people have absiaincd from eat.
ing kinds of flesh which could not bc
called unclcan. For example. the people
of Thchcs. sS IIerpdotus tells ~. nb.
stained from sheep What is the mat.
ter with mutton chopsi Thcn the an
clients uscd TO abstain from certain
vegetables Indeed. the Romans sncer.
rd ut those Egyptians who did not dare
10 cat onions. locks or garlic. aud yet
the Romans themselves were supcr-tl.
tious about whnt they ate or what they
should avoid eating.
la his Roman Questions" plutnrCh
asks why du The I.ntins abstain
strictly from ihr ncsh ~ the woodpcck
crt' ln order % answer rlutnrcha
question correctly II IL necessary 10
have some dcu or the peculiar custom
aud belief callci "totcmlsm" There is
q stage of society in which people claim
descent from uul kln,hip with beasts.
birds. vegetables aud other objects
This object. which Il q "totou.' or
family mark. they rcligIously abstain
from eating The members OF the tribe
are divided into clans or stocks, each
of which takes the name of some ami.
nal. plant ur object. a. the bear. the
buffalo. the woodpccker. the asparagus,
aud 80 forth No member NJ the bear
family would dare 10 eat bear meat
hut hc has no objection 20 eating bur
fnlo steak. Even the marriage law Is
based on this belief. aud no man whose
family uumc Is Wolf may marry n wo-
man whose family name Is also Wolf
In u general way IL may he said TINT
almost uU our food prohibitions spring
from The extraordinary custom g'u-
fHfH.r..0.FfH g. "A
was missionary for many years In
the Eoug' Free state, thus describes
the custom II were 90 ash the NcSo
people why they 10 mot eat zebra ilrsh,
thcy would reply "thJ.la' T. Co., N is
thing to which vr have Hu uutipI.
thy ur, better N i5 our ur thr things
which our fathers taught rs not ~ eat
~ " socus thc word "hnshIlnng
means "thc people who have un am
tpathy to thcGcupnri," the "hasha.
LAMBDA" those who have nU autlputhy
TO the dog" uud the "bn,hIlanlaulcfu,
those who have gu uutIputhy 10 the
elephant" iu other woriS the mem
hcrs of these stocks refuse 20 eat their
totcms, H. zebra, the leopard uni thv
elephant, from which they talJ their
names.
The survival OF untipathy 10 certain
foods was found among pcoplc rs
highly civilized as tlic Egyptians, IA,
Greeks aud the Romans. quite list
~ animuls whose flesh was forbidden
night bc drawn up, For example, In
old Egypt the sheep could not hc eaten
In Thcbcs. nor the goat In Mcndcs noI
the eat In Buhn nsts, nor the crocodile
at Ombos. nor the rat, which WAS sa
cred to Ru, the sun god However. IN,
people of one place had no scruplc'
about eating the forbidden food of an
other place. aud this often led TO re
llgiOus disputes ana bad blood
Among the vegetables tahoocd a'
food hy the Egyptians may bee men
toned the onion, the garlic aud IN,
lcek Lucian says that the iuhahitunl'
of pelusiuIr udOrpd the onion Accord