Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1906-03-08
CONDEMNED AS FOOD
NEARLY EVERYTHING WORTH EAT
ING HAS BEEN UNDER A BAN.

From the days of Adam and Eve to
the present time there has been not
only forbidden fruit, but forbidden
meats and vegetables. For one rea-
son or another people have resolutely
refused TO eat any and all kinds of
flesh, fish, fowl, fruits and plants.
Thus the apple, the pear, the strawber-
ry, the ounce, the bean, the onion, the
leek, the asparagus, the woodpecker,
the pigeon, the goose, the deer, the bear,
the turtle and the eel-these, to name
only few eatables, have been avoid
ed as IL unwholesome or positively in
furious to health and digestion.
As we all know, the Jews have long
had hereditary antipathy TO pork. On
the other hand, swine's flesh was high
ly esteemed by the ancient Greeks and
Romans. This fact Is revealed by the
many references TO pig as dainty bit
of food At the great festival held an
nually in honor OF Demeter roast pig
was the piece de resistance In the bill
of fare because the pig was the sacred
animal Of Demeter. Aristophanes in
Il
acters hint that some of the others
"smell OF roast pig" These people un-
doubtedly had been at the festival,
known as the Thesmophoria, and had
eaten freely of roast pig. Those who
took part in another Greek mystery or
festival, known as the Eleusinia, alb
stained from certain food and, above
all, from beans.
Again, as we all know, mice are es-
teemed In China and in some parts of
India, but the ancient Egyptians,
Greeks and Jews abhorred mice and
would not touch mouse meat. Rats and
field mice were sacred In old Egypt
and were not to be. eaten on this ac-
count. So. too, In some parts OF Greece,
the mouse was the sacred animal of
Apollo, and mice were fed In his tenn
pies. The chosen people were forbid
den to eat "the weasel and the mouse
and the tortoise after his kind" These
came under the designation Qf unclean.
But people have abstained from eat
ing kinds of flesh which could not be
called unclean. For example, the people
Of Thebes. as Herodotus tells US. oh
stained from sheep. What Is the mat
ter with mutton chops? Then, the an
clients used to abstain from certain
vegetables. Indeed, the Romans sneer-
ed at those Egyptians who did not dare
to eat onions. leeks or garlic. and yet
the Romans themselves were supersti-
tious about what they ate or what they
should avoid eating
In his "Roman Questions" Plutarch
asks, "Why do the Latins abstain
strictly from the flesh Of the waodpeck-
err" In order to answer Plutarch's
question correctly 1t Is necessary to
have some idea Of the peculiar custom
and belief called "totemism." There Ia
stage of society In which peonle claim
descent from and kinship with beasts,
birds. vegetables and other objectd
This object. which Is a "totem," or
family mark, they religtously abstain
from eating. The members OF the tribe
are divided into clans or stocks, each
OF which takes the name OF some anil
NAL, plant or object, as the bear. the
buffalo, the woodpecker. the asparagus,
and SO forth, No member Of the bear
family would dare 10 eat bear meat,
put he has no objection to eating buff
falo steak. Even the marriage law is
based ON this belief, and no man whose
family name is Wolf may marry q wor
man whose family name Is also Wolf.
In q general way 1t may be said that
almost all our food prohibitions spring
from the extraordinary custom gen
erQlly called totemism. Mr. Swan, who
was missionary for many years IN
the Kongo Free State, thus describes
the custom: If | were 10 ask the Yeke
people why they DO not eat zebra flesh,
they would reply, "Chijila"-i e., 1T Is
a thing TO which we have an antipa-
thy" or, better, 1T Is one Of the things
which our fathers taught VA Aot TO eat." !"
SO IL seems the word "bashilanR'
mcaps .the people who have an an
tipathy to the leopara:" the "basha-
LAMBDA" 'thaso who have an antipathy
10 tho dog" and the "bashllanlanzefu,"
"those who have an antlpathy to the
elephant" In other words. the nem-
bers OF these stocks refuse 10 eat their
totems. tho zebra, the leopard and the
elephant, from which they take their
pamess
The survival OF antipathy TO certain
foods was found among people as
highly civilized as the Egyptians. the
Greeks and the Romans. Quite q list
Of animals whose flesh was forbidden
might be drawn up. For example. In
old Egypt the sheep could not be eaten
In Thebes, nor the goat In Mendes, nor
lhe cat In Bubastis, nor the crocodile
ut Ombos, nor the rat. which was sa-
cred to Ra, the sun god. However. tho
people OF one place had no seruples
about eating tue forbidden food OF an
other place, aud this often led TO re-
llgious disputes and bad blood.
Among the vegetables tnbooed as
food by the Egyptians may be men
toned the onion, the garlic aud the
leek. LucIan says that the Inhabitants
OF Pelusium ndored the onion. Accord
ing 70 Play. the Egyptians used to
swear by the leek and the onion. Juye-
nal pokcs fun at those who thought 1t
n Sin 10 eat them. He exclalms, Surely
n very religious nation ana n picSSeu
peace where every gardel Is ovcrrun
with gods!'
The survivaS OF totemism among tho
ancient Greeks are very interesting
Families named after animals and
plants were not uncommon. One Athe-
nian genus, the Ioxidae, had for It's
ancestral plant the asparagus. We
may be sure that this plant was tabooed
as food 10 every man, woman and child
of the Ioxldae New York Post
kissing Duel.
AT aom0 amateur thcatricals In Vie
soria two people In the stalls, whenever
the heorIne was kissed. kissed each 9th
or loudly and with osteutation. IL turn
ed out that tho man In tho audience
wpe the husband OF the heroine, who
dlanpproycd OF her theatrical tastes
and. with the help Of On amlable friend.
took this way Of reproying them.-syd-
pcy (Australia) Bulletin,
An ACCOMPLISHMENT to lie Revived.
Tommy Iarduppe- Can you whistle,
Mr. WigwagP Wigwng-N No. my boy.
NV whlstlng days nre over. Iommy