Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/317

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The Veneration of the Cow in India.

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means of gaining communion with the divine. It is unnecessary to discuss the explanations of this rite which have been given by Professor W. R. Smith and MM. H. Hubert and M. Mauss,^[1] and, though the original theory of the totem sacrament no longer retains the authority which it once possessed,^[2] it preserves sufficient vitality to assist in the interpretation of the Hindu evidence. It is at least clear that in ancient India the sacred animal was killed and its flesh eaten, not from the mere craving for beef, but as a ritual act.

This inference is strengthened by a consideration of the rites of two tribes which retain in a remarkable degree their archaic practices,—the Kafirs of the Hindu-kush and the Todas.

As regards the Kafirs, we lack distinct evidence that they regarded the cow as specially sacred. But they display extreme affection towards their domesticated animals, and the confidence which the animal showed to his master made their slaughter a comparatively easy matter. Their goddess Krumai appeared in the form of a goat; they carve the heads of goats, cows, and rams on their temples; the cow is the unit of value in the assessment of fines for

↑ W. R. Smith, op. cit., pp. 218 et seq.; J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough (2nd ed.), vol. ii., pp. 365 et seq.; L'Année Sociologique, vol. ii., p. 93, reviewed in Folk-Lore, vol. xi., pp. 92 et seq.; L. R. Farnell, Greece and Babylon, pp. 235 et seq. For the bull sacrifice amongst the Celts see J. A. MacCulloch, The Religion of the Ancient Celts, p. 149. Cows are sacrificed in China, according to J. J. M. De Groot, The Religion of Ihe Chinese, p. 105. See also, for similar rites in Kashgar, J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough (3rd ed.). Part v., vol. ii., p. 13 n.
↑ F. B. Jevons, The Idea of God in Early Religions, pp. 60 et seq. The most recent theory discards the idea that the sacred flesh is shared with the God. "In sacrifice the factors were only two, the eater and the eaten, the 'worshipper,' that is the eater, and the sacred animal consumed. Once the sacred animal consumed, his mana passes to the eater, the worshipper, and the circuit is complete. There is no third factor, no god mysteriously present at the banquet and conferring his sanctity on the sacred animal." Miss J. E. Harrison, Themis, p. 136.

[1] W. R. Smith, op. cit., pp. 218 et seq.; J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough (2nd ed.), vol. ii., pp. 365 et seq.; L'Année Sociologique, vol. ii., p. 93, reviewed in Folk-Lore, vol. xi., pp. 92 et seq.; L. R. Farnell, Greece and Babylon, pp. 235 et seq. For the bull sacrifice amongst the Celts see J. A. MacCulloch, The Religion of the Ancient Celts, p. 149. Cows are sacrificed in China, according to J. J. M. De Groot, The Religion of Ihe Chinese, p. 105. See also, for similar rites in Kashgar, J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough (3rd ed.). Part v., vol. ii., p. 13 n.

[2] F. B. Jevons, The Idea of God in Early Religions, pp. 60 et seq. The most recent theory discards the idea that the sacred flesh is shared with the God. "In sacrifice the factors were only two, the eater and the eaten, the 'worshipper,' that is the eater, and the sacred animal consumed. Once the sacred animal consumed, his mana passes to the eater, the worshipper, and the circuit is complete. There is no third factor, no god mysteriously present at the banquet and conferring his sanctity on the sacred animal." Miss J. E. Harrison, Themis, p. 136.

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