Bible Studies: Essays on Phallic Worship and Other Curious Rites and CustomsWheeler, J. M. (Joseph Mazzini)
Religion
Bible Studies: Essays on Phallic Worship and Other Curious Rites and Customs
Wheeler, J. M. (Joseph Mazzini)
Bible -- Antiquities; Phallicism; Rites and ceremonies in the Bible
Disease and death were so constantly thought of as the penalties of
breaking taboo that cases are on record of those who, having unwittingly
done this, have died of terror upon recognising their error. Mr. Frazer,
in his _Golden Bough_, instances a New Zealand chief, who left the
remains of his dinner by the way side. A slave ate it up without asking
questions. Hardly had he finished when he was told the food was the
chief's, and taboo. "No sooner did he hear the fatal news than he was
seized by the most extraordinary convulsions and cramp in the stomach,
which never ceased till he died, about sundown the same day."
All the old temples had an adytum, sanctuary, or holy of holies--a place
not open to the profane, but protected by rigid taboos. This was the
case with the Jews. It was death to enter the holy places, or even to
make the holy oil of the priests. Even the name of the Lord was taboo,
and to this day cannot be pronounced.
Take off your sandals, says God to Moses, for the place whereon you
stand is taboo. The whole of Mount Horeb was taboo, and we continually
read of the holy mountain. The ideas of taboo and of holiness are
admitted by Prof. Robertson Smith to be at bottom identical.
Some taboos are simply artful, as the prohibition of boats to
South Pacific women, lest they should escape to other islands. When
Tamehameha, the King of the Sandwich Islands, heard that diamonds had
been found in the mountains near Honolulu, he at once declared the
mountains taboo, in order that he might be the sole possessor.
In Hawai the flesh of hogs, fowls, turtle, and several kinds of fish,
cocoa-nuts, and nearly everything offered in sacrifice, were reserved
for gods and men, and could not, except in special cases, be consumed
by women* Some taboos of animals being used for food seem to have been
dictated by dread or aversion, but others had a foundation of prudence
and forethought. Thus there is little doubt that the prohibition of the
sacred cow in India has been the means of preserving that animal from
extermination in times of famine.
Various reasons have been assigned for the taboos upon certain kinds of
food found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. As we have these laws they seem
to represent a rough attempt at classifying animals it was beneficial
or hurtful to eat. Some ridiculous mistakes were made by the divine
tabooist. The hare, a rodent, was declared to "chew the cud" (Lev. xi.
6, Deut. xiv. 7). The camel was excluded because it does not divide the
hoof; yet in reality it has cloven feet. But doubtless it was seen it
might be disastrous to kill the camel for food. Mr. Frazer is of opinion
that the pig was originally a sacred animal among the Jews.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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