"scottlowt...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
" <scottlowt...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> If your sacrifice turns out to
> be just a more ritualistic way to prepare dinner, then all it has cost
> you was some small amount of effort.
Which is what the original idea was all about. In the
Iliad entire cattle were roasted on a spit and the excess
fat was tossed into the fire so the smoke would please
the gods. Since humans tend to avoid eating straight
tallow, maybe this shows those particular ancients did
not know how to make candles. And the smoke would
have imparted better flavor as well as contributing to the
fire saving wood.
Various rituals generally have practical benefits. Many of
the kosher rules reduce spoilage. The Asatru tradition
of not breaking the bones of the roast goat is a symbolic
representation of maintaining a good breeding stock so
it's slightly correlated with better long term independence.
The Yule tradition of roast ****k comes when the feed stocks
need to be conserved for spring planting and pigs eat the
closest to human food of any of the livestock animals so
it reduces competition for food at the leanest time of the
year. The modern bow hunter tradition of singing over a
fallen animal can ease its pain somewhat and result in meat
with slightly less stress hormones and thus better flavor.
