COWS IN EASTERN WORLD
(Gratefully acknowledged; Quoted from Wikipedia)
In Burma
The beef taboo is fairly widespread in Burma, particularly
within the Buddhist community. In Burma, beef is typically obtained from cattle
that are slaughtered at the end of their working lives (16 years of age) or
from sick animals.[22] Cattle is rarely raised for meat; 58%of cattle in the
country is used for draught power.[22] Few people eat beef, and there is
ageneral dislike of beef (especially among the Bamarand Burmese
Chinese),[23][24] although it is more commonly eaten inregional cuisines,
particularly those of ethnic minorities like the Kachin.[25] Buddhists, when
giving up meats duringthe Buddhist lent (Vassa) or during Uposatha days, will
forego beef first.[26] Almost all butchers are Muslim, notBuddhist, because of
the Buddhist doctrine of ahimsa (no harm).[27]
During the country's last dynasty, the Konbaung dynasty,
habitual consumption of beefwas punishable by public flogging.[28]
In 1885, Ledi Sayadaw, aprominent Buddhist monk wrote the
Nwa-myitta-sa (နွားမေတ္တာစာ), a poetic prose letter that argued that Burmese
Buddhists should not kill cattle and eat beef, since Burmese farmers depended
on them as beasts of burden to maintain their livelihoods, that the marketing
of beef for human consumption threatened the extinction of buffalo and cattle
and that the practice and was ecologically unsound.[29] He subsequently led
successful beef boycotts during the colonial era, despite the presence of beef
eating among locals and influenced a generation of Burmese nationalists in
adopting this stance.[29]
On 29 August 1961, the Burmese Parliament passed theState
Religion Promotion Act of 1961, which explicitly banned the slaughtering of
cattle nationwide (beef became known as todo tha (တိုးတိုးသား);
lit. hush hush meat).[30] Religious groups, such as Muslims,were required to
apply for exemption licences to slaughter cattle on religiousholidays. This ban
was repealed a year later, after Ne Win led a coup d'étatand declared martial
law in the country.
In Zoroastrianism
Further information: Vohu Manah
The term "geush urva" means the spirit of the cow
and isinterpreted as the soul of the earth. In the Ahunavaiti Gatha,
Zarathustra (or Zoroaster) accuses some of hisco-religionists of abusing the
cow.[31] Ahura Mazda tells Zarathustra toprotect the cow.[31]
The lands of both Zarathustra and the Vedic priests were
those of cattlebreeders.[32] The 9th chapter of the Vendidad of the Avesta
expounds the purificatory power of cow urine.[33] It is declared to be a
panacea for allbodily and moral evils
InEast Asia
InChina
The beef taboo, known as niú jiè (牛戒), has historically been
animportant dietary restriction in China, particularly among the Han Chinese,
as oxen and buffalo (bovines) areuseful in farming and are respected.[34][35]
During the Zhou Dynasty, they were not often eaten, even byemperors.[36] Some
emperors banned killing cows.[37][38] Beef is not recommended in Chinese
medicine, as it is considered a hot foodand can disrupt the body's internal
balance.[39]
In written sources (including anectodes and Daoist
liturgical texts), thistaboo first appeared in the 9th to 12th centuries
(Tang-Song transition, with the advent of pork meat.[40]) By the 16th to 17th
centuries, thebeef taboo had become well accepted in the framework of Chinese
morality andwas found in morality books (善書), with several books dedicated
exclusively to this taboo.[40] The beef taboo comes from a Chineseperspective
that relates the respect for animal life and vegetarianism (ideasshared by
Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism, and state protection for draught
animals.[40]) In Chinese society, only ethnic andreligious groups not fully
assimilated (such as the Muslim Huis and the Miao) and foreigners consumed this
meat.[40] This taboo, among Han Chinese, led Chinese Muslims to create a niche
for themselvesas butchers who specialized in slaughtering oxen and buffalo.[41]
Some worshippers of Guan Yin do not eat beef.[42]
Occasionally, some cows weeping before slaughter, and they are oftenreleased to
temples nearby.[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]
InJapan
Historically, there was a beef taboo in Japan, as a means of
protecting thelivestock population and Buddhist influence.[52] Meat-eating had
long been taboo inJapan, beginning with a decree in 675 that banned the
consumption of cattle,horses, dogs, monkeys and chicken, influenced by the
Buddhist prohibition ofkilling.[53] In 1612, the shogun declared a decreethat
specifically banned the killing of cattle.[53] This official prohibition was in
placeuntil 1872, when it was officially proclaimed that Emperor Meiji consumed
beef and mutton, whichtransformed the country's dietary considerations as a
means of modernizing thecountry, particularly with regard to consumption of
beef.[53] With contact from Europeans, beefincreasingly became popular, even
though it had previously been consideredbarbaric.[52]
In Ancient Egypt
The ancient Egyptians sacrificed animals, but not the cow
because it wassacred to goddess Hathor, and also due to the contemporary
Greekmyth of Io, who had the formof a cow.[54]
In Egyptian mythology, Hesat was the manifestation ofHathor,
the divine sky-cow, in earthly form. Like Hathor, she was seen as thewife of
Ra. In hieroglyphs she is depicted as a cow with a hat.
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