The Cultural Ecology Of India S Sacred Cattle
Anth 68
Day 1
The Cultural Ecology of India’s Sacred Cattle In his article, The Cultural Ecology of India’s Sacred Cattle, Marvin Harris argues against the common perception of India’s cattle complex and provides example to support his argument. He starts out by saying that most authors think ahimsa, which is “a prime example of how men diminish their material welfare to obtain spiritual satisfaction in obedience to nonrational or frankly irrational beliefs” (pg.51), is the reason behind the treatment of cattle in India and how its not entirely true. He says that the treatment of cattle reflects ecological pressures rather than ahimsa. A piece of support that Harris provides is when he states, “the failure to develop cooperative forms of plowing can scarcely be traced to ahimsa” (pg.53). He also provides more support by saying that “any animal dung that is wasted on roads and hillsides it is not because of ahimsa but of inadequate pasturage suitable for collecting and processing animal dropping” (pg.54). He further says that the slaughter taboos do not prevent the people from using the skin, horns, and hoofs of dead cattle. The quality of the Indian leather industry is poor not because of ahimsa but primarily because of outmoded training techniques and lack of capital. Harris argues mainly that there are misconceptions of the reasons behind the treatment of Indian cattle and says that it is not because of ahimsa, which most authors turn to in order to explain their treatment, but because of ecological and economical pressures.
The Horse Bar Mitzvah: A Celebratory Exploration of the Human-Animal Bond Norine Dresser talks about different ways that humans treat their animals by having them participate in human occasions in her chapter, The Horse Bar Mitzvah: A Celebratory Exploration of the Human-Animal Bond. She says that from these relationships, human and animals create a bond with another and show an act of love and affection. Her first example was the
Day 1
The Cultural Ecology of India’s Sacred Cattle In his article, The Cultural Ecology of India’s Sacred Cattle, Marvin Harris argues against the common perception of India’s cattle complex and provides example to support his argument. He starts out by saying that most authors think ahimsa, which is “a prime example of how men diminish their material welfare to obtain spiritual satisfaction in obedience to nonrational or frankly irrational beliefs” (pg.51), is the reason behind the treatment of cattle in India and how its not entirely true. He says that the treatment of cattle reflects ecological pressures rather than ahimsa. A piece of support that Harris provides is when he states, “the failure to develop cooperative forms of plowing can scarcely be traced to ahimsa” (pg.53). He also provides more support by saying that “any animal dung that is wasted on roads and hillsides it is not because of ahimsa but of inadequate pasturage suitable for collecting and processing animal dropping” (pg.54). He further says that the slaughter taboos do not prevent the people from using the skin, horns, and hoofs of dead cattle. The quality of the Indian leather industry is poor not because of ahimsa but primarily because of outmoded training techniques and lack of capital. Harris argues mainly that there are misconceptions of the reasons behind the treatment of Indian cattle and says that it is not because of ahimsa, which most authors turn to in order to explain their treatment, but because of ecological and economical pressures.
The Horse Bar Mitzvah: A Celebratory Exploration of the Human-Animal Bond Norine Dresser talks about different ways that humans treat their animals by having them participate in human occasions in her chapter, The Horse Bar Mitzvah: A Celebratory Exploration of the Human-Animal Bond. She says that from these relationships, human and animals create a bond with another and show an act of love and affection. Her first example was the