Hinduism Case
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Food in Hinduism like in many other religions plays a pivotal role in the orthopraxy and general understanding of how the religion interacts with the society that it operates within for example marriages funerals and daily food offerings (Pūjā).
Marriage has always been both a very social and religious matter as the family is the building block to any society (Nihilism by Nietzsche explains this it is the submission through a gift to forge order in society), but in Hinduism we see the connection between a very social event and the ritualistic traditions of the Hindu faith in India. For example in the Indian caste system we see specifically the Nambudri using food as a symbol of social and religious unification an example of which would be, “The Namburi father would visit the house, bringing his own food and utensils in order to avoid becoming polluted, even from his own family”
The idea of pollution in the Hindu sense refers to the spiritual pollution (much like the concept of sin in Christianity) so clearly what Gavin Flood means by avoiding “becoming polluted, even from his own family” so clearly the food is an extension the Namburi fathers spiritual being. Furthermore the bride and groom take part in the food-based rituals, “The brides wrist is tied with thread and she steps three times upon the grooms family grinding-stone” . The grinding-stone as we know is used for creating the base ingredient to bread (flour) that symbolically has always been seen as religious nourishment (in Christianity the Eucharist, Judaism the Passover meal, Sikhism communal meals in the sanga) and in Hindu rituals were we see the bride symbolically placed upon the grinding stone seen as the base ingredient clearly shows us that the bride is the basic ingredient to life and therefore a stable society so clearly the role of food is defined in a socio-religious sense. Even the means of baking this bread is used in a symbolic manner as the “couple then take seven steps around the sacred fire, the essential part of a Hindu wedding, and the groom offers into the fire” so as previously noted the female is a figure of symbol of life and social structure and her placement on the grinding-stone is “a gesture symbolic of her intended fidelity” , but the unified couples role while taking “seven steps around the sacred fire” seems unclear unless put in the perspective of the breads symbolism. The fire is the method to which the bread is baked similarly it is also the step in this religious ritual which binds the couple together socially in marriage.
Much like the marriage rituals of Hinduism the funeral rites involve food in a socio-religious manner. Funerals play a pivotal role much like a marriage it binds a society together through an emotional event, the whole society would rally behind a grieving family to support them in Hindu religious tradition through a funeral takes place because of fear of “pollution for the bereaved and the danger of being haunted by a malevolent ghost” . This fear of displeasing the deceased leads Hindus to perform “the final rites (śrāddha)” the “śrāddha rites are offerings to the deceased of rice balls (pinda) which construct a body for him in the next world, the world of ghosts (preta-loka)” . We see from these śrāddha offerings the connection between a social norm of dining and nourishment directly connected to the spiritual nourishment and the construction of “a body for him in the next world” . So very much like in the marriage food is at the core of both the social and religious symbolism of the Hindu culture, furthermore the consumption of the pinda by the crows in the Hindu tradition is seen as a spiritual message from the deceased. The Brahman believe the consumption of the pinda indicates “the creation of the deceaseds body in the next world” due to the concept of the śakti (two powers) dividing the jīva (soul) goes to heaven (svargam) “while the other power, connected with the body, remains on earth as a ghost (preta, piśāca)” so the pinda plays a pivotal role as a tool to protect the family and society from pollution and from “the danger of being haunted by a malevolent ghost” . These offerings of spiritual nourishment are not just for funerals and the construction of the deceaseds form in svargam but also during pūjā
Both the marriage and funeral rites as noted are very religious experiences but the question at hand is to investigate the role of food for the socio-religious and ritual context of Hinduism the caste system is the social glue that binds this socio-religious idea of food in Hindu culture together.
Firstly marriage as noted is a very socially important occasion with a community but the caste system is the one feature that dictates the social and religious movement that is marriage. Only members of the same caste may marry and these castes are defined by the socio-religious roles at social caste “one caste (jatī) has considerable influence on ones occupation and choice of marriage partner” . For example the Brahmins are the religious priest class they hold the highest value within Hindu culture. This social structure much like with the marriage, funeral rites and pūjā has a pivotal role for food. As noted with marriage the eating of meals is defined by the social caste due to the concept of pollution “one caste (jatī) has considerable influence” which was mentioned earlier. Pollution in the Hindu sense refers to the connection between the physical social society and the spiritual culture of Hinduism “Raw nature, matter out of place, such as bodily fluids, which have left the body but are of the body, are impure” like marriage one caste are not