Cultural Geography Photo Collage

To our culture, as Americans, we see the cow as something you raise in order for it to someday be a source of food for us. For many of us, it is not against our religion, or a law to eat meat the cows produce. But to many cultures and countries like Hinduism and Judaism, and in India, Burma and China the cow is considered to be sacred.

Hinduism is based on the presence of a soul in all creatures, including cows.Therefore, killing any animal would be a sin: one would be interfering with the natural cycle of birth and death of that creature. Also, Hindus relied heavily on the cow for dairy products, tilling fields, and for a source of fuel and fertilizer. In some places like South India and parts of Sri Lanka, a Cattle festival is celebrated and it is called Mattu Pongal. Furthermore, in the Jewish culture, an unblemished red cow was an important part of ancient rituals. The cow was sacrificed and burned in a precise ritual, and the ashes were then added to water used in the ritual purification of a person who had come into contact with a human corpse.

Along with the cow meaning something different to different cultures, the cow also means something different depending on the country. For example, in India the slaughter of cattle is allowed with restrictions (like a 'fit-for-slaughter' certificate). Only bulls and buffaloes are allowed for slaughter and not Cows in fourteen states, and it is completely banned in six states. The fact that one man's food is another man's god has created a lot of disputes in India and frequently leads to unwanted incidents. Along with India, in Burma the beef taboo is fairly widespread, particularly within the Buddhist community. Beef is typically obtained from cattle that are slaughtered at the end of their working lives (16 years of age) or from sick animals. Cattle is rarely raised for meat and few people eat beef, and there is a general dislike of beef. Lastly, in China, the beef taboo has historically been an important dietary restriction in Ancient China, particularly among the Han Chinese, as oxen and buffalo are useful in farming and are respected. During the Zhou Dynasty, they were not often eaten, even by emperors and some emperors even banned killing cows.