Sacred food as offering is a concept within
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
regarding the study of food as it relates to religious ritual.
Many religions have prescriptions about the correct preparation and cooking of food, besides the
taboos about forbidden subjects. Many religions have special
spellings for the food, which sacralize it and, therefore, who will eat it; but there are foods sacred by its inner nature.
In Brazilian
Candomblé by example, fish are sacred for their connection to
Iemanjá, horns given the relation to
Iansã.
Consequently, those foods are considered offerings. This takes place in other religions too.
Some examples include:
*coconut:
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu d ...
in Hinduism
*milk, betel leaves: Shiva in Hinduism
*flowers, tulsi and fruit: Krishna in Hinduism
*
Oxalá in
Candomblé (see above)
*bread: the
body of Christ
In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ () has two main but separate meanings: it may refer to Jesus' words over the bread at the celebration of the Jewish feast of Passover that "This is my body" in (see Last Supper), or it may refer to ...
in
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
*the
challah
Challah (, he, חַלָּה or ; plural: or ) is a special bread of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover). Ritually acceptable ...
in Judaism is symbol of divine presence in shabat
*
chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
:
Befana
In Italian folklore, the Befana () is an old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Santa Claus or the Three Magi Kings.Illes, Judika. ''Encyclopedia of Spirits: The U ...
*
coca leaf
Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine.
The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, Al ...
: for the
Andean cultures
*Leola's Maize Corn: Amerindian goddess of prosperity in
cajun
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
of Louisiana
See also
*
Anthropology of religion
*
Libation
A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid, or grains such as rice, as an offering to a deity or spirit, or in memory of the dead. It was common in many religions of antiquity and continues to be offered in cultures today.
Various substa ...
Anthropology of religion
Religious food and drink
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