The Scottish pork taboo is a purported historical
taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
against the consumption of
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
amongst the
Scottish people
The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who foun ...
, particularly
Highlanders. The phrase was coined by journalist
Donald Alexander Mackenzie
Donald Alexander Mackenzie (24 July 1873 – 2 March 1936) was a Scottish journalist and folklorist and a prolific writer on religion, mythology and anthropology in the early 20th century.
Life and career
Mackenzie was born in Cromarty, so ...
, who believed the aversion stemmed from an ancient taboo.
Several writers who confirmed that a prejudice against pork existed, or a superstitious attitude to pigs, do not see it in terms of a taboo related to an ancient cult. Any prejudice is generally agreed to have been fading by 1800. Some writers attribute a scarcity or dislike of pork in certain periods to a shortage of pig fodder.
Mackenzie's ideas
Donald Mackenzie gave a lecture on the Scottish pork taboo in 1920 when he explained his idea that prejudices against pork-eating could be traced back to a centuries-old religious cult. When he published these theories in the 1930s, he suggested the taboo was imported to Scotland in pre-Roman times by
Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
ic
mercenaries
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
, influenced by the
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
of
Attis
Attis (; grc-gre, Ἄττις, also , , ) was the consort of Cybele, in Phrygian and Greek mythology.
His priests were eunuchs, the ''Galli'', as explained by origin myths pertaining to Attis castrating himself. Attis was also a Phrygian ve ...
in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. (The cult of Attis did not abstain permanently from pork; it was a purification for their ceremonies.)
He dismissed any possibility that the pork taboo originated from a literal reading of the Bible, and disputed this with various arguments, noting that early Christian missionaries did not snub pork. He conceded that archaeological evidence was found of pigs being eaten in prehistoric Scotland, but suggested this might have come from pork-eating peoples living near others who did observe the taboo, or be related to ceremonial use of pigs. Later pork production was for export, not for local use, just as eels were caught to send to the English market, while they were unacceptable as food in Scotland. The taboo died out in the Lowlands earlier than in the Highlands, and by the 1800s, most crofts in the Highlands and Islands would have kept a
grice
The grice was a breed of swine found in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and in Ireland. Culley, George(1807), ''Observations on Livestock'', pub Wilkie, Robinson et al, p 176/ref> It became extinct, surviving longest in the Shetland I ...
.
Other
folklorist
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
s, such as
Isabel Grant, have accepted this theory of a taboo.
Writers cited by Mackenzie
In addition to proposing ideas developed from studying the mythology and folklore of Scotland and other cultures, Mackenzie quoted writers of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
referred to Scottish Highlanders' dislike of pork in more than one book, and around 1814 explained that
Pork or swine’s flesh, in any shape, was, till of late years, much abominated by the Scotch, nor is it yet a favourite food amongst them. King Jamie carried this prejudice to England, and is known to have abhorred pork almost as much as he did tobacco.
Scott's remark that
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
"recorded" the king's aversion to pork in his
masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...
''The Gipsies Metamorphosed'', when the king has his
hand read, is based on these words:
You should, by this line,
Love a horse and a hound, but no part of a swine.
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
found an "abhorrence" of pork and bacon on
Skye
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...
in the 1770s.
It is not very easy to fix the principles upon which mankind have agreed to eat some animals, and reject others; and as the principle is not evident, it is not uniform. The vulgar inhabitants of Sky, I know not whether of the other islands, have not only eels, but pork and bacon in abhorrence, and accordingly I never saw a hog in the Hebrides, except one at Dunvegan.
Mackenzie suggested that a verse in the English satirical song "The Brewer" from ''A Collection of Loyal Songs'' referred to the taboo:
The Jewish Scots that scorn to eat
The flesh of swine and Brewer's beat
'Twas the sight of this hogshead made 'em retreat
Which nobody can deny!
He believed that this, and other comments associating Scots with Jews, confirm the existence of the taboo, but have nothing to do with its origin. However,
Celtic Christians had long faced accusations of 'judaizing'.
He described a superstition about touching or saying "''cauld airn''" (cold iron) when pigs are mentioned. This was discussed by
Dean Ramsay, and is also included in Walter McGregor's ''Notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of Scotland'' (Folklore Society 1881).
Among the many superstitious notions and customs prevalent among the lower orders of the fishing towns on the east coast of Fife, till very recently, that class entertained a great horror of swine . . . .
Mackenzie disagreed with Edward Burt, whose ''Letters from a Gentleman in the North of Scotland'' (1754) discusses an “aversion” to pork in the Highlands, but says it is not “superstitious”.
Other writers referring to a prejudice against pork
Bishop
John Lesley's ''History of Scotland'' talks of "our cuntrie peple" having "lytle plesure" in pork in the 1570s. In contrast to the alleged tastes of country folk, pigs were supplied to the royal household for the table of
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...
from former monastic lands.
At least four ministers writing about their parishes for the
Statistical Accounts of Scotland in the 1790s speak of a prejudice which is starting to fade: for instance, "The deep rooted prejudice against swine's flesh is now removed: most of the farmers rear some of that species, which not 30 years ago, they held in the utmost detestation." (Ardchattan, County of
Argyle)
Account of 1791-99, volume 6, page 177)
Twentieth-century historian
Christopher Smout
Thomas Christopher Smout CBE, FBA, FRSE, FSA Scot, FRSGS (born 19 December 1933) is a Scottish academic, historian, author and Historiographer Royal in Scotland.
Early life
One of the five sons of Arthur Smout, Christopher Smout was educated ...
speaks of "a universal superstitious prejudice".
An archaeological survey of pork consumption in Scotland by the Society of Antiquities in Scotland in 2000 states: "Whether there is any archaeological evidence of this prejudice against pigs, for whatever reason, is open to question." and that "During the medieval period, it has been noted that rural sites contained more pig bones than urban sites, and that the lowest relative frequencies come from the most southerly of the burghs considered, Peebles and Perth. This contradicts the notion that it was the ‘Highlanders’ who abhorred pork, unless it is assumed that, despite this dislike, they continued to produce it for sale to others."
[p.13 http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_130/130_705_724.pdf]
Writers disputing Donald Mackenzie's theories
Historian
William Mackay Mackenzie
William Mackay Mackenzie (1871–1952) was a Scottish historian, archaeologist and writer, who was Secretary of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland between 1913 and 1935, and also an expert on folk-lore. He was b ...
published his thoughts in the ''
Scotsman
The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...
'' letters pages (8 October 1921) as part of a long-running debate arising from D. A. Mackenzie's lecture in 1920. While agreeing there had been a "sporadic prejudice" against pork in parts of Scotland, and offering illustrations of this, he was against the idea of a link to a "religious cult". He saw economic factors at work between 1500 and 1800 which would discourage pig-keeping. He cited several examples of pork consumption in the Middle Ages, and described a "temporary lapse" when "the great forests disappeared from Scotland".
In 1983, American anthropologist
Eric B. Ross
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse languag ...
put forward arguments based on a detailed study of Scottish agricultural history, and asserted the value of
cultural materialism rooted in
evolutionary anthropology
Evolutionary anthropology, the interdisciplinary study of the evolution of human physiology and human behaviour and of the relation between hominids and non-hominid primates, builds on natural science and on social science. Various fields and ...
for studying dietary customs, thus avoiding explanations based on "relatively esoteric" beliefs. Because of deforestation, a loss of beech mast and acorns for feeding pigs occurred, and potatoes were not produced in sufficient quantity to offer a useful alternative until the late 18th century. Throughout this gap in pork consumption by the general population, many of the Scottish upper classes continued to eat the meat. He summed up:
In the years of the 18th century and probably earlier, swine were rarely raised in Scotland, particularly in the Scottish Highlands, and subsequent writers have gone so far as to postulate the operation of a taboo on the eating of pork. Unfortunately there is almost nothing known today about local sentiments of that era, and we have only the intellectual rationalizations of educated writers who all too easily found an explanation for the scarcity of pigs in the assumption that a 'foolish prejudice' was at work.[Eric B. Ross ''The Riddle of the Scottish Pig'' ''op cit''.]
See also
*
Grice
The grice was a breed of swine found in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and in Ireland. Culley, George(1807), ''Observations on Livestock'', pub Wilkie, Robinson et al, p 176/ref> It became extinct, surviving longest in the Shetland I ...
*
Halal
''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...
*
Kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
*
Pork in Ireland
Pork in Ireland has been a key part of the Irish diet since prehistory. Ireland's flora and fauna overwhelmingly arrived via a Neolithic land bridge from Great Britain prior to its submerging around 12,000 BP. When the very first hunter-gatherer ...
*
Taboo food and drink
Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the mea ...
*
Horse meat
Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Eurasia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3 million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existe ...
Notes
References
*P. W. F. Brown,
The Luxuriant Pig' in ''Folklore'', volume 76, no. 4 (Winter 1965), pp 288–300;
JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
link
*Donald A. Mackenzie, ''Scottish folk-lore and folk life: studies in race, culture and tradition'' (Blackie 1935)
*Eric B. Ross
The Riddle of the Scottish Pig' in ''BioScience'', volume 33, no. 2 (Feb 1983), pp 99–106;
JSTOR
JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...
link
Scotsman archivesStatistical Accounts of Scotland
Further reading
*Donald A. Mackenzie
"...pigs were, it seems, sacred animals..."
*Donald A. Mackenzie
"The Devil Pig in Egypt and Scotland"
*''A Collection of Loyal Songs''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pork
Scottish taboo
Scottish cuisine
Scottish folklore
Taboo