이슬람의 돼지고기 금기 문화(Pig Taboo)는 왜 생겼을까?

혹시 세계지리 수업에 도움이 될까해서 인류학책 그림들을 훑어보고 있습니다.

그러다 '중국인이 돼지를 끌고 가는 사진'에서 시선이 멈췄습니다.

이 대목을 읽어보니

유대인들이 왜 돼지고기를 터부시 했는지 자세히 나오네요.

(인류학책이 세계지리 문화 단원에는 큰 도움이 될 듯 해서

계속 그림들을 쭈욱 살펴봐야 겠습니다.)

The late anthropologist Marvin Harris hypoth-
esized that cultural dietary preferences frequently

have an adaptive significance (1977, 1985). In seek-

ing the origins of the pig taboo, Harris emphasized,

as did Douglas, that among the ancient Israelites,

pigs were viewed as abominable animals not suited

for human consumption. Yet, many societies show

no aversion to the consumption of pork. Pigs have

been a primary source of protein and fat throughout

China and Europe. In some societies in the Pacific

Islands, pigs are so highly regarded they are treated

as members of the family (but they are also eaten).

One medical explanation for the dietary prohibition

is that the pig is an unclean animal and that it car-

ries diseases such as trichinosis, which is caused by

a type of tapeworm. Harris, however, considered

these explanations to be unsatisfactory. Regard-

ing cleanliness, Harris acknowledged that because

pigs cannot sweat, in hot, dry climates such as the

Middle East, they wallow in their excrement to keep

cool. He noted, however, that other animals, such as

goats and chickens, can also be dirty, but they are eaten.

Similarly, Harris emphasized that many other animals,

such as cows, which are widely consumed, also carry

diseases.

Ultimately, Harris explained the origins of the pig

taboo in Judaism (and later Islam) by analyzing the eco-

logical conditions of the Middle East. He maintained that

this dietary restriction represented a cultural innovation

that helped the societies of this region to adapt. About

1200 b.c., the ancient Israelites had settled in a woodland

area that had not been cultivated. As they rapidly cut

down trees to convert areas to irrigated agricultural land,

they also severely restricted areas suitable for raising pigs

on natural forage. Eventually, pigs had to be fed grains

as supplements, which made them extremely costly and

direct competitors with humans. Moreover, they required

artificial shade and moisture to keep cool. In addition, pigs

were not useful for pulling plows, producing milk, or pro-

viding hides or wool for clothing.

According to Harris, despite the increasing costs

associated with pig raising, people were still tempted

to raise them for nutritional reasons. He hypothesized

that the pig taboo was established to inhibit this prac-

tice through religious authorities and texts that redefined

the pig as an unclean animal. Neighbors of the ancient

Israelites, such as the Egyptians, began to share the abhor-

rence of the pig. The pig taboo was later incorporated into

the Islamic religious text, the Qur’an, so that today both

Muslims and Jews are forbidden to eat pork.

Thus, according to Harris’s hypothesis, in the hot, dry

regions of the world where pigs are poorly adapted and

extremely costly to raise, the meat of the pig came to be

forbidden. He emphasized the practical considerations of

pig raising, including the fact that they are hard to herd

and are not grazing animals like goats, sheep, or cattle. In

contrast, in the cooler, wetter areas of the world that are

more appropriate for pig raising, such as China and New

Guinea, pig taboos are unknown, and pigs are the prized

foods in these regions.

출처 : Cultural Anthropology - A Global Perspective by Raymond Scupin Ph.D (9th) (2016) Pearson - 51page