h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The subject line pretty much sums up my question.

but, to elaborate, the cow that is sacred to Hindus, I assume, is Bos bovis. The North American Bison, whose meat is fairly common in shops over here is Bison bison bison or Bison bison athebascae, clearly a different species from the cow. The two species, however, are routinely interbred and they produce fertile offspring: http://www.ababeefalo.org/abi4.htm

So, do bison count as cows to Hindus?

I always thought it was due to the shape of the hip bone of cows (or something bizarre like that) rather than the species. If the bison has the same bone structure in that area then I would imagine that it's a no-no.

But then again, I'm not a Hindu so can't say for definite.

'the shape of the hip bone of cows'


Really?

That is bizarre. And certainly cause to google.

This is interesting, but no hipbones.

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/82/story_8229_1.html

I've had a little google too and can't find any mention of hip bones either! Maybe I'm thinking of something else or maybe my overactive imagination is getting the better of me!

I'm off to google hipbones now!

Dosen't it have something to do with hoof shape?

Creatures with cloven hooves are forbidden, whereas those with a single toe, or a 'fused' hoof are fair game.

I think...

Cows definitely have cloven hooves.

Also, many Hindus are vegatarian, thus neatly avoiding the whole issue

But pork and mutton, for example, are not forbidden to Hindus (except in the general push toward vegetarianism) are they? We hear of 'sacred cows' not 'sacred pigs' or 'sacred cloven-hooved animals'. When there were the nasty events surrounding the creation of Pakistan and India mobs would torture muslims by forcing them to eat specifically pork and hindus by forcing them to eat specifically beef.

Nope. Hindus can't eat cows in general. This guy explains it succinctly:

http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Cows_in_Hinduism/id/51474

Hindus do tend to be Vegetarian, but there are those who aren't. I remember meeting a few Indian guys in Antigua who said that although they used to be Vegetarians, when they moved to Antigua they had to start eating meat, just because sufficient vegetarian food was not available for them.

Hindus tend to be vegetarian for the reason that they see all life as sacred. If you eat meat, you're killing animals to eat - that goes against what they believe.

During British Rule - Indian sepoys were given cartridges that combined the bullet and gunpowder, and had to bite the end of the cartridge. The cartridge was covered in pork / beef oil - so both Hindus and Muslim were going against what was sacred to them. When the soldiers protested at some point, they were stripped off their uniform and humiliated - led to a huge mutiny / uprising.

'Hindus can't eat cows in general.'


so . . .


What about bison?



(and that article doesn't really explain whether beef cattle {or even bulls for that matter] are sacred. The explanation really seems to be talking about dairy cows.)

You're right. Dang it



Further investigation suggests the cow, specifically, is not to be killed because of it's mention in the Hindu sacred vedas.

For example, the Rig Veda has a good deal of 'cow talk'

This seems to be a good explanation: http://www.beliefnet.com/story/82/story_8229_1.html

I'd be willing to bet a non-vegetarian Hindu could eat a pure buffalo burger without violating his/her belief.

For a definitive answer, we'll have to hope a Vedic guru comes along..

I don't expect bison were mentioned in the Vedas. (Just like kangaroos aren't mentioned in the Bible)



Maybe I should just call my Hindu friend (but I've seen her eat beef.)

Just trawled through loads of sites on Hindu food restrictions (still nothing about hip bones though, where did I get that idea from?) and only one compared cows with water buffalo, which is a different species but closer to a bison than a cow is.

You have me seriously intrigued now and I will keep searching!

'one compared cows with water buffalo'


did it say whether water buffalo were okay to eat?

No, it basically said that cows and water buffalo were of the same distinction due to the milk production and shouldn't be eaten. It was the only one that I saw that made that distinction though! I tried searching Hindu dietary restricions with buffalo rather than bison as a lot of the sites were American. I'll try to find a link although I have just looked at about 30 sites

Oh, in searching back, I found this:

http://www.the-week.com/23aug31/events7.htm

which states that due to the increasing prices of other meat in India, some people are resorting to eating buffalo which is not proscribed!

just did a search using 'bison' and 'hindu'


http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:kSLtNCTKkTsJ:www.hindu.com/2005/09/02/stories/2005090213330100.htm+%22bison+meat%22+hindu&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a



I assume the bison meat referred to in the article is from the Indian Bison or Gaur (bos frontalis). I would suspect that if a (poached) bos is allowed, a Bison would be as well.

simulpost with a similar implication.

This post has been removed.

HELP! Can mods delete the foregoing - hit "copy and paste2 where it carried work-related information!" Thanks

Ag Prov

meant to enter

Hmmm - this explains why the majority of "Indian" restaurants in the UK, being Pakistani or Bangladeshi owned, will do you a beef curry quite happily but you will never see pork curry on the menu. (Muslim)

Similarly, a genuine "Indian" - I'm thinking of the very good Nepalese just off Portland Street in Manchester - will very happily do you a pork curry but beef is strictly off the menu (Hindu)

AgProv, just click on the Yikes button beside your posting and explain why you want it removed.