Ritual feasting

[arth_frown]

I wonder if ritual feasting could be common place within Brython.
Our aelwyd has been doing it for the past year, it bonds us closer together.
Maybe a plate of food is set aside for the spirits, ancestors and Gods then either burned or left on or in the ground.
If the camp idea goes ahead we could roast a boar and practice the ritual feast.

[Blackbird]

That would be fantastic. For me, the central point of each important time of year is the feasting. Eating together is, as Stefan pointed out at FF, one of the most special and fundamental ways in which people connect together.

At Calan Gaeaf, I always do a special big dinner and set aside an ancestor plate and also make sure the house is utterly spotless. If you're inviting ancestors round for tea, better make sure you've done the dusting

[Lee]

i think this is a given - feasting at each gathering whether a whole cow is BBQ'd or a picnic somewhere. some is set aside for the gods, ancestors etc.

kind of related - eating the meat of an animal associated with a deity. one of the deities i am forging a relationship with is very much boar associated and i have no qualms about eating the flesh of the boar (i know a place where wild boar can be sourced for instance), to me it is part of the relationship i aim to have.

now i know horse flesh is taboo in the UK anyway, just one of those things. however in ireland it was eaten as part of the kingship ceremony after being mated with the to-be-king.

im not suggesting one of the lads at a gathering gets it on with a fine mare - there are other options gents - but how about the idea of eating as part of the feast the meat of an/the associated 'totem' animals of the aelwyd? just as an idea to ponder.

[arth_frown]

Our totem animal is deer, our last ritual involved eating venison with dark chocolate. For our feast of the dead ritual we will be eating boar.

[Midori]

It is most likely that the Feast at this time of year would be mainly the offal meats- they don't preserve well and the main thrust would be towards providing and preserving meat for the whole winter.

Cheers, Midori

[megli]

ick.

[Lee]

oh im sure you would like a bit of sausage megli

just close our eyes and dont think about what you are eating.

as an aside, i ate BBQ chicken hearts yesterday - off texture. not entirely grotty.

[jez]

I would not eat horse or hare. Or dog or wolf, for that matter.

But pork, rabbit, not a problem.

--

Jez

[arth_frown]

I'm sure we could make something for veggies. I make a mean mash of nine sorts.

[Blackbird]

Mock Goose is a good veggie thing - we used to make it out of lentils. Or a good bean stew with veggie sausages?

Offal is lovely I adore liver, kidney, heart... all good things, really good for you and very cheap. But my OH won't touch it, so I have to sneakily eat it while he's at work ;D

Taboo meats for me are horse and goose. Anything else is fine.

But it can just be down to the organiser as to what is served, and letting people know in advance so they can arrange alternatives if needs be

[Lee]

am i assuming the goose is in relation to taranis?

does the taboo aply at all time or are there times when it is relaxed?

out of curiosity

[Blackbird]

Yes, and also because I see swans and geese as transformed people. Sometimes. But that's just my thing. I wouldn't eat one anytime.

On the other hand, the consumption of a special being is a powerful thing - the taking in of the spirit, or essence of that being into yourself. Particularly the heart or liver, where this is concentrated. This is put across really well in Alan Garner's 'Strandloper'.

Re. the horse thing in Ireland, the mare probably represents the spirit of the land - the king mates (at least, I think that's what Geoffrey was driving at; he seems very horrified with the whole thing anyway... ), immerses himself in and consumes the mare, thus completely uniting himself with the land of Ulster.

[claer]

Feasts of seasonal food are important to my celebrations. I am a veggie (I have my reasons, but no problems with others eating meat that is well reared and humanely killed), so for me the majority of the food prepared for a feast and offering must be something I have grown in my garden veg patch or gathered from the locale around my home. We have our own chickens and always bake our own bread. Feasts and lighting a fire in the fire pit are things we always do for the festivals we celebrate.

[Blackbird]

I'm getting ready for my Calan Gaeaf dinner - basically a big roast with absolutely everything crammed on the plate. Not only is it a good way to celebrate the season and honour my ancestors, it's also good for getting my atheist OH involved, without making him feel pressured into ritual or like an outsider.

[suelo]

Bread and baking is important to me as is preserving, very much linked to the hearth and hospitality.

[arth_frown]

I'll be making a few loafs of spelt bread for our ritual. I like the idea of eating what our ancestors ate.

[Deleted]

Sounds perfect, good food and drink are an important part of any celebration.

I'll be doing it Vegetarian style this weekend as I have a veggie friend staying and I think the smell of roasting pork is likely to put him off his food. I'm going to make some nice spicy parsnip and apple soup which I've never made before and try to see it as a good excuse to learn to make some new seasonal foods instead of missing the usual feast