Ox speared by 70-year-old warrior to bless World Cup

[Renew Deal]

FIFA tried to ignore calls from South Africa's traditional organizations to "slaughter a beast" inside each of the country's dazzling new World Cup stadiums in order to bless the enormous misappropriations of fund as animal rights groups shouted their horror. But despite FIFA's lack of support, the violent blessing went on anyway, just outside of the 94,000-seat Soccer City stadium, which will host the World Cup final.

From the South African Times:

Xhosa warrior Zakhele Sigcawu, 70, of the Tshawe clan, speared the ox in the back of its neck, between the horns.

"He is a specialist in doing this," said Zolani Mkhiva, the president and director-general of the Institute of African Royalty. "He came all the way from the rural Eastern Cape."

The ceremony, which started with the slaughter at 6am, was attended by about 2000 people.

This was just part of the ceremony, though. Around 300 healers did less gory blessings of their own, covering everything from the South African team to the tournament's organizers. And according to Reuters, a representative of the Traditional Healers' Organization says it's not just for the benefit of the mere mortals involved in the tournament:

“We don’t want our spirits to be scared of all the different languages.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/blog/sow_experts/post/Ox-speared-by-70-year-old-warrior-to-bless-World?urn=sow,243949

[BolivarianHero]

1. More religious stupidity...

As if we all need more reasons to be atheists.

[Renew Deal]

2. If I needed to slaughter a beast to please God so the US wins, I'd do it.

[lumberjack_jeff]

4. We're Americans. If it takes the beasts of an entire ocean, it's worth it.

:sarcasm: cuz it's the law.

[nemo137]

52. Don't care about winning.

But I'd give a kidney to beat England.

[Codeine]

66. I'm vegan, but I'd still slaughter a whole herd of beasts

just to beat England and advance out of group.

[tabatha]

6. It is not religion.

It is cultural heritage.

I guess you could say what happens in Madrid is no different.

And it is probably far better than a slaughter house for the ox.

[Poll_Blind]

3. Why can't he spear one of his own testicles? Why does it always have to be some poor ox? n/t

PB

[Chulanowa]

7. Because ox tastes better

I mean yeah, okay, I don't know the guy, it's just that, in general... Okay, know what, shutting up now

[Poll_Blind]

16. lol! n/t

PB

[A HERETIC I AM]

73. Depends on how it's prepared. n/t

[Obamanaut]

69. And why a poor ox? Why not a wealthy one? nt

[Bluebear]

5. 'speared the ox in the back of its neck, between the horns' - Just a STUPID ANIMAL

Homo sapiens, that is

[tabatha]

9. That is probably how they hunted

before factory slaughterhouse, with much more gore, were established.

[Bluebear]

11. Well they weren't hunting here.

[tabatha]

13. Nope, but have you never seen people replaying scenes of history

or heritage.

[Bluebear]

14. They can replay it without killing a living thing for ceremony, sorry.

[tabatha]

17. Do you eat meat of any kind?

[Bluebear]

19. You're being ridiculous to the ultimate, as usual. Ceremony vs. food, really?

[tabatha]

22. I do not understand what is ridiculous about it.

I have seen an abattoir and animal factory farms - and as far as an animal is concerned, it would be better for it to be killed as described here.

But animal factory farms, atrocious as they are, are OK?, because the animals are killed just for meat - and in a huge herd they sense what their fate is, because they are aware of what is happening to those ahead of them.

I would rather see an animal that is to be killed, be killed singly where it has no idea what is going to happen to it.

If that is ridiculous, then so be it.

[Bluebear]

'If that is ridiculous, then so be it.' - Then it's settled.

[Chulanowa]

74. You don't think they throw the bovine on the garbage pile, do you?

Seriously, they don't. That sumbitch gets eaten. And it was killed more humanely than any meat you've ever eaten, more than likely. A leaf-bladed spear right through the base of the brain. It was dead before it even felt the spear.

Granted, they could have stabbed a large yam, for all it mattered. Just letting you know that at least the animal wasn't wasted, and died quicker and less painfully than any meat you'll find in the supermarket.

[flvegan]

21. This is where I step in.

I agree with Bluebear and I'm a vegan. Your point?

[tabatha]

24. See #22.

Btw, I am mostly vegan myself.

[flvegan]

26. I did. And?

Just because this animal wasn't subjected to a factory farm, that's okay? You've got a lot to learn.

[tabatha]

28. You miss the point entirely.

You would probably defend factory farms; I would not.

[flvegan]

31. Me...defend factory farms? Is that your final answer?

[Bluebear]

33. yeah, I have often heard you defending slaughterhouses here, friend

:rofl:

[tabatha]

35. Yep, that was worded incorrectly. See #34.

[tabatha]

34. Maybe that was worded incorrectly.

The intent was to say, that any meat-eaters here who are criticizing this are hypocrites because of the way factory animals are treated in this country.

[flvegan]

36. I'm an animal liberator.

And maybe you missed that my name here is flvegan. That's flVEGAN. You want to try again?

[tabatha]

39. Maybe you missed that I said "any meat eaters".

Which has to exclude you.

And the fact that you are vegan, and I am mostly too, does not preclude the fact that I can have an opinion about meat eaters.

I do not want this to be a nasty argument ---- all I wanted to say, is that if a person has to eat meat, then I do not see that the way of killing described here is bad. It is certainly better than having a lion jump on its back and maul it to death, or to die in a slaughterhouse.

[flvegan]

41. You, to me: "You would probably defend factory farms; I would not."

And this doesn't seem like a dietary issue to me, considering. This is about dogma causing someone to execute an animal.

As for your "lion jump on its back" analogy...yeah, that has merit. I love it when some omni goes on about how apex predators kill animals in the wild to justify whatever twisted bullshit cruelty they can play apologist for. "A great white kills tuna to survive!" Yeah, guess what Sparky, you ain't a great fucking white, moron.

[tabatha]

46. We are on two different paths here.

It is a dietary issue, because that ox will be eaten by many hungry people. And you and I have different concepts; I understand that people and animals eat meat. People evolved eating meat long before they could put down roots and cultivate alternatives. Hence I understand their action - it may be dressed up as "dogma" - it is also an event where people are fed. I also do not like the hypocrisy of meat eaters for not understanding it.

You ideas lie completely outside of that realm. You do not believe in eating animals. That is fine. I do not judge you for that; I respect that you are allowed to have your own opinion. I do not think that is reciprocated. And I certainly would prefer to state the above with civility.

[flvegan]

48. Wait...was the ox killed for food or ceremony?

I read about spirits scared of different languages. Not about hungry folks needing calories. Your "understanding" that people in general eat meat isn't out of a natural need. Your comparison of the general human population to lions is just...laughable.

Keep dodging what you said. I don't really care, as it keeps this interesting. Especially since you suggested I'd support factory farming. Yeah, that was a good one!

[tabatha]

55. I repeat my answer from above

Hence I understand their action - it may be dressed up as "dogma" - it is also an event where people are fed.

"Especially since you suggested I'd support factory farming" - erase that, I explained I meant meat eaters. You are not a meat eater. Repeat ---- erase that, it was not well stated.

"Your comparison of the general human population to lions is just...laughable." No it is not. Hunter gatherers did exactly that, hunted for meat. I have read books about Bushmen, Aborigines, etc, and prior to settling down to cultivate crops the main food source for humans was --- meat --- and was for many centuries after that (see "Guns, Germs and Steel").

Before any human was able to eat anything other than meat, they had to be able to grow it or at least know where it grew. The expansion of the Bantu population down the eastern seaboard of Africa was halted at the Fish River ---- why? because they could not cultivate a summer rain crop any further south because the climate changed to mediterranean, with winter rains. But they still had herds of cattle, which were very important to them - in fact cattle were lobola to the parents of a bride to be.

I don't know when vegetarianism first was followed, but for the bulk of human history, humans have eaten meat in all corners of the globe.

Also, see #53 - she stated it well.

[flvegan]

62. I'm going to take Sussman, PhD over your blathering. Hope that's okay.

[Ignis]

72. You've completely misunderstood Diamond's GG&S.

Hunter gatherers did exactly that, hunted for meat. I have read books about Bushmen, Aborigines, etc, and prior to settling down to cultivate crops the main food source for humans was --- meat --- and was for many centuries after that (see "Guns, Germs and Steel").

No. Hunting roles (men) held high social status, but meat was a small portion of the overall diet. The women (gatherers) still did the vast bulk of the work and provided the vast bulk of the caloric intake.

Before any human was able to eat anything other than meat, they had to be able to grow it or at least know where it grew.

Two words: Fruit trees.

I'm also a vegan, but you gain nothing by claiming that meat eaters shouldn't be allowed to criticize animal cruelty.

[Bluebear]

25. bullfights, cockfights, ceremonial animal killing...

:puke:

[flvegan]

29. Ceremony? When do we throw Christians to the lions now?

Christians being animals and all, right?

Lets see just how stupid we can get with this...

[tabatha]

32. You have gone overboard.

Whoever mentioned Christians.

[flvegan]

37. You first mentioned "replaying scenes of heritage" not me.

[tabatha]

40. OK, I did not dream of going back to the days of the Romans.

I am thinking directly, narrowly, of the people in that country, with whom I grew up. I understand that they have cultural heritages that live on today in many of their practices. I do not judge them. I do not condemn them. They eat meat and have always done so. Lions, leopards, and cheetah eat meat, too.

I think that their cultural heritage was responsible for very little environmental damage. It was only when the whites and their civilization entered that land, that the most egregious slaughter of wild animals, some to extinction, occurred. I would be more critical of the latter rather than the former.

[flvegan]

43. Please see my post #41 about the stupidity of your comparison. n/t

[LeftyMom]

45. But that's my cultural heritage.

Seriously, the family comes from Rome itself. So can I replay my cultural heritage and practices too (I'm going to need to purchase a cosmetics slave because I never did pick up the knack of applying makeup) or are we just patronizing South Africans in assuming they can't be held to reasonable modern behavior standards?

[tabatha]

47. No, as I explained in a different comment.

I was thinking only about theirs - I grew up with them, and I understand their cultural heritages and practices because they are far more recent than yours. They practice them today; they practised them 25, 50, 100, 150 years ago.

Unlike you.

[LeftyMom]

50. Things change. 50 years ago my people* didn't approve of women working.

65 years ago my people* didn't allow children of color to attend the same schools as anglo kids.

*For purposes of this statement, Californians.

[nadinbrzezinski]

53. I know what she is trying to convey, perhaps not very well

what you want is for these people to adopt our values and way of life... never mind that this hunter gatherer lifestyle might be far more adaptive to the natural world than ours.

What you are espousing is something we drink with our mother's milk. My tribe is better than yours, there... and in academic terms we call these Imperial, or in this case, neo-imperial attitudes, where the Western Values are seen as better. I could recommend a slew of books on the subject, and how our values have led to a slew of problems in many an African country... urban design is my fav on that one. But I don't think you'd be too receptive. So as much as many don't like Edward Zaid, I will recomend his book called simply Orientalism as a good place to start your studies into this. King Leopold's ghost is also a good one.

Would I kill any creature for religious reasons? No... (I also lost my religion a long time ago) But I am no judge over this... nor do I want to IMPOSE my values, especially when my values are that much more destructive, on other people. We've had plenty of that over the last 200 years.

[tabatha]

56. Thank you - you said it well and correctly.

[nadinbrzezinski]

59. You welcome

we do this all the time, don't we? I mean the my tribe is better than yours shtick!

[LeftyMom]

58. Cultural relativism is bullshit. If somebody's getting needlessly hurt, something is wrong.

An animal was killed, painfully, to appease "spirits" that don't exist. There's no justifying that. Either the death itself, the manner of it, or the fact that people believe in spirits in 2010.

[nadinbrzezinski]

60. Cultural relativism is not crock

it is not shick in Imperial thinking. If it were, then we'd have to admit that perhaps... somebody else's tradition has the same value as mine.

By the way, here is a free clue on what happens in these very traditional ceremonies, whether it is a chicken sacrifice at the Maya Highlands or in this case an Ox. After the animal is killed, usually in ways that are far more humane than a slaughter house, and many a cases the blood is smeared on places that are to be blessed, as the blood is the source of life... the carcass is parted out. That carcass goes to feed people, who at times might cook it in special ways. See the Pozole of the Maya... which is ceremonial in nature. And there is a feast. People eat, and many a times eat well.

Now perhaps you'd rather not have a thanksgiving dinner come November, and lord knows those turkeys had a far worst life.

[flvegan]

63. Fucking ego.

"somebody else's traditon has the same value as mine"

What bullshit. Step outside yourself and think about the entity that just fucking died. It's called empathy. Try it on, look in the mirror while you wear it.

Maybe the death penalty here or the ongoing genocide elsewhere would be okay if we could eat them. Genocide has tradition, right?

Fucking evolve already.

[nadinbrzezinski]

64. You speak well to exactly what I just described as imperial thought

you want to impose your values on other people. Well friend, keep being a VEGAN, and keep fighting for animal rights. Good luck with most of humanity going off the omnivorous diet we are used to since the plains of Africa. You might get some luck in MOST humans eating less meat than we do in the US, mostly because most cultures do... but to stop eating it... there is this thing called evolution. Look at our dentition, for what it is meant to do. Yes, it includes eating meat.

but yes, my tribe is better than yours is your ego talking. Me. I am not going to judge... and as to the animal, well at the risk of getting your ire... I guess a death amongst thousands in a slaughter house where that life is NOT celebrated is much better.

And to empathy these traditional peoples have far more empathy for the animals they kill for food than you can conceive off. No, they don't do this just because, or just because it is fun. But go on... think about it as you are more evolved than me because damn it, I actually eat some meat in my diet... so there...

By the way, being vegan is a luxury... one you have because of WHERE you live. Enjoy it.

Most traditional peoples around the world also carry out these ceremonies for the same reason we used to have thanksgiving. They are a moment to have some very necessary animal protein... modern day thanksgiving is not that, but it just might be one day.

Oh and I will recommend also King Leopold's ghosts to you.

[flvegan]

65. You lose in your first statement.

Because your ego imposes value. You decide. I don't. That's the difference. I don't impose. I don't grant value, because value is inherent. Your pathetic attempts at apologist belief aside.

As to the rest of the bullshit rambling that your post is? Let me know when you graduate junior high on what ego is.

[nadinbrzezinski]

67. LOL

What can I say... we now have gone down the personal insult land since we cannot handle it that perhaps we might be wrong.

As you said, Let me know when YOU graduate Junior High... and yes the one trying to impose YOUR values, is you. Not me.

Have a good life...

[flvegan]

68. Nice retreat. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

71. Nice ignore, free clue this is not about you

which is what you are trying to make this into.

I won't wait for you to graduate. Welcome to my ignore list.

[tabatha]

30. Bullfights and cockfights are not the same as

ceremonial animal killing.

Maybe, I have been on too many farms where an ox or a sheep or an eland has been killed for food, and thus ceremonial killing is not that different to me.

However, animal fighting should only occur in the wild.

[Webster Green]

8. What strange sort of World Cup is this?

Where are the sailboats?

[tabatha]

10. One where ox-hide covered

entities are moved up and down and up and down fields of soccer glory.

[Renew Deal]

15. It's in Africa

So it's going to be a little different. :D

[flvegan]

12. “We don’t want our spirits to be scared of all the different languages.”

If one needs to slaughter an innocent animal to keep their "spirits" from being "scared" of strange speech...??? Then your spirits, are doing it wrong.

Flame away!

[tabatha]

18. People in the world are at different levels of education.

Our ancestors believed in that nonsense; but they have had the opportunity to progress beyond that without anyone judging them as backward.

Please remember that these people were denied education for many years, and hence carry a lot of their old traditions and superstitions with them.

When I was growing up, those who had maids said that they raised their beds on bricks because of the Tokoloshe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikoloshe

[flvegan]

20. Can't bring myself to care, really.

"religious" or "cultural" dogma over empathy is never going to win with me. Feel free to take it elsewhere.

[proteus_lives]

23. Education dulls it but it will never go away.

Colleges, iPods, cars, internet, doesn't matter.

Ever throw salt over your shoulder? Granted, killing an ox is on the other end of the spectrum but it's an example.

This is a part of humanity that can be put in the closet but never thrown away.

[tabatha]

27. I disagree. TV will dull anything.

[proteus_lives]

38. Untrue.

Love, hate, business, war, children, sex, crime, writing, dreams continue to exist since the invention of television.

[tabatha]

42. This action does not come under any of the categories listed.

However, I have noticed more homogenization of people culturally after TV watching became common.

[proteus_lives]

44. I think it falls under a few.

Homogenization and splitting aparting for cultures go up and down.

[tabatha]

49. Hmmm - I don't understand that.

All I know is that modern people in Africa would never dream of doing some of the things their Grandparents did. There is a mix in Africa; some who are still rooted in the old practices, and some who have evolved completely away from them, never to return. I understand both, and also know that as the years go by, fewer and fewer old practices will remain.

[proteus_lives]

51. But they will return in new forms.

And they will be remembered.

You never know what the future will bring.

[democrat2000]

54. This is better than slaughtering thousands of innocent humans

in Iraq and Afghanistan.
:shrug:

[tabatha]

57. You got it!!!

[troubledamerican]

61. the Smoke Monster says: Repent and sacrifice Lieberman

N O W

[Chulanowa]

75. No god or spirit would want that

Can you imagine? Thor's all chilling out in the hot tub with some fine Valkyries, when suddenly he gets a sacrificial delivery. Usually it's something like a roasted goat or a bunch of salmon, maybe even a pile of silver plunder! Being a gracious god, Thor accepts and opens the box, expecting good times.

It's Joseph fucking Lieberman.

Total mood kill.

[Renew Deal]

70. I love DU

and it's unpredictable predictability