Cattle in religion and mythology

{{Short description|none}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} [[File:Cow_and_its_calf.jpg|alt=cow and a calf|thumb|An [[Indian cow]] and its calf— a late 7th century sculpture from [[Uttar Pradesh]] ]] There are varying beliefs about cattle in societies and [[religion]]s.

Cattle are considered sacred in the [[Indian religions]] of [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]] and [[Buddhism]], as well as in some [[Chinese folk religion]] and in [[traditional African religions]]. Cattle played other major roles in many religions, including those of [[ancient Egypt]], [[ancient Greece]], [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|ancient Israel]], and [[ancient Rome]].

In some regions, especially most [[Cattle slaughter in India|states of India]], the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat ([[beef]]) may be [[food and drink prohibitions|taboo]].

== In Indian religions == {{anchor|Hinduism}}

Legislation against the slaughter of cattle is in place throughout most states of India except [[Kerala]] and parts of the [[Northeast India|North-East]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dahd.nic.in/hi/related-links/annex-ii-8-gist-state-legislations-cow-slaughter|title=ANNEX II (8) Gist of State Legislations on Cow Slaughter | Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying|website=dahd.nic.in|accessdate=6 September 2023}}</ref>

=== Hinduism === [[File:Cow bas relief in Mamallapuram.jpg|thumb|upright|A bull [[bas relief]], [[Mamallapuram]]]]

Modern [[Hinduism]] specifically considers the [[zebu]] (''Bos indicus'') to be sacred,<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.3390/ani8050064|title=The Sheltering of Unwanted Cattle, Experiences in India and Implications for Cattle Industries Elsewhere|author=Uttara Kennedy, Arvind Sharma and Clive J.C. Philips|journal=Animals|year=2018|volume=8|issue=5|page=64|pmid=29701646|pmc=5981275|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=India's sacred cow|url=http://spraakdata.gu.se/taraka/SacredCow.pdf|author=Marvin Harris}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/import/downloads/preliminary_literature_review_on_sacred_species__3_.pdf|title=Preliminary Literature Review On Sacred Species|author=Dr Gloria Pungetti, Dr Anna Maclvor|access-date=24 July 2021|archive-date=24 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724135557/https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/import/downloads/preliminary_literature_review_on_sacred_species__3_.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> but there is historical evidence<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/hinduism-and-its-complicated-history-with-cows-and-people-who-eat-them-80586|title=Hinduism and its complicated history with cows (and people who eat them)|first=Wendy|last=Doniger|date=17 July 2017|website=The Conversation|doi=10.64628/AAI.9jhej3qtp}}</ref> for the slaughter and consumption<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.versobooks.com/products/1789-the-myth-of-the-holy-cow|title=The Myth of the Holy Cow|first=D. N.|last=Jha|website=Verso}}</ref> of beef in ancient India. Indian historian [[Romila Thapar]] specifically points to Vedic scriptures, ritual, and cultural practice.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5irrXX0apQC&q=beef#v=snippet&q=beef&f=false|title=From the Origins to AD 1300|first=Romila|last=Thapar|date=11 February 2004|publisher=University of California Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> Indian sociologist [[M. N. Srinivas]] has argued that beef-eating ''became'' a widespread taboo in the Vedic period <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mf1PtqYBaQAC&q=beef#v=snippet&q=beef&f=false|title=Social Change in Modern India|first=Mysore Narasimhachar|last=Srinivas|date=11 May 1966|publisher=University of California Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> as non-[[Aryans]] became increasingly "[[Sanskritized]]" in order to elevate their [[caste]] status.

Respect for the lives of animals including cattle, [[diet in Hinduism]] and [[vegetarianism in India]] are based on the [[Hindu ethics]]. The Hindu ethics are driven by the core concept of [[Ahimsa]], i.e. non-violence towards all beings, as mentioned in the [[Chandogya Upanishad]] (~ 800 BCE).<ref name="Chapple10">{{cite book|author=Christopher Chapple|title=Nonviolence to Animals, Earth, and Self in Asian Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Y00Q0_mOkAC |year=1993|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-1497-2|pages=10–18}}</ref><ref>Tähtinen, Unto (1976), ''Ahimsa. Non-Violence in Indian Tradition'', London: Rider, {{ISBN|978-0091233402}}, pp. 1–6, 107-109.</ref> By mid 1st millennium BCE, all three major religions – Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism – were championing non-violence as an ethical value, and something that impacted one's rebirth. By about 200 CE, food and feasting on animal slaughter were widely considered as a form of violence against life forms, and became a religious and social taboo.<ref name=harris201>[[Marvin Harris]] (1990), [http://academic.regis.edu/rlumpp/PDF%20files/RT%20201%20India%27s%20Sacred%20Cow.pdf India's sacred cow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329091317/http://academic.regis.edu/rlumpp/PDF%20files/RT%20201%20India%27s%20Sacred%20Cow.pdf |date=29 March 2017 }}, Anthropology: contemporary perspectives, 6th edition, Editors: Phillip Whitten & David Hunter, Scott Foresman, {{ISBN|0-673-52074-9}}, pages 201–204</ref><ref name="Kemmerer2011p59">{{cite book|author=Lisa Kemmerer|title=Animals and World Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fidwAgAAQBAJ|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-979076-0|pages=59–68 (Hinduism), pp. 100–110 (Buddhism)}}</ref> India, which has [[Demographics of India#Religious demographics|79.80% Hindu population]] as of ([[2011 Census of India|2011 census]]),<ref name=khao1>{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html|title=Census of India – India at a Glance : Religious Compositions|website=censusindia.gov.in|access-date=25 August 2015}}</ref> had the lowest rate of meat consumption in the world according to the 2007 [[UN]] [[FAO]] statistics,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/91840616/Meat-Consumption-Per-Person|title=Meat Consumption Per Person|via=Scribd|access-date=23 January 2018}}</ref> and India has more vegetarians than the rest of the world put together.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Food Science, An Ecological Approach|last=Edelstein|first=Sari|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4496-0344-1 |page=281|quote=...India has more vegetarians than everywhere else in the world combined.}}</ref> Despite the ethical commitment to nonviolence towards ''animals'', in contemporary India, the beef-eating [[taboo]] is a core tenet of [[Hindu nationalism]] and is regularly used as justification for [[cow vigilante violence in India]] particularly targeting Muslims.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/03/inside-bishari-indian-village-where-mob-killed-man-for-eating-beef|title=Inside the Indian village where a mob killed a man for eating beef|first=Jason|last=Burke|date=3 October 2015|via=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43496017|title=Eleven jailed for life over India 'beef' murder|date=22 March 2018|via=www.bbc.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/11/india-arrests-suspects-after-man-killed-for-carrying-beef|title=Indian police arrest three after man killed for possessing beef|website=Al Jazeera}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/10/13/448182574/indias-ban-on-beef-leads-to-murder-and-hindu-muslim-friction | title=India's Ban On Beef Leads To Murder, And Hindu-Muslim Friction | website=www.npr.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36518974|title=Beef or mutton? Mystery over India lynching lab results|date=19 June 2016|via=www.bbc.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/30/it-was-his-birthday-muslim-lynched-over-beef-in-western-india|title=‘It was his birthday’: Muslim lynched over beef in western India|first=Parth|last=MN|website=Al Jazeera}}</ref>

According to [[Ludwig Alsdorf]], "Indian vegetarianism is unequivocally based on ''ahimsa'' (non-violence) as evidenced by ancient ''[[smriti]]s'' and other ancient texts of Hinduism." He adds that the endearment and respect for cattle in Hinduism is more than a commitment to vegetarianism and has become integral to its theology.<ref name=alsdorf2/> The respect for cattle is widespread but not universal. Animal sacrifices have been rare among the Hindus outside a few eastern states.<ref name=alsdorf2/><ref>{{cite book|author=Christopher John Fuller|author-link=Chris Fuller (academic)|title=The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=To6XSeBUW3oC |year=2004|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-12048-X|pages=46, 83–85, 141}}</ref> To the majority of modern Indians, states Alsdorf, respect for cattle and disrespect for slaughter is a part of their ethos and there is "no ''ahimsa'' without renunciation of meat consumption".<ref name=alsdorf2>{{cite book|last= Alsdorf|first= Ludwig|title=The History of Vegetarianism and Cow-Veneration in India|year =2010|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-11351-66-410|pages=2–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHKMAgAAQBAJ }}</ref>

The [[cow]] in Hindu society is traditionally identified as a caretaker and a maternal figure,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Benjamin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6zj3DwAAQBAJ |title=The Hindu world: an encyclopaedic survey of Hinduism |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=1968 |isbn=9780429624650 |pages=257, 272}}</ref> and Hindu society honors the cow as a symbol of unselfish giving,<ref name=":0" /> selfless sacrifice, gentleness and tolerance.

Several scholars explain the veneration for cows among Hindus in economic terms, including the importance of dairy in the diet, the use of cow dung as fuel and fertilizer, and the importance that cattle have historically played in agriculture.<ref name="Margo">[https://books.google.com/books?id=92Ct9iD1QTYC Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-animal Studies], Margo DeMello, p.314, Columbia University Press, 2012</ref> Ancient texts such as [[Rig Veda]], [[Purana]]s highlight the importance of cattle.<ref name="Margo" /> The scope, extent and status of cows throughout ancient India is a subject of debate. Cattle, including cows, were neither inviolable nor as revered in ancient times as they were later.<ref>Jha, Dwijendra Narayan. ''The Myth of the Holy Cow''. London/New York: Verso 2002</ref> A ''[[Grhyasutra|Gryhasutra]]'' recommends that beef be eaten by the mourners after a funeral ceremony as a ritual rite of passage.{{sfn|Achaya|2002|pp=16–17}} In contrast, the [[Vedas|Vedic]] literature is contradictory, with some suggesting ritual slaughter and meat consumption, while others suggesting a taboo on meat eating.<ref name=harris201/>

==== Sacred status of cow ==== {{anchor | cow | Sacred cow | Hindu cow | Holy cow}}

[[File:Sri Mariamman Temple Singapore amk.jpg|thumb|The Hindu god [[Krishna]] is often shown with cows listening to his music.]] [[File:Mahimsyat.sarva.bhutani(veda).jpg|thumbnail|The [[calf (animal)|calf]] is compared with the [[dawn]], in [[Hinduism]]. Here, with a [[sadhu]].]]

Many ancient and medieval Hindu texts debate the rationale for a voluntary stop to cow slaughter and the pursuit of [[Vegetarianism in Hinduism|vegetarianism]] as a part of a general abstention from violence against others and all killing of animals.<ref name="Alsdorf2010p32">{{cite book|author=Ludwig Alsdorf|title=The History of Vegetarianism and Cow-Veneration in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iHKMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|year=2010|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-16641-0|pages=32–44 with footnotes}}</ref><ref name=mclane271>{{cite book|author=John R. McLane|title=Indian Nationalism and the Early Congress|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=efp9BgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-7023-3|pages=271–280 with footnotes}}</ref>

The interdiction of the meat of the bounteous cow as food was regarded as the first step to total vegetarianism.{{sfn|Achaya|2002|p=55}} Dairy cows are called ''aghnya'' "that which may not be slaughtered" in the [[Rigveda]]. [[Yaska]], the early commentator of the Rigveda, gives nine names for cow, the first being "aghnya".<ref>V.M. Apte, ''Religion and Philosophy, The Vedic Age''</ref> The literature relating to cow veneration became common in 1st millennium CE, and by about 1000 CE vegetarianism, along with a taboo against beef, became a well accepted mainstream Hindu tradition.<ref name=harris201/> This practice was inspired by the beliefs in Hinduism that a soul is present in all living beings, life in all its forms is interconnected, and non-violence towards all creatures is the highest ethical value.<ref name=harris201/><ref name="Kemmerer2011p59"/> The god [[Krishna]] and his Yadava kinsmen are associated with cows, adding to its endearment.<ref name=harris201/><ref name="Kemmerer2011p59"/> [[File:Cow in Chennai , India.jpg|thumb|Revered cow in the streets of Chennai, India]] The cow veneration in ancient India during the Vedic era, the religious texts written during this period called for non-violence towards all bipeds and quadrupeds, and often equated killing of a cow with the killing of a human being specifically a [[Brahmin]].<ref>{{citation |last=Krishna |first=Nanditha |title=Sacred Animals of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DF_af8_547EC |year=2014 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-81-8475-182-6 |pages=80, 101–108}}</ref> The hymn 8.3.25 of the Hindu scripture ''Atharvaveda'' (~1200–1500 BCE) condemns all killings of men, cattle, and horses, and prays to god [[Agni]] to punish those who kill.<ref>{{citation |last=Krishna |first=Nanditha |title=Sacred Animals of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DF_af8_547EC&pg=PT108 |year=2014 |publisher=Penguin Books Limited |isbn=978-81-8475-182-6 |pages=15, 33}}</ref><ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/wiki/ऋग्वेद:_सूक्तं_१०.८७ ऋग्वेद: सूक्तं १०.८७], Wikisource, Quote: "यः पौरुषेयेण क्रविषा समङ्क्ते यो अश्व्येन पशुना यातुधानः। यो अघ्न्याया भरति क्षीरमग्ने तेषां शीर्षाणि हरसापि वृश्च॥१६॥"</ref>

[[File:Prithu - Crop.jpg|thumb|[[Prithu]] chasing [[Prithvi]], who is in the form of a cow. Prithu milked the cow to generate crops for humans.]]

In the [[Puranas]], which are part of the [[Hindu texts]], the earth-goddess [[Prithvi]] was in the form of a cow, successively milked of beneficent substances for the benefit of humans, by deities starting with the first sovereign: [[Prithu]] milked the cow to generate crops for humans to end a famine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://texts.00.gs/milking_the_Earth-cow.htm |title=milking of the Earth |publisher=Texts.00.gs |access-date=13 November 2011}}</ref> [[Kamadhenu]], the miraculous "cow of plenty" and the "mother of cows" in certain versions of the [[Hindu mythology]], is believed to represent the generic sacred cow, regarded as the source of all prosperity.<ref name="Yves">{{cite book |last=Biardeau|first=Madeleine |author-link=Madeleine Biardeau|editor=Yves Bonnefoy|title=Asian mythologies|year=1993|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-06456-5|page=99|chapter=Kamadhenu: The Mythical Cow, Symbol of Prosperity}}</ref> In the 19th century, a form of Kamadhenu was depicted in poster-art that depicted all major gods and goddesses in it.<ref name="smith">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Frederick M.|title=The self possessed: Deity and spirit possession in South Asian literature and civilization |url=https://archive.org/details/selfpossesseddei00smit|url-access=limited|year=2006 |publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13748-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/selfpossesseddei00smit/page/n433 404], pp. 402–3 (Plates 5 and 6 for the two representations of Kamadhenu)}}</ref><ref name="venu">{{cite book|last=R. Venugopalam|title=Rituals and Culture of India|year=2003|publisher=B. Jain Publishers|isbn=81-8056-373-1|pages=119–120|chapter=Animal Deities}}</ref> [[Govatsa Dwadashi]], which marks the first day of [[Diwali]] celebrations, is the main festival connected to the veneration and worship of cows as chief source of livelihood and religious sanctity in India, wherein the symbolism of motherhood is most apparent with the sacred cows [[Kamadhenu]] and her daughter [[Nandini]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/govatsa-dwadashi/govatsa-dwadashi-date-time.html|title=2019 Govatsa Dwadashi | Vasu Baras date and time for New Delhi, NCT, India|first=Adarsh Mobile Applications|last=LLP|website=Drikpanchang}}</ref>

=== Historical significance === {{Main|Cattle slaughter in India|Cow protection movement}}

[[File:Sacred cow2.jpg|thumb|A pamphlet protesting cow slaughter, first created in 1893. A meat eater (''mansahari'') is shown as a demon with sword, with a man telling him "don't kill, cow is life-source for all". It was interpreted by Muslims in [[British Raj]] to be representing them.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Raminder Kaur|author2=William Mazzarella|title=Censorship in South Asia: Cultural Regulation from Sedition to Seduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yeTCSK8MZqQC |year=2009|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-22093-6|pages=36–38}}</ref> Redrawn the [[Raja Ravi Varma]] (c. 1897).]]

The reverence for the cow played a role in the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] against [[Company rule in India]]. Hindu and Muslim [[sepoy]]s in the [[Presidency armies]] came to believe that their [[paper cartridge]]s, which held a measured amount of gunpowder, were greased with cow and pig fat. The consumption of swine is forbidden in [[Islam]] and [[Judaism]]. Because loading the gun required biting off the end of the paper cartridge, they concluded that the [[East India Company]] was forcing them to break edicts of their religion and eventually mutinied.<ref name=chambers>{{Cite book|title=Chambers's Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People |author=W. and R. Chambers |page=719 |volume=8 |year=1891 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUJMAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

A historical survey of major communal riots in India between 1717 and 1977 revealed that 22 out of 167 incidents of [[Religious violence in India|rioting between Hindus and Muslims]] were attributable directly to cow slaughter.<ref>{{cite book|last=Banu|first=Zenab|title=Politics of Communalism|pages=175–193|chapter=Appendix IV}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dahd.nic.in/dahd/reports/report-of-the-national-commission-on-cattle/chapter-ii-executive-summary.aspx#it10A |title=Report of the National Commission on Cattle – Chapter II (10 A. Cow Protection in pre-Independence India) |publisher=[[Ministry of Agriculture (India)|DAHD]] |access-date=2013-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109002416/http://www.dahd.nic.in/dahd/reports/report-of-the-national-commission-on-cattle/chapter-ii-executive-summary.aspx#it10A |archive-date=9 November 2013 |url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

==== In Gandhi's teachings ==== The cow protection was a symbol of animal rights and of non-violence against all life forms for [[Mahatma Gandhi]]. His eclectic religious views included the Indian veneration of cows, and suggested ending cow slaughter to be the first step to stopping violence against all animals.<ref name="Gandhi">{{cite web |url=http://dahd.nic.in/ch2/an2.6.htm |title=Compilation of Gandhi's views on Cow Protection |publisher=Dahd.nic.in |date=7 July 1927 |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125093504/http://dahd.nic.in/ch2/an2.6.htm |archive-date=25 November 2011}}</ref> He said: "I worship it and I shall defend its worship against the whole world", and stated that "The central fact of Hinduism is cow protection."<ref name="Gandhi"/>

===Jainism=== {{See also|Ahimsa in Jainism}} [[Jainism]] is against violence to all living beings, including cattle. According to the Jaina sutras, humans must avoid all killing and slaughter because all living beings are fond of life, they suffer, they feel pain, they like to live, and long to live. All beings should help each other live and prosper, according to Jainism, not kill and slaughter each other.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Susan J. Armstrong|author2=Richard G. Botzler|title=The Animal Ethics Reader|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qiQlDwAAQBAJ |year= 2016|publisher= Taylor & Francis|isbn= 978-1-317-42197-9|page=44}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Dundas|author-link=Paul Dundas|title= The Jains|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |year=2003| publisher=Routledge|isbn= 978-04152-66-055|pages= 160–162}}</ref>

In the Jain religious tradition, neither monks nor laypersons should cause others or allow others to work in a [[slaughterhouse]].<ref name=kemmerer57>{{cite book|author1=Lisa Kemmerer|author2=Anthony J. Nocella|title=Call to Compassion: Reflections on Animal Advocacy from the World's Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lq70lgRwlRQC |year=2011|publisher=New York: Booklight |isbn=978-1-59056-281-9|pages=57–60}}</ref> Jains believe that vegetarian sources can provide adequate nutrition, without creating suffering for animals such as cattle.<ref name=kemmerer57/> According to some Jain scholars, slaughtering cattle increases ecological burden from human food demands since the production of meat entails intensified grain demands, and reducing cattle slaughter by 50 percent would free up enough land and ecological resources to solve all malnutrition and hunger worldwide. The Jain community leaders, states Christopher Chapple, have actively campaigned to stop all forms of animal slaughter including cattle.<ref name="Chapple2002">{{cite book|author=Christopher Chapple|title=Jainism and ecology: nonviolence in the web of life|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=oIHXAAAAMAAJ|year= 2002|publisher= Harvard Divinity School|isbn=978-0-945454-33-5|pages=7–14}}</ref> [[File:Kotagiri 87a, Ooty, India.jpg|thumbnail|Cattle at a temple, in [[Ooty]], India]] [[File:FreeRangeUrbanCowsJaipur2010.jpg|thumb|Cattle making themselves at home on a city street in Jaipur, Rajasthan]]

=== Meitei religion and mythology === {{Further|Meitei religion}} [[File:Khamba and Thoibi (The Capture of the Wild Bull).jpg|thumb|A painting depicting [[Kao (bull)|Kao]], being captured by hero [[Khuman Khamba]]]] In ancient [[Meitei mythology]] and [[Meitei folklore|folklore]] of [[Ancient Kangleipak|Ancient Manipur]] ([[Kangleipak]]), [[Kao (bull)|Kao]] is a divine cattle that plays a significant role in the legend of the [[Khamba Thoibi]] epic of ancient [[Moirang]] realm. [[:simple:Nongban|Nongban Kongyamba]], a nobleman, acting as an [[oracle]]r, prophesied that calamities would arrive at the kingdom of Moirang, if the powerful [[Kao (bull)|Kao]] roaming freely in the [[Khuman Salai|Khuman]] kingdom, wasn't offered to God [[Thangjing]] ({{langx|omp|[[Thangching]]}}), the guardian deity of [[Moirang]]. Spreading the rumour, Nongban chose [[Khuman Khamba|Khamba]], the orphan [[Khuman Salai|Khuman]] prince, on purpose to eliminate him, as the two were rivals. Before encountering the dangerous divine bull, Khamba's elder sister [[:simple:Khamnu|Khamnu]] disclosed to Khamba the secrets of the bull, with whose help he succeeded in capturing the bull.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4NowAQAAMAAJ&dq=khamba+bull&pg=PA222|title=Indian Antiquary|date=1877|publisher=Popular Prakashan|pages=222|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=announcements.Ann_2011.Ann_Kao_play_by_Laibui_20110223|title="Kao - the sacred bull" by Laihui|website=e-pao.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=reviews.theatre.Kao_-_A_Glimpse_of_Manipuri_Opera|title=KAO - A Glimpse of Manipuri Opera|website=e-pao.net}}</ref>

===Buddhism=== The texts of [[Buddhism]] state [[ahimsa]] to be one of five [[Ethics|ethical]] precepts, which requires a practicing Buddhist to "refrain from killing living beings".<ref name="Kemmerer2011p100"/> Slaughtering cow has been a taboo, with some texts suggesting that taking care of a cow is a means of taking care of "all living beings". Cattle are seen in some Buddhist sects as a form of reborn human beings in the endless rebirth cycles in [[samsara]], protecting animal life and being kind to cattle and other animals is good [[karma]].<ref name="Kemmerer2011p100">{{cite book|author=Lisa Kemmerer|title=Animals and World Religions|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=fidwAgAAQBAJ| year=2011| publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0-19-979076-0|pages=100–101, 110}}</ref><ref name= Stewart187>{{Citation | last =McFarlane| first =Stewart | year =2001 | editor =Peter Harvey| title= Buddhism| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oZCvAwAAQBAJ |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=978-1-4411-4726-4| pages=187–191}}</ref> Not only do some, mainly Mahayana, Buddhist texts state that killing or eating meat is wrong, it urges Buddhist laypersons to not operate slaughterhouses, nor trade in meat.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Peter |title=An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u0sg9LV_rEgC |year=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |edition=2nd |isbn=978-05216-767-48 |pages=83, 273–274}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Thich Nhat Hanh|title=The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJkmCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA115 |year=2015|publisher=Potter |isbn=978-1-101-90573-9|page=115}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Martine Batchelor|title=The Spirit of the Buddha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fL3mykqlOJcC&pg=PT59 |year=2014|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-17500-4 |page=59 }}; Quote: These five trades, O monks, should not be taken up by a lay follower: trading with weapons, trading in living beings, trading in meat, trading in intoxicants, trading in poison."</ref> Indian Buddhist texts encourage a plant-based diet.<ref name="Kemmerer2011p59"/><ref name=harris201/>

According to Saddhatissa, in the ''Brahmanadhammika Sutta'', the Buddha "describes the ideal mode of life of Brahmins in the Golden Age" before him as follows:<ref name= Saddhatissa33/>

{{Blockquote| <poem> Like mother (they thought), father, brother or any other kind of kin, cows are our kin most excellent from whom come many remedies.

Givers of good and strength, of good complexion and the happiness of health, having seen the truth of this cattle they never killed.

Those Brahmins then by Dharma did what should be done, not what should not, and so aware they graceful were, well-built, fair-skinned, of high renown. While in the world this lore was found these people happily prospered. </poem> |[[Buddha]], ''Brahmanadhammika Sutta'' 13.24, ''Sutta Nipāta''<ref>R Ganguli (1931), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41694026 Cattle and Cattle-rearing in Ancient India], Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 12, No. 3 (1931), pp. 216–230</ref><ref name= Saddhatissa33>{{cite book|author=H. Saddhatissa|title=The Sutta-Nipata: A New Translation from the Pali Canon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9U3fAQAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-77293-1|page=33}}</ref><ref>[https://suttacentral.net/en/snp2.7 How Brahmins Lived by the Dharma], ''Early Buddhist texts, translations, and parallels'', Sutta Central</ref>}}

Saving animals from slaughter for meat, is believed in Buddhism to be a way to acquire merit for better rebirth.<ref name= Stewart187/> According to Richard Gombrich, there has been a gap between Buddhist precepts and practice. Vegetarianism is admired, states Gombrich, but often it is not practiced. Nevertheless, adds Gombrich, there is a general belief among Theravada Buddhists that eating beef is worse than other meat and the ownership of cattle slaughterhouses by Buddhists is relatively rare.<ref name=gombrich303>{{cite book|author=Richard Gombrich|title=Buddhist Precept & Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lqp4LuZQnHsC |year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-15623-6|pages=303–307}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The protection of cattle and prevention of cattle slaughter is not limited to Buddhists in India, but found in other Theravada countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar and others.<ref name=gombrich303/><ref>{{cite book|author=Matthew J. Walton|title=Buddhism, Politics and Political Thought in Myanmar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QdhsDQAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-15569-5|pages=34–35}}</ref>}}

Meat eating remains controversial within Buddhism, with most [[Theravada]] sects allowing it, reflecting early Buddhist practice, and most [[Mahayana]] sects forbidding it. Early [[suttas]] indicate that the Buddha himself ate meat and was clear that no rule should be introduced to forbid meat eating to monks. The consumption, however, appears to have been limited to pork, chicken and fish and may well have excluded cattle.<ref>Buddhism and Vegetarianism The Rationale for the Buddha's Views on the Consumption of Meat by Dr V. A. Gunasekara</ref>

=== Sikhism === [[File:'Sikh cowherds and their cattle', Singapore, ca.1938–39.jpg|thumb|'Sikh cowherds and their cattle', Singapore, ca.1938–39]] During the 1860s, the [[Namdhari]] [[Sikhs]] opposed cattle-slaughter.<ref name="metcalf152">{{cite book |author1=Barbara D. Metcalf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c7UgAwAAQBAJ |title=A Concise History of Modern India |author2=Thomas R. Metcalf |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-139-53705-6 |pages=152–153}}</ref><ref name="Veer1994p90">{{cite book |author=Peter van der Veer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p29ArJ7j6zgC |title=Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India |publisher=University of California Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-520-08256-4 |pages=90–91}}</ref> According to a ''Khalsa Bahadur (Lahore)'' article dated to 5 September 1903, the Sikhs consider cattle to be a useful animal but do not go to the lengths of the Hindus by considering it to be sacred.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Myrvold |first=Kristina |title=Sikh News in India, 1864-1924: Colonial Reports on Vernacular Newspapers of Punjab |publisher=Brill |date=Dec 2, 2024 |isbn=9789004707085 |volume=2: Religious Places, Practices, and Relations |pages=712 |chapter=2 |quote=What he meant to say was that the Sikhs were not quite so sensitive as the Hindus in regard to the slaughter of cows. For instance, the latter would not even eat certain vegetables the names of which being with ''gaf'', the first letter in ''gai'' (cow). In the same way some of them abstain from the use of ''masur'' pulse because it is the colour of blood. They also regard cow-dung and cow urine as sacred. The Sikhs, on the contrary, do not go to such lengths in their reverence for this animal, although they agree with the Hindus in considering it a very useful one.}}</ref> According to Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, many Sikhs refrain from eating beef as cows, oxen, and buffalo are a central part of the livelihood of rural Sikhs, with many Sikhs coming from agricultural-backgrounds.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind-Pal Singh |title=Sikh Philosophy: Exploring gurmat Concepts in a Decolonizing World |date=Jul 14, 2022 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |pages=189–190 |chapter=Diet, drugs, alcohol, tobacco}}</ref> Thus, Sikhs generally respect cattle and do not slaughter them for food.<ref name=":1" />

==Abrahamic religions== ===Judaism=== According to {{bibleverse|Exodus|32:4}}, the Israelites worshipped a cult image of a [[golden calf]] when the prophet [[Moses]] went up to [[Mount Sinai]]. Moses considered this a great offense against God. As a result of their abstention from the act, the [[Levite]] tribe attained a priestly role. A cult of golden calves re‑appears later, during the rule of [[Jeroboam]].

According to the [[Hebrew Bible]], an unblemished [[red heifer|red cow]] was an important part of ancient Jewish rituals. The cow was sacrificed and burned in a precise ritual, and the ashes were added to water used in the [[ritual purification]] of a person who had come in to contact with a human corpse. The ritual is described in the [[Book of Numbers]] in Chapter 19, verses 1–14.<ref> {{cite book |last = Carmichael |first = Calum |year = 2012 |title = The Book of Numbers: A critique of Genesis |publisher = [[Yale University Press]] |location = New Haven, CT |pages = 103–121 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6uy6LVXGOxkC&q=%22Red+heifer%22+Numbers&pg=PA106 |isbn = 9780300179187 }} </ref>

Observant Jews study this passage every year as part of the [[weekly Torah portion]] called [[Chukat]]. A contemporary Jewish organization called the [[Temple Institute]] is trying to revive this ancient religious observance.<ref> {{cite news |title = Apocalypse cow |newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |date = 30 March 1997 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/30/magazine/apocalypse-cow.html |access-date = 21 December 2013 }} </ref>

Traditional Judaism considers beef [[kosher]] and permissible as food,<ref> {{cite book |last = Hersh |first = June |year = 2011 |title = The Kosher Carnivore: The ultimate meat and poultry cookbook |publisher = [[Macmillan Publishers]] |pages = 19–21 |isbn = 9781429987783 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=g73sRottbmkC&q=kosher+beef |via = Google }} </ref> as long as the cow is slaughtered in a religious ritual called ''[[shechita]]'', and the meat is not served in a meal that [[Milk and meat in Jewish law|includes any dairy foods]].<ref> {{cite book |last = Goldman |first = Ari L. |year = 2007 |title = Being Jewish: The spiritual and cultural practice of Judaism today |publisher =[[Simon & Schuster]] |page = 234 |isbn = 9781416536024 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Smnm85rsWi8C&q=kosher+separation+meat+milk&pg=PA234 |via = Google }} </ref>

Some Jews committed to [[Jewish vegetarianism]] believe that Jews should refrain from slaughtering animals altogether<ref> {{cite press release |title=Rabbinic statement |website=Jewish Veg (jewishveg.org) |url=https://www.jewishveg.org/rabbinic-statement |access-date=2017-10-16 }} </ref> and have condemned widespread cruelty towards cattle on factory farms.<ref> {{cite book |last1=Labendz |first1=Jacob Ari |last2=Yanklowitz |first2=Shmuly |date = 25 March 2019 |title=Jewish Veganism and Vegetarianism: Studies and new directions |isbn=9781438473611 |location = Albany, NY |oclc = 1041228582 |page = 206 }} </ref>

===Islam=== {{Further|Animals in Islam}}

[[Islam]] allows for the slaughter of cows for the consumption of [[beef]], as long as the cow is slaughtered in a religious ritual called [[dhabihah|''dhabīḥah'' or ''zabiha'']], [[comparison of Islamic and Jewish dietary laws#Similarities 2|similar]] to the Jewish ''[[shechita]]''.

The sacrificial slaughter, or ''[[qurban]]'', of a livestock animal<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.muslimaid.org/media-centre/blog/what-animals-are-used-for-qurbani-and-why/|title=What Animals Are Used for Qurbani and Why?|website=Muslim Aid}}</ref> [[Qurban_(Islamic_ritual_sacrifice)|to feed the poor]] plays a role in a major Muslim holiday, ''[[Eid al-Adha]]'', commemorating the [[Abraham in Islam|sacrifice of Abraham]]. It is ''not'' Islamically required to sacrifice a [https://islamic-relief.org/qurbani/qurbani-rules/ cow] in particular, but it is common in South Asia. Many Muslim rulers of the [[Mughal Empire]] imposed a ban on the slaughter of cows owing to the large Hindu and Jain populations living under their rule.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nussbaum|first=Martha Craven|title=The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future|page=224}}</ref>

The second and longest [[surah]] of the [[Quran]] is named [[Al-Baqara]] ("The Cow"). Out of the 286 verses of the surah, 7 mention cows (Al Baqarah 67–73).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://corpus.quran.com/search.jsp?q=cow|title=The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Quran Search|website=corpus.quran.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/essentialislamco0000morg|url-access= registration|title= Essential Islam: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice|author= Diane Morgan|publisher= [[ABC-CLIO]]|year= 2010|page= [https://archive.org/details/essentialislamco0000morg/page/27 27]|isbn= 9780313360251}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=O84eYLVHvB0C&pg=PA364|title= Dictionary of Islam|author= Thomas Hughes|publisher= [[Asian Educational Services]]|year= 1995|orig-year=first published in 1885|page= 364|isbn= 9788120606722|author-link= Thomas Hughes (priest, born 1838)}}</ref> The name of the surah derives from the story of the [[red heifer]] offering. In the Qurʾānic telling, [[Moses in Islam|Moses]] orders his people to sacrifice a cow in order to resurrect a man murdered by an unknown person.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9GTnBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA127|title= Constructing the Image of Muhammad in Europe|author= Avinoam Shalem|publisher= [[Walter de Gruyter]]|year= 2013|page= 127|isbn= 9783110300864}}</ref> The [[Israelites|Children of Israel]], or the believers of Moses' time,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/understanding-islam/the-children-of-israel-as-mentioned-in-the-quran/|title=The Children of Israel As Mentioned in the Quran|date=13 December 2017}}</ref> quibbled disingenuously over what kind of cow was meant when the sacrifice was ordered:<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YYxSAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA38 |title= Logic, Rhetoric and Legal Reasoning in the Qur'an: God's Arguments|author= Rosalind Ward Gwynne|publisher= [[Routledge]]|year= 2014|page= 38|isbn= 9781134344994}}</ref>

{{blockquote|And ˹remember˺ when Moses said to his people, “God commands you to sacrifice a '''cow'''.” They replied, “Are you mocking us?” Moses responded, “I seek refuge in God from acting foolishly!” They said, “Call upon your Lord to clarify for us what type it should be!” He replied, “God says, ‘The '''cow''' should neither be old nor young but in between. So do as you are commanded!’” They said, “Call upon your Lord to specify for us its colour.” He replied, “God says, ‘It should be a bright yellow cow—pleasant to see.’” Again they said, “Call upon your Lord so that He may make clear to us which '''cow''', for all '''cows''' look the same to us. Then, God willing, we will be guided ˹to the right one˺.” He replied, “God says, ‘It should have been used neither to till the soil nor water the fields; wholesome and without blemish.’” They said, “Now you have come with the truth.” Yet they still slaughtered it hesitantly! ˹This is˺ when a man was killed and you disputed who the killer was, but God revealed what you concealed. So We instructed, “Strike the dead body with a piece of the '''cow'''.” <br><br>This is how ˹easily˺ God brings the dead to life, showing you His signs so that you may understand. Even then your hearts became hardened like a rock or even harder, for some rocks gush rivers; others split, spilling water; while others are humbled in awe of God. And God is never unaware of what you do. Do you ˹believers still˺ expect them to be true to you, though a group of them would hear the word of God then knowingly corrupt it after understanding it? When they meet the believers they say, “We believe.” But in private they say ˹to each other˺, “Will you disclose to the believers the knowledge God has revealed to you, so that they may use it against you before your Lord? Do you not understand?” (Qurʾān 2:67-76)<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://quran.com/al-baqarah|title=Surah Al-Baqarah - 1-286|website=Quran.com}}</ref>}}

Classical Sunni and Shia commentators recount several variants of this tale. Per some of the commentators, though any cow would have been acceptable, but after they "created hardships for themselves" and the cow was finally specified, it was necessary to obtain it at any cost.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sIXpFtvp2JYC&pg=PA117 |title= The Qur'an and Its Interpreters, Volume 1|author= [[Mahmoud M. Ayoub]]|publisher= [[SUNY Press]]|year= 1984|page= 117|isbn= 9780873957274}}</ref>

Earlier in the surah, the worship of the [[golden calf]] is mentioned in disparaging terms: {{blockquote|And ˹remember˺ when We appointed forty nights for Moses, then you worshipped the calf in his absence, acting wrongfully. Even then We ˹still˺ forgave you so perhaps you would be grateful. And ˹remember˺ when We gave Moses the Scripture—the decisive authority—that perhaps you would be ˹rightly˺ guided. And ˹remember˺ when Moses said to his people, “O my people! Surely you have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calf, so turn in repentance to your Creator and execute ˹the calf-worshippers among˺ yourselves. That is best for you in the sight of your Creator.” Then He accepted your repentance. Surely He is the Accepter of Repentance, Most Merciful. (Qurʾān 2:51–54) <ref name="auto"/>}}

===Christianity=== The [[red heifer]] or red cow is a particular kind of cow brought to [[priest]]s for [[animal sacrifice|sacrifice]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. [[Jews]] and some [[Christians|Christian]] fundamentalists believe that once a red heifer is born they will be able to rebuild the [[Third Temple]] on the Temple Mount in [[Jerusalem]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

[[Bull sacrifice|Oxen]] are one of the [[animal sacrifice|animals sacrificed]] by [[Greek Orthodox]] believers in some villages of Greece. It is specially associated to the feast of Saint [[Charalambos]]. This practice of [[kourbania]] has been repeatedly criticized by church authorities.

The ox is the symbol of [[Luke the Evangelist]].

Among the [[Visigoths]], the oxen [[translation (religion)|pulling the wagon with the corpse]] of [[Emilian of Cogolla|Saint Emilian]] lead to the correct burial site ([[San Millán de la Cogolla, La Rioja]]).

==Zoroastrianism== {{further|Vohu Manah|Gavaevodata}} The Zoroastrian term ''geush urva'' means "the spirit of the cow"; it is interpreted as the soul of the Earth. In the [[Gathas|Ahunavaiti Gatha]], [[Zoroaster]] accuses some of his co-religionists of abusing the cow<ref name=autogenerated1>Clark, ''Zoroastrianism'', p. 13.</ref> whereas [[Ahura Mazda]] had told Zoroaster to protect {{clarify|date=August 2025|reason=Who is "them"? If "cows" text may need minor grammar fix.|text=them}}. After fleeing from Iran into India, many Zoroastrians stopped eating beef out of respect for the sensibilities of the Hindus they were living with.<ref name=autogenerated1/>

Cattle breeding was a principle occupation in the lands occupied by [[Vedic]] priests and by Zoroaster.<ref>Vogelsang, ''The Afghans'', p. 63</ref> The 9th chapter of the ''[[Vendidad]]'' of the ''[[Avesta]]'' expounds the purificatory power of cow urine:<ref name=autogenerated2>Bhandarkar, ''Some Aspects of Ancient Indian Culture'', p. 72.</ref> It is declared to be a [[panacea]] for all bodily and moral evils<ref name=autogenerated2/> and features prominently in the 9 night purification ritual called ''[[Barashnûm]]''.

==Ancient societies==

=== Egypt === In [[ancient Egyptian religion]], bulls symbolized strength and male sexuality and were linked with aggressive deities such as [[Montu]] and virile deities such as [[Min (god)|Min]]. Some Egyptian cities kept [[sacred bull]]s that were said to be incarnations of divine powers, including the [[Mnevis bull]], [[Buchis bull]], and the [[Apis bull]], which was regarded as a manifestation of the god [[Ptah]] and was the most important sacred animal in Egypt. Cows were connected with fertility and motherhood. One of several [[ancient Egyptian creation myths]] said that a cow goddess, [[Mehet-Weret]], who represented the primeval waters that existed before creation, gave birth to the sun at the beginning of time. The sky was sometimes envisioned as a goddess in the form of a cow, and several goddesses, including [[Hathor]], [[Nut (goddess)|Nut]], and [[Neith]], were equated with this celestial cow.<ref>Pinch, Geraldine (2004). ''Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt''. Oxford University Press. pp. 105, 123–125, 163</ref>

The Egyptians did not regard cattle as uniformly positive. Wild bulls, regarded as symbols of the forces of chaos, could be hunted and ritually killed.<ref>Pinch, Geraldine (2004). ''Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt''. Oxford University Press. p. 124</ref>

=== Nubia === As cattle were a central part of the [[Pastoralism|pastoralist]] economy of Ancient Nubia, [[Africa]], they also played a prominent role in their culture and mythology, as evidenced by their inclusion in burials and [[rock art]]. Starting in the Neolithic period, cattle skulls, also known as [[Bucranium|bucrania]], were often placed alongside human burials. Bucrania were a status symbol, and they were used frequently in adult male burials, occasionally in adult female burials, and rarely in child burials.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dubosson |first=Jerome |title=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia |publisher=Oxford Academic |year=2021 |isbn=9780190496272 |editor-last=Emberling |editor-first=Geoff |pages=908–926 |chapter=Cattle Cultures in Ancient Nubia}}</ref> In cemeteries at [[Kerma]], there is a strong correlation between the number of bucrania and the quantity and lavishness of other grave goods.<ref>Chaix, L., & Grant, A. (1992). Cattle in ancient Nubia.</ref> Dozens if not hundreds of cattle were often slaughtered as tribute for the burial of one individual; 400 bucrania were found at one tumulus alone at Kerma.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chaix |first=Louis |date=2012 |title=Bucrania from the Eastern Cemetery at Kerma (Sudan) and the practice of cattle horn deformation |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265759481 |journal=Studies in African Archaeology |volume=11 |pages=189–212}}</ref> The use of cattle skulls rather than those of sheep or goats reveals the importance of cattle in their pastoral economy, as well as the cultural associations of cattle with wealth, prosperity, and passage into the afterlife. Sometimes complete cattle were buried alongside their owner, symbolic of their relationship continuing into the afterlife.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dubosson |first=Jérôme |date=2018-09-04 |title=The Deformation of Cattle Horn in Past and Present Societies |doi=10.2307/J.CTV1Q26WT1.85 |url=https://www.academia.edu/76674877}}</ref>

Beginning in the third millennium BCE, cattle became the most popular motif in Nubian rock art.<ref>Paner, Henryk. "Nubian Rock Art." in Geoff Emberling, and Bruce Beyer Williams (eds). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia (2021); online edn, Oxford Academic,13 Jan. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190496272.013.51.</ref> The bodies are usually depicted in profile, while the horns are facing forward. The length and shape of the horns and the pattern on the hide varied widely. Human silhouettes are often drawn alongside the cattle, symbolic of the important symbiotic relationship between cattle and humans. For pastoralists, drawing cattle may have also been a way to ensure the health of their herd. The role of cattle in Nubian mythology is more covert than in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] to the north, where several gods are often depicted as cattle; however, the significance of cattle in Nubian culture is evident in burial practices, understandings of the afterlife, and rock art.

=== Ancient Mediterranean Europe === {{further|Mithraism}} In [[Greek mythology]], [[the Cattle of Helios]] pastured on the island of [[Thrinacia]], which is believed to be modern [[Sicily]]. [[Helios]], the sun god, is said to have had seven herds of oxen, and seven flocks of sheep, each numbering fifty head. A [[hecatomb]] was a sacrifice of 100 cattle (''hekaton'' means "one hundred") to the gods Apollo, Athena, Hera, or Zeus.

The Greek gods also transformed themselves or others into cattle for deception or punishment, such as in the myths of [[Io (mythology)|Io]] and [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]]. In the myth of [[Pasiphaë]], she "falls in love" with a bull as punishment by [[Poseidon]], and consequently gives birth to the [[Minotaur]], a violent human-bull hybrid.

In the [[Prehistory of Anatolia|ancient Anatolian]] civilization [[Hattians|Hatti]], the [[Taru (god)|storm god]] was closely linked to a bull.<ref> {{cite journal |last=Ornan |first=Tallay |year=2001 |title=The bull and its two masters: Moon and storm deities in relation to the bull in ancient Near Eastern art |journal=[[Israel Exploration Journal]] |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=14–16 |jstor=27926951 |issn=0021-2059 }} </ref>

=== Ancient northern and central Europe === [[File:Tain Bo Cuailnge Mural (Desmond Kinney) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Finnbhennach (left) and Donn Cuailnge (right)]] [[Tarvos Trigaranus]] (the "bull with three cranes") is pictured on ancient [[Gauls|Gaulish]] reliefs alongside images of gods. There is evidence that ancient [[Celtic peoples]] sacrificed animals, which were almost always cattle or other livestock.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Miranda |author-link=Miranda Aldhouse-Green |title=Animals in Celtic Life and Myth |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |pages=94–96}}</ref> Early medieval Irish texts mention the ''tarbfeis'' (bull feast), a shamanistic ritual in which a bull would be sacrificed and a seer would sleep in the bull's hide to have a vision of the future king.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Hilda Ellis |author-link=Hilda Ellis Davidson |title=Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions |date=1988 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |page=51}}</ref>

Cattle appear often in [[Irish mythology]]. The [[Glas Gaibhnenn]] is a mythical prized cow that could produce plentiful supplies of milk, while [[Donn Cuailnge]] and [[Finnbhennach]] are prized bulls that play a central role in the epic ''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'' ("The [[Cattle raiding|Cattle Raid]] of Cooley"). The mythical lady [[Flidais]], the main figure in the ''[[Táin Bó Flidhais]]'', owns a herd of magical cattle.<ref>{{cite book |author=Monaghan, Patricia |title=The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2004 |page=197}}</ref> The name of the goddess of the [[River Boyne]], [[Boann|Bóinn]], comes from [[Archaic Irish]] ''*Bóu-vinda'' meaning the "bright or white cow";<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ó hÓgáin |first=Dáithí |author-link=Dáithí Ó hÓgáin |title=Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition |publisher=Prentice Hall |year=1991 |page=49}}</ref> while the name of the [[Corcu Loígde]] means "tribe of the calf goddess".

In [[Norse mythology]], the primeval cow [[Auðumbla]] suckled [[Ymir]], the ancestor of the [[frost giant]]s, and licked [[Búri]], [[Odin]]'s grandfather and ancestor of the [[Æsir|gods]], out of the ice.

==Modern day== [[File:Gosala in Guntur, India.jpg|thumb|A cow shelter (''[[goshala]]'') at [[Guntur]], India]] [[File:Well-loved cow, Delhi.jpg|thumb|A cow walking in Delhi]] Today, in [[Hindu]]-majority countries like India and Nepal, bovine milk holds a key part of religious rituals. For some, it is customary to boil milk on a stove or lead a cow through the house as part of a housewarming ceremony.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

===In India=== {{Main|Cattle slaughter in India}}

The Constitution of India mandates the protection of cows in India.<ref name="Margo" /> The slaughter of cattle is allowed with restrictions (like a 'fit-for-slaughter' certificate which may be issued depending on factors like age and gender of cattle, continued economic viability, etc.), but only for bulls and buffaloes and not cows in fourteen states. It is completely banned in six states with pending litigation in the supreme court to overturn the ban, while there is no restriction in many states.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dahd.nic.in/dahd/reports/report-of-the-national-commission-on-cattle/chapter-ii-executive-summary/annex-ii-8.aspx |title=ANNEX II (8) |publisher=Dahd.nic.in |date=30 August 1976 |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109104315/http://www.dahd.nic.in/dahd/reports/report-of-the-national-commission-on-cattle/chapter-ii-executive-summary/annex-ii-8.aspx |archive-date=9 November 2014}}</ref>

[[Gopastami]], a holiday celebrated by the [[Hinduism|Hindus]] once a year, is one of the few instances where cows receive prayers in modern-day India.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tadeusz|first1=Margul|title=Present Day Worship of the Cow in India|journal=ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials|year=1968|volume=15|issue=1|pages=63–80|publisher=Numen}}</ref> While the cow is still respected and honored by most of the Indian population, there has been controversy over the treatment of the cows during the holiday.

===In Nepal=== {{Rough translation|listed=yes|date=March 2023}} [[File:The Cow Worship.jpg|alt=A Nepali couple worships a cow and calf as Lakshmi on the day of Tihar festival.|thumb|A Nepali couple worships a cow at [[Tihar (festival)|Tihar Festival.]]]] In Nepal, a Hindu-majority country, slaughtering of cows and bulls is completely banned.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110703033241/http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=4+held+for+violating+ban+on+cow+slaughter&NewsID=293225 4 held for violating ban on cow slaughter], The Himalayan Times</ref> Cows are associated with the Goddess [[Lakshmi]] (goddess of wealth and prosperity). The Nepalese have a festival called [[Tihar (festival)|Tihar]] (Diwali) during which, on one day called Gaipuja, they perform prayers for cows.

According to a ''[[Lodi News-Sentinel]]'' news story written in the 1960s, in then contemporary [[Nepal]] an individual could serve three months in jail for killing a pedestrian, but one year for injuring a cow, and life imprisonment for killing a cow.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oegzAAAAIBAJ&dq=india%20cow%20killing%20life-imprisonment&pg=6924%2C2401380 |title=Injured cow in Nepal is serious matter |publisher=[[Yahoo! News]] |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2016}}

Cows roam freely and are sacred. Buffalo slaughtering was done in Nepal [[Animal sacrifice in Hinduism|at specific Hindu events]], such as at the [[Gadhimai festival]], last held in 2014.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8375591.stm | title = Devotees flock to Nepal animal sacrifice festival | author-link = Joanna Jolly | last = Jolly | first = Joanna | date = 24 November 2009 | work = [[BBC News]] | access-date = 24 November 2009}}</ref><ref name="nn">{{cite news|url=http://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/politics-archive/19-news/general/2577-over-20000-buffaloes-slaughtered-in-gadhimai-festival|title=Over 20,000 buffaloes slaughtered in Gadhimai festival|date=25 November 2009|work=NepalNews.com|access-date=25 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701064943/http://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/politics-archive/19-news/general/2577-over-20000-buffaloes-slaughtered-in-gadhimai-festival|archive-date=1 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2015, Nepal's temple trust on announced to cancel all future animal sacrifice at the country's Gadhimai festival.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ram Chandra|first1=Shah|title=Gadhimai Temple Trust Chairman, Mr Ram Chandra Shah, on the decision to stop holding animal sacrifices during the Gadhimai festival|url=http://www.hsi.org/assets/pdfs/gadhimai-temple-trust-statement-ram-chandra-shah.pdf|website=Humane Society International|access-date=29 July 2015}}</ref>

===In Myanmar=== The beef taboo is fairly widespread in Myanmar, particularly in the Buddhist community. In Myanmar, beef is typically obtained from cattle that are slaughtered at the end of their working lives (16 years of age) or from sick animals.<ref name="dev">{{cite book|last=Devendra|first=C.|author2=Devendra, C.|author3=Thomas, D.|author4=Jabbar, M.A.|author5=Kudo, H.|author6=Thomas, D.|author7=Jabbar, M.A.|author8=Kudo, H.|title=Improvement of livestock production in crop-animal systems in rainfed agro-ecological zones of South-East Asia|publisher=ILRI|page=33}}</ref> Cattle is rarely raised for meat; 58% of cattle in the country is used for draught animal power (DAP).<ref name="dev"/> Few people eat beef, and there is a general dislike of beef (especially among the [[Bamar]] and [[Burmese Chinese]]),<ref>{{cite book|last=Gesteland|first=Richard R.|author2=Georg F. Seyk|title=Marketing across cultures in Asia|publisher=Copenhagen Business School Press DK|year=2002|page=156|isbn=978-87-630-0094-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=U Khin Win|title=A century of rice improvement in Burma|publisher=International Rice Research Institute|year=1991|pages=27, 44|isbn=978-971-22-0024-3}}</ref> although it is more commonly eaten in regional cuisines, particularly those of ethnic minorities like the [[Kachin people|Kachin]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Meyer |first=Arthur L.|author2=Jon M. Vann|title=The Appetizer Atlas: A World of Small Bites|url=https://archive.org/details/appetizeratlaswo00meye_331 |url-access=limited |publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=2003|page=[https://archive.org/details/appetizeratlaswo00meye_331/page/n293 276]|isbn=978-0-471-41102-4}}</ref> Buddhists, when giving up meat during the Buddhist ([[Vassa]]) or [[Uposatha]] days, will forego beef first.<ref>{{cite book|last=Simoons|first=Frederick J.|title=Eat not this flesh: food avoidances from prehistory to the present|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|year=1994|page=120|isbn=978-0-299-14254-4}}</ref> Almost all butchers are Muslim because of the Buddhist doctrine of [[ahimsa]] (no harm).<ref>{{cite book |title=Buddhism and society: a great tradition and its Burmese vicissitudes |last=Spiro |first=Melford |year=1982 |page=46 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-04672-2}}</ref>

During the country's last dynasty, the [[Konbaung dynasty]], habitual consumption of beef was punishable by public [[flogging]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hardiman|first=John Percy|title=Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States|publisher=Government of Burma|year=1900|volume=2|pages=93–94}}</ref>

In 1885, [[Ledi Sayadaw]], a prominent [[Buddhist monk]] wrote the ''Nwa-myitta-sa'' ({{lang|my|နွားမေတ္တာစာ}}), a poetic prose letter that argued that Burmese Buddhists should not kill cattle and eat beef, because Burmese farmers depended on them as beasts of burden to maintain their livelihoods, that the marketing of beef for human consumption threatened the extinction of buffalo and cattle, and that the practice was ecologically unsound.<ref name="mc">{{cite book|last=Charney|first=Michael|title=A history of natural resources in Asia: the wealth of nature|url=https://archive.org/details/historynaturalre00bank|url-access=limited|editor=Greg Bankoff, P. Boomgaard|publisher=MacMillan|year=2007|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historynaturalre00bank/page/n252 236]–40|chapter=Demographic Growth, Agricultural Expansion and Livestock in the Lower Chindwin in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries|isbn=978-1-4039-7736-6}}</ref> He subsequently led successful beef boycotts during the colonial era, despite the presence of beef eating among locals, and influenced a generation of Burmese nationalists in adopting this stance.<ref name="mc"/>

On 29 August 1961, the [[Hluttaw|Burmese Parliament]] passed the State Religion Promotion Act of 1961, which explicitly banned the slaughtering of cattle nationwide (beef became known as ''todo tha'' ({{lang|my|တိုးတိုးသား}}); lit. hush hush meat).<ref>{{cite book|last=King|first=Winston L.|title=In the hope of Nibbana: the ethics of Theravada Buddhism|publisher=Pariyatti|year=2001|volume=2|page=295|isbn=978-1-928706-08-3}}</ref> Religious groups, such as Muslims, were required to apply for exemption licenses to slaughter cattle on religious holidays. This ban was repealed a year later, after [[Ne Win]] led a [[1962 Burmese coup d'état|coup d'état]] and declared martial law in the country.

===In Sri Lanka=== In [[Sri Lanka]], in May 2013, 30-year-old Buddhist monk Bowatte Indrarathana Thera of the Sri Sugatha Purana Vihara self immolated to protest the government allowing religious minorities to slaughter cows.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dailymirror.lk/print/opinion/fervour-that-ended-in-a-fatal-fire/172-30146 | title=Fervour that ended in a fatal fire }}</ref>

===China=== [[File:Miao zhuiniu ritual 2016 03.jpg|thumb|Cattle sacrifice ceremony in [[Miao folk religion]]]] A beef taboo in [[History of China|ancient China]] was historically a dietary restriction, particularly among the [[Han Chinese]], as oxen and buffalo (bovines) are useful in farming and are respected.<ref>{{cite book|last=Katz|first=Paul R.|title=Divine justice: religion and the development of Chinese legal culture|publisher=Taylor & Francis US|year=2008|series=Academia Sinica on East Asia|page=56|isbn=978-0-415-44345-6}}</ref> During the [[Zhou dynasty]], they were not often eaten, even by emperors.<ref>[[Classic of Rites]]</ref> Some emperors banned killing cows.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://economy.guoxue.com/article.php/9477|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813121422/http://economy.guoxue.com/article.php/9477|url-status=dead|title=民間私營養牛業(附私營牧駝業)|archivedate=13 August 2007}}</ref><ref>[http://www.eywedu.com/Huizuyanjiu/hzyj2007/hzyj20070208.html Huizuyanjiu] eywedu.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710213250/http://www.eywedu.com/Huizuyanjiu/hzyj2007/hzyj20070208.html |date=10 July 2011 }}</ref> Beef is not recommended in [[Chinese medicine]], as it is considered a hot food and is thought to disrupt the body's internal balance.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hutton|first=Wendy|title=Singapore food|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|year=2007|page=144|isbn=978-981-261-321-9}}</ref>

In written sources (including anecdotes and Daoist liturgical texts), this taboo first appeared in the 9th to 12th centuries ([[Tang dynasty|Tang]]-[[Song dynasty|Song]] transition, with the advent of pork meat.<ref name="ster">{{cite book|last=Sterckx|first=Roel|title=Of tripod and palate: food, politics and religion in traditional China – Chapter 11, The Beef Taboo and the Sacrificial Structure of Late Imperial Chinese Society, Vincent Goossaert|url=https://archive.org/details/tripodpalatefood00ster|url-access=limited|publisher=Macmillan|year=2005|pages=[https://archive.org/details/tripodpalatefood00ster/page/n245 237]–248|isbn=978-1-4039-6337-6}}</ref>) By the 16th to 17th centuries, the beef taboo had become well accepted in the framework of Chinese morality and was found in morality books (善書), with several books dedicated exclusively to this taboo.<ref name="ster"/> The beef taboo came from a Chinese perspective that relates the respect for animal life and vegetarianism (ideas shared by [[Buddhism]], [[Confucianism]], and [[Daoism]], and state protection for draught animals.<ref name="ster"/>) In Chinese society, only ethnic and religious groups not fully assimilated (such as the Muslim [[Hui people|Huis]] and the [[Miao people|Miao]]) and foreigners consumed this meat.<ref name="ster"/> This taboo, among Han Chinese, led [[Islam in China|Chinese Muslims]] to create a niche for themselves as butchers who specialized in slaughtering oxen and buffalo.<ref>{{cite book|last=Elverskog|first=Johan |title=Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road|url=https://archive.org/details/buddhismislamons00elve|url-access=limited|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=2010|page=[https://archive.org/details/buddhismislamons00elve/page/n245 240]|isbn=978-0-8122-4237-9}}</ref>

Occasionally, some cows seen [[crying|weeping]] before slaughter are often released to temples nearby.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/090423/4/bu1m.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605000305/http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/090423/4/bu1m.html|url-status=dead|title=慈雲閣——看靈牛遊地獄|archivedate=5 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/cow-begs-to-be-spared-from-slaughter-in-heartbreaking-video-2161325|title=Cow 'Begs' To Be Spared From Slaughter In Heartbreaking Video|website=NDTV.com}}</ref>

===Taiwan=== Due to water buffalo being the primary working animal for farming, beef consumption was generally considered a taboo in early 20th century. This gradually changed with [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Japanese rule]], the [[retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan]], the mechanization of farming, and the economy transitioning away from farming. Most Taiwanese people today consume beef, although some have maintained the tradition.<ref>{{cite web|date=2018-05-14|title=From Taboo to Treasure: Beef in Taiwan|publisher=The News Lens|access-date=2021-02-13|author=Steven Crook, Katy Hui-wen Hung|url=https://international.thenewslens.com/article/95435}}</ref>

===Japan=== [[File:Shingyu.jpg|thumb|Shingyu (divine-ranking bulls) statue in Kyoto, Japan]] Historically, there was a beef taboo in [[ancient Japan]], as a means of protecting the livestock population and due to Buddhist influence.<ref name="cwi">{{cite book|last=Cwiertka|first=Katarzyna Joanna|title=Modern Japanese cuisine: food, power, and national identity|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2006|isbn=978-1-86189-298-0}}</ref> Meat-eating had long been taboo in Japan, beginning with a decree in 675 that banned the consumption of cattle, horses, dogs, monkeys, and chickens, influenced by the Buddhist prohibition of killing.<ref name="lien">{{cite book|last=Lien|first=Marianne E.|author2=Brigitte Nerlich|title=The politics of food|url=https://archive.org/details/politicsfood00lien|url-access=limited|publisher=Berg|year=2004|pages=[https://archive.org/details/politicsfood00lien/page/n136 125]–127|isbn=978-1-85973-853-5}}</ref> In 1612, the shōgun declared a decree that specifically banned the killing of cattle.<ref name="lien"/>

This official prohibition was in place until 1872, when it was officially proclaimed that [[Emperor Meiji]] consumed beef and mutton, which transformed the country's dietary considerations as a means of modernizing the country, particularly with regard to consumption of beef.<ref name="lien"/> With contact from Europeans, beef increasingly became popular, even though it had previously been considered barbaric.<ref name="cwi"/>

Several shrines and temples are decorated with cow figurines, which are believed to cure illnesses when stroked.

===Indonesia=== In [[Kudus Regency|Kudus]], Indonesia, [[Muslim]]s still maintain the tradition of not slaughtering or eating cows, out of respect for their ancestors, some of whom were [[Hindu]]s, allegedly imitating [[Sunan Kudus]] who also did as such.

==Leather== In religiously diverse countries, leather vendors are typically careful to clarify the kinds of leather used in their products. For example, leather shoes will bear a label identifying the animal from which the leather was taken. In this way, a [[Muslim]] would not accidentally purchase [[leather|pigskin]] leather,<ref>"Global Business Strategies: Text and Cases" by U.C. Mathur, p.219</ref> and a [[Hindu]] could avoid [[cow]] leather. Many Hindus who are vegetarians will not use any kind of leather.

[[Judaism]] forbids the wearing of shoes made with leather on [[Yom Kippur]], [[Tisha B'Av]], and during mourning.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/281605/jewish/Wearing-Shoes.htm |title=Wearing Shoes – Mourning Observances of Shiva and Sheloshim |publisher=Chabad.org |access-date=2009-10-20}}</ref>

[[Jainism]] prohibits the use of leather because it is obtained by killing cattle.

==See also== {{Div col|colwidth=22em}} *[[1966 anti-cow slaughter agitation]] *[[Ahir]] *[[Bat (goddess)]] *[[Bull (mythology)]] *[[Bull-leaping]] *[[Bull of Heaven]] *{{annotated link|Bull worship}} *[[El (deity)]] *[[Etiquette of Indian dining]] *[[Food and drink prohibitions]] *[[Gangotri (cow)]] *[[Kamadhenu]] *[[Khnum]] *[[Minotaur]] *[[Nandi (bull)]] *[[Naqada III]] *[[Cow Hugging Therapy]] *[[Ophiotaurus]] *[[Panchamrita]] *[[Shambo]] *[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]] *[[Tarvos Trigaranus]] *[[Vegetarianism and religion]] *[[Zebu]], the common breed of cow from India {{div col end}}

==Notes== {{reflist|group=note}}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography=== *{{ Citation |last= Achaya |first= K. T. |title= A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food |year= 2002 |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 0-19-565868-X}} *{{ Citation |last= Sethna |first= K. D. |author-link= K. D. Sethna |title= The Problem of Aryan Origins |year= 1980 |publication-date= 1992 |isbn= 81-85179-67-0|title-link= The Problem of Aryan Origins }} *{{ Citation |last= Shaffer |first= Jim G. |author-link= Jim Shaffer |chapter= Cultural tradition and Palaeoethnicity in South Asian Archaeology |title= The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia |editor-last= Erdosy |editor-first= George |year= 1995 |publisher= Walter de Gruyter |isbn= 3-11-014447-6}} *{{ Citation |last= Shaffer |first= Jim G. |author-link= Jim Shaffer |chapter= Migration, Philology and South Asian Archaeology |title= The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia |editor-last= Bronkhorst |editor-first= Johannes | editor-link = Johannes Bronkhorst |editor2-last= Deshpande |editor2-first= Madhav |year= 1999 |publisher= Harvard University, Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies | isbn= 1-888789-04-2}}

==External links== *{{Commons category-inline}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cattle in Religion}} [[Category:Animal worship]] [[Category:Hinduism and cattle]] [[Category:Cattle in religion| ]] [[Category:Mammals in Buddhism]] [[Category:Vegetarianism and religion]]