Theophagy
From RationalWiki
Theophagy means "god-eating", and it refers to the practice of ritually eating what the eater believes to be the flesh of a deity. The practice is believed to have derived from earlier forms of ritual cannibalism, in which the descendants of a deceased person would ritually eat parts of the body of the deceased, so that the "spirit" and qualities of former generations could be passed on to the following ones.
[edit] Types of theophagy
Notable theophagic religions:
- Christianity - specifically Catholicism, and the transubstantiation of the eucharist following communion. Bread and wine is blessed, which they believe then actually turns into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, which is then consumed. And eating Jesus is required, you mustn’t simply walk out with the host and not get round to eating it. Most other denominations (and plenty of Catholic followers) take this to be metaphorical only.
- Cthulhu - When stars align properly, elder gods eat you. (If you hold your mouth right, you may be among the first to be eaten.)
- Lakota - (Native American plains tribe, one of the Sioux Nation) The Sioux in general believed they eat the spirit of the animal when they eat its flesh, generating many formal and 'daily' or 'casual' rituals and traditions to show respect to the dead ancestor spirit.
- Salish - (a northwestern coastal Native American tribe) The Salish believe the salmon is a god, as is the deer, and they must return the bones to the water to not bring harm to the family for eating the god.
- Mexica (Aztecs) - famous for their ritual sacrifices, they would often kill a man wearing a costume of a particular god. They ate his heart, thus eating the god. They also thought that eating a respected enemy would endow them with the powers of that enemy's god.
- Flying Spaghetti Monster - their god is not technically eaten by the followers; it's just that their god is naturally "edible" without any of that transubstantiation woo. Or whatever.