Marvin Harris: Summary And Analysis

In the second chapter of Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches by Marvin Harris, Harris puts across the viewpoint of pigs; furthermore, with the hatred and love had for them. Culture is solely based off of different traditions and legends that have been passed down through centuries of time, some of which we might not entirely agree with. Unlike the cow’s in the Hindu Culture, pigs are not always worshiped. In other cultures, specific items or living beings might have different meaning to one another, which in this, case the pigs are apart of this cultural materialism where they are both loved and hated by many. In the Jewish religion, the book of Leviticus and Genesis state the ancient Hebrew god “went out of his way to denounce the pig as unclean,

So would “dogs and chickens”, which for the most part there is no religious abhorrence against these animals. To conclude his argument, he states that If there is some standard of cleanliness being advocated, why then does “the Bible classify locusts and grasshoppers as “clean”’ (p.37). On the contrary end of things, Harris explains the lesser known traditions of “Pig Lovers”. He continues saying that the land of New Guinea has applicable climate for pig farming, also calling it the “the pig-loving center of the world” (p.36). Like the Hindus pigs are seen as a spiritual. Correspondingly, the tribespeople breed them to excess for nearly a decade at a time, but instead of worshiping them, they will slaughter almost every one in order to conduct a giant feast in search of tribal allies. Battles will be fought and lands will be conquered, leaving the tribes with new patches of forest for agricultural use. During the process of rebuilding, the new farms are being set up and preparations made for the next great feast, the old farms will be granted a sufficient resting period so that they may be re-conquered and reused decades