3rd year computer science major, hoping to do 5 year BS/MS program at UCSD :) Next quarter I'm studying abroad in Costa Rica studying tropical biology and conservation in the rainforest! I'm super excited.

My interests:

• Computer Science

• Humanities (anthropology, history, literature)

• Cognitive Science

• Rock Climbing

• Bioinformatics

By Aidan Bell

Feasting is a ritualized form of eating that is usually associated with celebration and social gatherings. It is a widespread practice in many cultures, often involving a large amount of food that is shared among family members, friends, or community members. Feasting events can be a euphemism for competition in comparison with other forms of gaining symbolic capital such as gift-giving, magic, etc. Feasting subtly "euphemizes the self-interested nature of the process and creates a shared 'sincere fiction' (in Bourdieu's phrase, 1990: 112) of disinterested generosity." (Dietler, 2011). Some ways in which hierarchy can be subtly and sometimes invisibly enforced in feasting include spatial (e.g., where people sit), temporal (e.g., serving order), qualitative (kinds of food people get), quantitative (quantity of foods people get), and behavioral (e.g., being allowed to talk while eating). (Dietler, 2011)

Potlaches are a type of competitive feast found among the native peoples of southern Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington state. It is concerned with displaying and transferring social privileges that confer status and prestige; it is also about divine-human interaction and the interconnectedness of the cosmos as conceived by a primarily hunting and fishing society. Hunted animals are thought to rely on ceremonies that take place during a potlatch (consisting of consuming parts of the animal) for reincarnation to occur. Potlatches range from small feasts to week-long events, can take as long as 17 years to prepare for, and involve a complex system of social and economic exchange. By eating generously of the provided food and accepting the gifts distributed by the host, the guests are formally witnessing and acceding to the host's claims to possess the rights to particular prestigious titles, dances, and masks.

The practice of Potlatching actually increased with colonialism. The colonial authorities outlawed the traditional tribal warfare, making potlatching one of the few means of competition between people. In this colonial-like situation, the potlatch actually became more widespread and elaborate, eventually emerging as the principal means to establish one's rights to a hereditary position, which were more available than ever before due to the great decline in population. Then, from 1884 to 1951 Canada banned potlatching in an assimilation attempt. Native people who participated in potlatching were arrested, fined, and imprisoned. (Fieldhouse, 2017)

The Indonesian ritual feast known as the Slametan is a core ritual in Javanese religion. This feast is characterized by strong egalitarian values, and is given to celebrate many life events, such as marriage, birth, death, or moving to a new house. Selection of guests is based entirely on proximity, not friends/relatives, and guests are told the event is happening only 5-10 minutes before the event starts, and are compelled to drop what they are doing to attend. After only a few minutes of eating guests leave and finish eating at home – the whole ceremony is only 10-15 minutes (Bell 1997). In Nepal, the Raute people have egalitarian monthly feasts, whose purpose is to redistribute food and remedy any social problems or rifts that have occurred in the last month. The only distinctions between people such as seating positions or types of food people can eat are between Raute and non-Raute people, who eat with different utensils (Fortier 2009). These examples challenge the heuristic that feasting is “always competitive”.

All in all, feasting seeks to create community and bring people into connection with religious entities through investment in the material world, and the satisfaction of base human desires through indulgence

An incredibly famous and widespread feasting ritual is the Ramadan fast. In Islam, Ramadan is one of the five pillars of the faith and requires all able-bodied Muslims to fast from sunrise to sunset for the entire month. The fast is not only a spiritual obligation but also an opportunity for Muslims to experience the pangs of hunger and to understand the plight of the less fortunate. Rich and poor Muslims alike experience the pangs of hunger, resulting in what participants describe as a unifying experience that teaches piety and self restraint. (Bell, 1997, p 125) At the end of Ramadan, everyone who has the economic means must make a donation to the poor, further emphasizing the importance of equality and community.

Similarly, in Christianity, Lent is a 40-day period of communal fasting and penance that prepares Christians for the celebration of Easter. During Lent, Christians are encouraged to abstain from consuming animal products and to focus on spiritual growth and introspection. There is a prevalent thematic focus on abstaining from worldly pleasures. This period is observed by many Christian denominations, including Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. The 40-day duration of Lent is meant to reflect the 40 days that Jesus spent fasting in the desert before beginning his public ministry. (Fieldhouse, 2017) 

However, not all forms of fasting are communal. Individualized fasting has become a popular trend in modern Western society, often associated with weight loss and personal health goals. There are broad cross-cultural individualistic fasting practices, however, for example in Buddhism and Hinduism, where fasting is thought to help one gain control over bodily senses, learn distinction between “bodily greed and bodily need”. In Hinduism, fasting is also used as repentance for sin “avoid negative karmic consequences”, or to show devotion in hopes of receiving boon from deity (Fieldhouse, 2017). While the motivations behind individualized fasting may vary, the practice has become a controversial topic in modern America due to the potential harm it may cause to individuals, especially women.

Sallekhana is a ritual of voluntary death by starvation practiced in Jainism. It is considered to be a highly respected practice and is undertaken by the Jain ascetics, who have renounced all worldly pleasures and possessions. Sallekhana is seen as a way to purify the soul, to attain liberation from the cycle of birth and death, and to achieve moksha or enlightenment. The ritual involves gradually reducing the intake of food and water until death occurs naturally. While from a western perspective this practice may seem extreme or horrifying, it is important to recognize its significance in the context of Jainism and the beliefs and values of its followers. (Bell, 1997)

In a culture that values dominance of the mind over the senses and associates women with the body and its appetite, the burden of control falls particularly strongly on women. The glorification of thinness and the idealization of a specific body type have led to the rise of eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder. 

In summary, Feasting is profoundly rooted in the material world, and builds connections of gratitude between people through sharing food – while fasting rejects the material world and instead values the individual mental challenge of abstaining from a base human need. Overindulgence in either feasting or fasting leads to grave consequences. Overindulgence in feasting leads to a never ending chase of physical pleasures and materials/foods to gorge on with others. highly valuing feasting likely inevitably leads to hierarchies, as people amass social capital from feasting, and begin to focus on accumulating material wealth for the purposes of feasting. On the other hand, overindulgence in fasting leads to death – complete disconnection with the physical plane. Observing feasting and fasting practices in cultures gives us insight into their cultural values. Take the practice of Sallekhana in Jainism – they value spiritual fulfillment so highly that death is acceptable in pursuit of it. In contrast, the native peoples of British Columbia will prepare for a potlatch for up to 17 years, making a potlatch one of the defining highlights of their life. For them this moment of excess material goods, dance, and indulgence is the most respected state in their culture. Understanding the differences between these rituals provides insight into the core values and morals of cultures. The dichotomy of feasting and fasting shows echoes of an eternal human question: is the mind (soul) or the body (sensations, physical world) more important? How people answer this question has profound implications on the way they live their lives as humans!