Sat Nam!
I don't know if this is the correct area, since I'm still new to navigating this site, let alone writing topics on here.
As the thread title says: Can Sikhs say grace over (already cooked) food, or does this turn the food that is to be eaten into kutha?
For example, let's say a Sikhi goes to visit his aunt or sister in law or something, and she is a devout Christian. She makes some food (I don't know what to use as an example, spaghetti bolognese, or bangers and mash), and asks the Sikhi to say grace. Can s/he, or does that make all of the food kutha, especially the meat?
If a Sikhi is not permitted to do this, would they be allowed to sit in silence and listen to another say grace, and then eat the food?
Is kutha meat only when an animal has been killed in a ritualistic manner, or does it extend to something more?
Sorry to ask such a strange question, but it's something I'm curious of.
Ok lets define Kuttha first.
From an article at Wikipedia:
Kutha meat
Kutha (Kuttha) meat is defined as "meat of animal or fowl slaughtered slowly as prescribed by
Islamic law."
[1]. It has been more broadly defined as "killing an animal with a prayer"
[2] or "a sacrifice to God"
[2].
There are two views on Kutha meat as defined below, the Sikh view, which sees Kutha as that which has been "
sacrificed", and the
Hindu view which views Kutha as a means of repression, and a non-
Hindu Aryan method of slaughter.
Kutha and Sikhs
Eating Kutha Meat for a Baptised Sikh is considered to be one of the 4 Cardinal Sins
[3]. These 4 sins are part of the Sikh Code of Conduct (Rehit Maryada).In the Rehit Marayada
[4],Section Six, it states: The undermentioned four transgressions (tabooed practices) must be avoided:
- Dishonouring the hair;
- Eating the meat of an animal slaughtered the Kutha way;
- Cohabiting with a person other than one's spouse;
- Using tobacco.
The reason for Sikhs avoiding Kutha "does not lie in religious tenet but in the view that killing an animal with a prayer is not going to enoble the flesh."
[2] There is another view that Guru Gobind Singh (the tenth Sikh Guru), instructed his Sikhs not to eat Kutha meat, in order to boycott the Moghul Empire.
[5][6]
Kutha and Hinduism
During Mughal times Hindus viewed
Kutha as creating "spiritual weakness among Hindus"
[7]. Also according to Mughal Law of the time, "Hindus were neither permitted to keep weapons at home nor allowed to cook and eat any form of meat"
[8]. As a result of this many Hindus too will not eat "Kutha". In addition to this according "to the ancient Aryan Hindu tradition, only such meat as is obtained from an animal which is killed with one stroke of the weapon causing instantaneous death is fit for human consumption"
[2].
Jhatka
The prescribed method of slaughter for animals for Sikhs and Hindus is
Jhatka, which is seen as the opposite to Kutha.
References
- ^ Punjabi-English Dictionary, Punjabi University, Dept. of Punjabi Lexicography, ISBN 8173800952; Hardcover; 2002-10-01
- ^ a b c d Sikhs and Sikhism, Dr. I.J.Singh, Manohar Publishers ISBN 8173040583
- ^ Sikh Code of Conduct Web Site
- ^ ibid
- ^ The tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, prohibited the Sikhs from the consumption of halal or Kutha meat in order to boycott the Mogul Empire.
- ^ Kala Afghana on Non-Vegetarianism
- ^ ibid
- ^ ibid
So for a Sikh "Kuttha" is basically that which has been sacrificed in the name of God. Basically a form of appeasement.
Now look at Jhatka:
Jhatka
Jhatka or
Chatka meat (
Hindi झटका,
Punjabi: ਝਟਕਾ
jhaṭkā, from Sanskrit
ghātaka "killing") is meat from an animal which has been killed by a single strike of a sword or axe to sever the head, as opposed to Jewish
kosher or Islamic
halal in which the animal is killed by ritually slicing the throat.
This kills the animal immediately because the spinal cord is severed, and the blood flow to the brain is stopped almost instantly, causing brain death within seconds. Therefore the method is adopted as being the less painful to the animal than other methods.
Hindus and Jhatka
Historically and currently, those
Hindus who eat
meat prescribe jhatka meat. This is the a common method of slaughter if
animal sacrifices are made to some Hindu deities, however
Vedic rituals such as
Agnicayana involved the strangulation of sacrificial goats.
Shaivite Hindus engage in jhatka methods as part of religious dietary laws, as influenced by the
Shakti doctrines, which permit the consumption of meat (except
beef, which is universally proscribed in Hinduism). The
Vaishnavite denomination of Hinduism disallows the consumption of meat, and their relative demographic predominance over the Shaivites leads to the
stereotype that all Hindus are vegetarian. During
Durga Puja and
Kali Puja among Shaivite Hindus in
Punjab,
Bengal and
Kashmir, Jhatka meat is the required meat for practising Shaivite Hindus.
Jhatka Meat and Sikhs
Sikhs are recommended to eat Jhatka meat,
[1] as they do not believe any ritual gives meat a spiritual virtue (ennobles the flesh).
[2][3] Another reason Sikhs do not eat
halal meat is due to determining to change to it being a prerequisite for conversion to
Islam.
Availability of Jhatka Meat
In India, there are many Jhatka shops, with various bylaws
[4] requiring shops to display clearly, that they sell Jhatka meat.
In the past, there has been little availability of Jhatka meat in the United Kingdom, so people have found themselves eating other types of meat.
[5] Jhatka has become more widely available in the United Kingdom nowadays.
[6].
References
- ^ 10 Misconception Regarding Sikhs
- ^ Singh, I. J., Sikhs and Sikhism ISBN 8173040583 And one semitic practice clearly rejected in the Sikh code of conduct is eating flesh of an animal cooked in ritualistic manner; this would mean kosher and halal meat. The reason again does not lie in religious tenet but in the view that killing an animal with a prayer is not going to enoble the flesh. No ritual, whoever conducts it, is going to do any good either to the animal or to the diner. Let man do what he must to assuage his hunger. If what he gets, he puts to good use and shares with the needy, then it is well used and well spent, otherwise not.
- ^ Mini Encyclopaedia of Sikhism by H.S. Singha, Hemkunt Press, Delhi.ISBN 8170102006 The practice of the Gurus is uncertain. Guru Nanak seems to have eaten venison or goat, depending upon different janamsakhi versions of a meal which he cooked at Kurukshetra which evoked the criticism of Brahmins. Guru Amardas ate only rice and lentils but this abstention cannot be regarded as evidence of vegetarianism, only of simple living. Guru Gobind Singh also permitted the eating of meat but he prescribed that it should be Jhatka meat and not Halal meat that is jagged in the Muslim fashion.
- ^ http://www.ajmermc.org/PDF/MeatByelaws1963.pdf
- ^ [1] Sikh Women in England
- ^ Food safety and quality assurance: foods of animal origin By William T. Hubbert Page 254
So for Sikhs Jhatka is seen as something that does not appease.
I hope this answers your question.