For the same reason
Catholics partake of the Eucharist fasting; and among the pastoral
Masai of Eastern Africa the young warriors, who live on meat and
milk exclusively, are obliged to eat nothing but milk for so many
days and then nothing but meat for so many more, and before they
pass from the one food to the other they must make sure that none of
the old food remains in their stomachs; this they do by swallowing a
very powerful purgative and emetic.
In some of the festivals which we have examined, the sacrament of
first-fruits is combined with a sacrifice or presentation of them to
gods or spirits, and in course of time the sacrifice of first-fruits
tends to throw the sacrament into the shade, if not to supersede it.
The mere fact of offering the first-fruits to the gods or spirits
comes now to be thought a sufficient preparation for eating the new
corn; the higher powers having received their share, man is free to
enjoy the rest. This mode of viewing the new fruits implies that
they are regarded no longer as themselves instinct with divine life,
but merely as a gift bestowed by the gods upon man, who is bound to
express his gratitude and homage to his divine benefactors by
returning to them a portion of their bounty.
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