Chicken

A chicken (Gallus gallus) is a type of domesticated bird which is often raised as a type of poultry. It is believed to be descended from the wild Asian Red Junglefowl.

Chickens in religion

In Indonesia the chicken has great significance during the Hindu cremation ceremony. A chicken is a channel for evil spirits which may be present during the ceremony. A chicken is tethered by the leg and kept present at the ceremony for the duration to ensure that any evil spirits present during the ceremony go into the chicken and not the family members present. The chicken is then taken home and returns to its normal life. It is not treated in any special way or slaughtered after the ceremony.

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In ancient Greece, the chicken was not normally used for sacrifices, perhaps because it was still considered an exotic animal. Because of its valour, cocks are found as attributes of Ares, Heracles and Athena. The Greeks believed that even lions were afraid of cocks. Several of Aesop's Fables reference this belief.

Related Topics:
Ares - Heracles - Athena - Aesop's Fables

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In the cult of Mithras, the cock was a symbol of the divine light and a guardian against evil.

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In the Bible, Jesus prophesied the betrayal by Peter: "And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." (Luke 22:43) Thus it happened (Luke 22:61), and Peter cried bitterly. This made the cock a symbol for both vigilance and betrayal.

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Earlier, Jesus compares himself to a mother hen: "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:37; also Luke 13:34).

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In many Central European folk tales, the devil is believed to flee at the first crowing of a cock.

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In some sects of Orthodox Judaism a chicken is slaughtered on the afternoon before Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) in a ceremony called kappores. Although not actually a sacrifice in the biblical sense, the death of the chicken reminds the penitent sinner that his or her life is in God's hands. A woman brings a hen to be slaughtered, a man brings a rooster. The meat is donated to the poor.

Related Topics:
Orthodox Judaism - Yom Kippur - Kappores

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The Talmud speaks of learning "courtesy toward one's mate" from the rooster. This might refer to the fact that, when a rooster finds something good to eat, he calls his hens to eat first.

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The chicken is one of the Zodiac symbols of the Chinese calendar.

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