Yengeni bull slaughter defended
January 25 2007 at 02:35PM
Criticism of the ritual slaughter of a bull by Tony Yengeni violated the Constitution, the Cultural, Religion and Linguistic rights Commission said on Thursday.
Of concern was South Africans' ignorance of each others' beliefs and practices Commission chairperson Mongezi Guma said.
As a result, there was a tendency to undermine culture and religion, with the imposition of western ideological practices on indigenous practices, he said.
"It is ethnocentric and undermining to hide behind animal rights and deny human beings their rights to uphold and practice their cultures and religions.
"Even more serious is the temptation to violate the Constitution, which protects the cultural and religious rights of all who live in South Africa," Guma said.
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The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has indicated that it intends investigating criminal charges against Yengeni for spearing the bull before it was slaughtered at his parent's home in Guguletu at the weekend.
The slaughter was part of a cleansing ritual following his recent release from prison after serving four months of a four year sentence for fraud.
Cultural practices dictated that the bull be prodded with a spear to make it burp - a symbol that the ancestors were accepting the ritual.
"There is a saying in Xhosa that if the bull does not burp during a ritual it must be released, so it is important for the bull to burp before it slaughtered," said Commissioner Nokuzola
Mndende.
The Commission has called for talks with the SPCA over the way in which animals are slaughtered in various cultures and religion. - Sapa
