among them, all the gods spat into a jar, and from this mix-
ture Kvasir was created. He was so wise that there was no
question he could not answer. Later he was slain by two
dwarfs who mixed his blood with honey and concocted the
mead of inspiration. By cunning, the high god Odin swal-
lowed every drop of the mead, changed himself into an eagle,
and returned to the waiting gods, who were holding out ves-
sels for Odin once again to spit out the mead. A drink of this
mead bestowed the gift of poetry on men. On his flight back,
however, Odin had lost some of the mead when pursued by
a giant who had also assumed the form of an eagle. This part
of the mead became known as the fool-poet’s portion.
In this myth, the holy spittle and blood have become
identical, one being transformed into the other. Mead,
blood, and spittle are three familiar sources of inspiration,
here combined in one myth. The Norse gods’ making a cove-
nant by spitting is related to the custom of becoming blood
brothers. Similarly, to spit into each other’s mouth is a way
to pledge friendship in East Africa.
To transmit something of themselves, holy persons in
their blessings will use some form of physical contact.
Muh:ammad spat into the mouth of his grandson H:asan at
his birth. Similarly, at ordination the priest or exorcist in an-
cient Babylon acquired his powers by having his mouth spat
into, presumably receiving the spittle of the god. Among the
Luba of present-day Zaire, a candidate being initiated into
the order of sorcerers drinks a brew containing spittle from
each of the elders; he becomes, thereby, not only blessed with
their power but also placed forever under their control.
The role of saliva as a part of healing is well known all
over the world. Sometimes the emphasis is on the curative
effect of the spittle itself, which is known from the fact that
wounds in the mouth heal faster. The observation of wild
animals licking their wounds added to this belief. Spittle of
people fasting is widely reported to be particularly effective,
and it has even been thought strong enough to kill snakes.
Particular significance has been attributed to the spittle
of people with unique powers. In his healing, Muh:ammad
mixed clay with spittle. Similarly, Christ made mud of spittle
and clay and anointed the eyes of a blind man, thus restoring
his sight. When he spat and touched the tongue of a mute
(presumably with saliva) the man could speak. Conferring
power of speech on an object spat upon is found in many
folk tales.
Sickness is often considered a form of possession by de-
mons who can be exorcised by spitting. In the Babar archi-
pelago of Indonesia, all the sick people expectorate into a
bowl that is then placed in a boat to be carried out to sea.
In one Buddhist tale, even sins and misfortunes vanish, if one
spits upon a holy ascetic.
Spittle is also a protective agent. In southern Europe,
praise is sometimes accompanied by spitting to avert the evil
eye. Fear of the gods’ envy makes some people spit three
times, since three is a lucky number. Seeing a black cat or
magpies (animals associated with witches), hearing names of
dead people (for fear they might return), or smelling a bad
odor (to avoid contamination) are all occasions when spitting
becomes a safeguard. Before discarding hair or nails, one
should spit so as to prevent their being used by witches in
black magic. Because of the same belief that something of
the person continues to exist in the saliva, great care was
taken not to be seen spitting. Behind the custom of spitting
on money found in the street lies the fear that, as a fairy gift,
it might disappear.
Good luck can also be invoked by spitting. And the fa-
miliar custom of spitting on one’s hands before starting a
strenuous task, thus adding power, also reveals some linger-
ing faith in the magic of spittle.BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. H. Godbey presents a well-documented study of various cus-
toms involving spitting in his article “Ceremonial Spitting,”
The Monist 24 (January 1914): 67–91. Additional material
can be found in three encyclopedic works: James G. Frazer’s
The Golden Bough, 3d ed., 13 vols. (New York, 1955), relates
principles of magic and religion to local customs and rituals;
The Mythology of All Races, 13 vols., edited by Louis Herbert
Gray and George Foot Moore (Boston, 1916–1932), gives
numerous examples of the spitting motif in myths through-
out the world; and the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics,
edited by James Hastings, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1920), offers
an extensive article on saliva, concentrating on superstitious
beliefs.
ANNMARI RONNBERG (1987)SPORT SEE GAMES; L ̄ILA ̄; PLAY
SPORTS AND RELIGION. Throughout human
history, sports and religion have been closely linked. Like re-
ligion, sports convey important lessons about values and cul-
turally appropriate behavior. The lessons they teach are simi-
lar, and both religion and sports use symbols as their primary
means of communication. In most of the contemporary
world, however, religion and sports occupy separate but
complementary conceptual realms. Religion focuses on the
idea that, as one anthropologist put it, “there is something
more to the world than meets the eye” (Bowen, p. 4). In reli-
gion, that “something” is the domain of the divine or of spirit
beings; in sport, that “something” is the triumph of the
human spirit.
Scholars from a variety of disciplines typically describe
religion as operating in the realm of the sacred and as ad-
dressing the relationship of human beings to the supernatural
or the transcendent. In modern terms, sport is seen as a secu-
lar pursuit, concerned with the relationship of human beings
to each other. In fact, sport and religion are closely related
on a number of levels:- Historically, many sports developed as part of religious
festivals;
8722 SPORT