Does anyone consider the feet unclean?
December 11, 2010 9:17 AM Subscribe
A question about feet! Are they considered lowly by any cultures or religions?
Dear Hivemind,
Do you know of any specific cultures or religions that look down on feet (no pun intended)? I remember from my short time in Sunday school that during biblical times, the feet were a symbol for dirtiness and uncleanliness, and that it was considered a sign of superiority to make others wash one's feet. Is this actually true and are there any other such examples in history? I can't seem to articulate well what I'm looking for and my google-fu has failed me.
Many thanks!
Dear Hivemind,
Do you know of any specific cultures or religions that look down on feet (no pun intended)? I remember from my short time in Sunday school that during biblical times, the feet were a symbol for dirtiness and uncleanliness, and that it was considered a sign of superiority to make others wash one's feet. Is this actually true and are there any other such examples in history? I can't seem to articulate well what I'm looking for and my google-fu has failed me.
Many thanks!
In South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal), feet are considered the most unclean or impure part of the body. To sit in a way that points the sole of your foot at someone is considered extremely disrespectful.
If someone accidentally touches you with his/her foot, there are (in some regions) little hand gestures which the offender performs to demonstrate to you his regret for the insult.
I believe similar ideas about the (un)cleanliness of feet circulate throughout the Middle East. Certainly mosques, like temples, require you to remove your shoes before entering, although one could argue this is more about the dirtiness of the street than feet, per se.
posted by artemisia at 9:28 AM on December 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
If someone accidentally touches you with his/her foot, there are (in some regions) little hand gestures which the offender performs to demonstrate to you his regret for the insult.
I believe similar ideas about the (un)cleanliness of feet circulate throughout the Middle East. Certainly mosques, like temples, require you to remove your shoes before entering, although one could argue this is more about the dirtiness of the street than feet, per se.
posted by artemisia at 9:28 AM on December 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
I think that washing someone else's feet is more typically a sign of humbleness, in most Christian interpretations. (Dusty desert climes, etc.)
John 13:1-17 mentions Jesus performing his act. Specifically, in Verses 13:14-17 he instructs them, 14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."
Old Testament references are to footwashing as a sign of hospitality. Genesis 18:4; 19:2; 24:32; 43:24; I Samuel 25:41.
Wikipedia is pretty complete about the practice.
Singaporeans concur with the Thai about the sole of the feet.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:34 AM on December 11, 2010
John 13:1-17 mentions Jesus performing his act. Specifically, in Verses 13:14-17 he instructs them, 14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."
Old Testament references are to footwashing as a sign of hospitality. Genesis 18:4; 19:2; 24:32; 43:24; I Samuel 25:41.
Wikipedia is pretty complete about the practice.
Singaporeans concur with the Thai about the sole of the feet.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:34 AM on December 11, 2010
I grew up around a lot of Tibetan Buddhists, and pointing the soles of your feet at someone was very bad.
There's also a cultural tradition that has been incorporated into the theology: lha, nyen, and lhu - high, middle, and low respectively. You're not supposed to mix things from each category (a hat should not be on the floor; a book, which is lha, should also not be on the floor; don't put shoes on your pillow, etc.).
posted by outlandishmarxist at 9:37 AM on December 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
There's also a cultural tradition that has been incorporated into the theology: lha, nyen, and lhu - high, middle, and low respectively. You're not supposed to mix things from each category (a hat should not be on the floor; a book, which is lha, should also not be on the floor; don't put shoes on your pillow, etc.).
posted by outlandishmarxist at 9:37 AM on December 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
In the Hebrew Bible, the foot is often used as a euphemism for the male sexual organ (e.g., in Book of Ruth; "She lay by his feet").
posted by outlandishmarxist at 9:39 AM on December 11, 2010
posted by outlandishmarxist at 9:39 AM on December 11, 2010
In some Islamic cultures, they represent uncleanliness. If you recall the Iraqi guy who throw a show at Dubya, a lot of the insult (from an Iraqi perspective) was the symbolic closeness between foot and shoe.
Like artemisia said, a lot of this anti-foot etiquette probably has roots in the dirty reality of the streets than feet per se. But in nearly any Muslim home, one is required to take one shoe's off, a cultural practice not observed as strictly in neighboring non-Muslim countries.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 9:53 AM on December 11, 2010
Like artemisia said, a lot of this anti-foot etiquette probably has roots in the dirty reality of the streets than feet per se. But in nearly any Muslim home, one is required to take one shoe's off, a cultural practice not observed as strictly in neighboring non-Muslim countries.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 9:53 AM on December 11, 2010
Muslims wash their feet before praying and don't wear shoes into the praying area of the mosque. Also, in many Arab countries, it is considered an insult to show the soles of your feet to someone and throwing a shoe at someone is an insult (see Bush in Iraq).
posted by proj at 9:53 AM on December 11, 2010
posted by proj at 9:53 AM on December 11, 2010
I recently read an academic article about clean/unclean dichotomies and ritual purity and so forth in gypsy culture, where feet are considered unclean ... but everything below the waist is basically considered unclean, so it's broader than just feet.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:48 AM on December 11, 2010
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:48 AM on December 11, 2010
Most global advertising photography guidelines recommend avoiding showing the bottom of anyone's feet -- particularly a bare foot of a woman -- if you intend to use the photo internationally, citing the Middle Eastern cultures as having an issue with it. (No uncovered female shoulders as well.)
posted by Gucky at 10:58 AM on December 11, 2010
posted by Gucky at 10:58 AM on December 11, 2010
The Roma culture considers not just feet, but the entire lower half of the body to be unclean.
posted by ohsnapdragon at 11:24 AM on December 11, 2010
posted by ohsnapdragon at 11:24 AM on December 11, 2010
In Hinduism, you are not supposed to sit with your feet pointed at someone, especially if they are older than you. You have to take your shoes off before entering a Hindu temple. Bending forward at the waist/kneeling and touching the feet of parents/grandparents/elders is a sign of respect. Touching others (as Artemisia mentioned), or books, papers etc. with your feet is a no-no (If you do this, you have make sure that you touch them again briefly with your fingers and then touch your forehead to apologize.
This reminds me of an old story of a philosopher (?, can't remember the details), who was reprimanded by a priest for sitting with his feet pointed towards a temple (or mosque, maybe?). His response was a) wasn't God supposed to be omnipresent? b) to ask the priest to show him a place where God did not exist and he would be happy to point his feet in that direction.
posted by prenominal at 11:26 AM on December 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
This reminds me of an old story of a philosopher (?, can't remember the details), who was reprimanded by a priest for sitting with his feet pointed towards a temple (or mosque, maybe?). His response was a) wasn't God supposed to be omnipresent? b) to ask the priest to show him a place where God did not exist and he would be happy to point his feet in that direction.
posted by prenominal at 11:26 AM on December 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, from Pakistan, was a singer of Sufi devotional music. He performed a concert here in New York in an overcrowded room, where many people were sitting on the floor, including me. He stopped in the middle of a song, and asked me not to point my feet at him.
posted by StickyCarpet at 12:08 PM on December 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by StickyCarpet at 12:08 PM on December 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
In Indonesia, it's rude to sit in a way that shows soles of your feet to someone (this was covered by someone earlier re: Islamic cultures).
posted by illenion at 12:46 PM on December 11, 2010
posted by illenion at 12:46 PM on December 11, 2010
You might be interested in this old thread: Varying customs about removing shoes at the door vs wearing shoes in the house.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:57 PM on December 11, 2010
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:57 PM on December 11, 2010
prenominal: This reminds me of an old story of a philosopher (?, can't remember the details)
You're thinking of Guru Nanak:
You're thinking of Guru Nanak:
Near the end of Guru Nanak's travels, he was in the Mamluk Sultanate when a group of Muslim pilgrims found him sleeping beside the road with his feet pointed towards Mecca. Horrified, they woke him and remonstrated with him. "My apologies, brothers," said Nanak-ji. "Please, I beg you, show me the place that God is not, and I will point my feet there." The pilgrims paused, thought, and consulted with one another, then apologized to the Guru for disturbing his sleep and resumed their travels.posted by Lexica at 2:58 PM on December 11, 2010 [3 favorites]
You might be interested in reading Alan Dundes's Two Tales of Crow and Sparrow, about (among other things) ritual uncleanliness (including the feet issue) and caste in India. Google Books link.
posted by brainwane at 6:06 PM on December 11, 2010
posted by brainwane at 6:06 PM on December 11, 2010
I live in a liberal college town in California. My housemate is a barefooter - he believes it's healthier to go barefoot, so he does. He helped in a barefoot community effort to call every single state health department in the USA. They verified that it's not illegal to go barefoot in a restaurant. And yet: How many stores are there in the USA that have "no shoes no shirt no service" signs? My housemate has to avoid some stores in this liberal college town because they've asked him not to come back without shoes on.
The feet are considered unclean in my culture.
posted by aniola at 6:13 PM on December 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
The feet are considered unclean in my culture.
posted by aniola at 6:13 PM on December 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
I think being barefoot might also be associate with poverty.
posted by aniola at 6:17 PM on December 11, 2010
posted by aniola at 6:17 PM on December 11, 2010
Well also, if you are barefoot and step on something, say a shard of glass....probably the prohibition on being barefoot is more about avoiding an opportunity to be sued than anything else. As for shirts, that is an aesthetic issue...:)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:54 PM on December 11, 2010
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:54 PM on December 11, 2010
About walking barefoot: There is also a straightforward medical reason to encourage people not to walk barefoot in areas with inadequate sanitation (eg in developing world): you can get hookworms by walking barefoot on contaminated soil. If you wear shoes your risk of acquiring hookworm is much less; hookworm was common in the US southeast until the 20th century, and there were public health campaigns constructing latrines and encouraging people to wear shoes for this reason.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:20 PM on December 11, 2010
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:20 PM on December 11, 2010
They do indeed take this very seriously in Thailand. I got told off by a taxi driver because of the way I was sitting. I've also seen photos of people prostrated before the King with their bodies contorted to keep their feet concealed behind them.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:58 AM on December 12, 2010
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:58 AM on December 12, 2010
In Japan you will take your shoes off when entering a house (but probably put on a pair of indoor shoes) or temple. This is less to do with the uncleanliness of feet as it does with the fact that your shoes walk in all kinds of shit outside so why would you track that in?
That being said, pointing at something with your feet would be the height of rudeness in Japan as well.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 9:56 AM on December 12, 2010
That being said, pointing at something with your feet would be the height of rudeness in Japan as well.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 9:56 AM on December 12, 2010
Well also, if you are barefoot and step on something, say a shard of glass....probably the prohibition on being barefoot is more about avoiding an opportunity to be sued than anything else. As for shirts, that is an aesthetic issue...:)
So, St. Alia of the Bunnies, you've invented a two-part explanation for "No Shirt No Shoes No Service" out of your imagination, and that makes it "probably" the reason? Unconvinced.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:43 AM on December 15, 2010
So, St. Alia of the Bunnies, you've invented a two-part explanation for "No Shirt No Shoes No Service" out of your imagination, and that makes it "probably" the reason? Unconvinced.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:43 AM on December 15, 2010
IAmBroom, that's actually the way it was explained to me-that wearing shoes was a safety issue. Sorry that offends you.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:24 AM on December 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:24 AM on December 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
St. Alia of the Bunnies: Ah. It sounded like you made those two reasons up; instead, someone else did, and told it to you. There's still no evidence to support it.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:55 AM on December 19, 2010
posted by IAmBroom at 10:55 AM on December 19, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 9:20 AM on December 11, 2010 [2 favorites]