Jenny and Erin

In many parts of the United States cattlemen and farmers are essential to the local economy. The cattle they raise serve as daily reminders of life’s cycles; birth, mating and death. In Salem Sue, A Genesis Story I questioned whether it was possible that locals in rural North Dakota unknowingly tapped deep into ancestral memories, a time when the power of the cow and bull was worshiped and envied, and elevated the cow to deity. Well, it appears I may have stumbled onto something, something even bigger than I imagined. So, for the next two posts we are heading back to rural United States, from Montana to Texas, and a couple of places in-between.

To get you in the mood I thought some music might be in order. Click here if you’re game – the last verse is the best. (WARNING: this is LOUD, careful if you’re at work!).

We’re heading to where the cowboys roam. Places where a bull market matters less than the bull in the pasture. In Cattle Country the men can be found working cattle on the range, fixing fence, at a rodeo, having a drink or just generally raising hell. These cowboys work hard, play harder and don’t take bullshit from anybody. Why are we going there? Because where you find cowboys and the girls who love ‘em, you will find the cattle. It is here you will catch a glimpse of living, breathing paganism in America.

You’re not going to find an exhaustive list of cults of the bull here, or the divinity of the cow that was touched on in Salem Sue, A Genesis Story. However, if you’re interested a run to the library or a Google search is all you need…The Cult of Apis, the rather sexual nature of Europa (a truly lovely Greek goddess who is most often pictured riding around naked on the back of a great white bull), or the Buchis Bull. They exist and have existed for a very, very long time. The bull gods represent virility, strength and power. What could be more attractive to the cowboy than the raw strength and sexual prowess of a full-grown bull?

So how do cowboys tie to paganism through the bull? Well, through ritualized eating and drinking, of course! In most religions it is believed that through ceremonial eating and drinking power can pass from the god to the practitioner, imparting some of the attributes of the god they worship. Wine, mead, or ale is often drunk to help the worshippers attain an altered state (loosening their inhibitions) both in preparation of and necessary to the transformation they will momentarily undergo.

Any guesses where this one going? That’s right; Rocky Mountain Oysters - aka Montana tender groin, cowboy caviar, critter fritters, swinging beef or in plain language the consumption of floured and fried bull balls. Less you disbelieve me click here for a recipe. Okay, you’re saying as you laugh, funny but you need more than a silly internet recipe and some conjecture to convince me grown men are participating in pagan cults by eating bull balls in the hopes of gaining strength and sexual prowess.

Now that the balls are rolling (pun intended, sorry couldn’t help myself!), on Friday we’ll go on that trip across the country. I’ll show you a few rocky mountain oyster festivals ranging from the PG-rated, fun for the whole family, to the adults only X-rated festivals where debauchery rules. This includes a festival where over 5,000 pounds of Rocky Mountain Oysters were consumed over three days and a “tastes like chicken” bull testicle bake-off.

This entry was posted in Pagan America on Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 by Jenny. You can follow responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.