Last Friday the Herald headlined a story about ritual goat killing in the city by Hindu citizens.
That’s news? Good God, it’s been an everyday event in Wellington for as long as I can remember.
The most notorious centre of this activity in the capital is Jubilee Road in Khandallah. Walk along it and you will hear the screams of goats being slaughtered most days of the week, usually interspersed with riotous female cackling.
Ferry Road in Days Bay is another Wellington location known for these rituals, so too Motuhara Road in Plimmerton and Marewa Place in Waikanae. It’s old hat in the capital and now goes unremarked upon.
The Herald’s Press Gallery personnel will hopefully put their naïve Auckland head office right about the capital’s well established animal sacrifice customs, moreso given the Gallery’s ritual of beginning each week by everyone swallowing a live gold-fish. This goes back to 1982 when trend-setter Jane Clifton made her Gallery debut and introduced the practise.
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YESTERYEAR FAITHS
Dominion-Post columnist Rosemary McLeod recently wrote about some yesteryear oddities I’d long forgotten about and which would doubtless puzzle young readers, if the Dom’ had any.
First, the practice of dangling a strip of rubber tied under the car’s rear which trailed along the road.
Back in the 1970s I’d say a tenth of cars had this. Rosemary says it was based on the belief it stopped travel sickness. She may be right although my memory is it was supposed to neutralise electrical problems.
She also recalled the less widespread practise of placing bottles of water on lawns, this supposedly stopping dogs peeing on them.
Still, when it comes to silly beliefs this stuff is trivial compared with religious faith.