4 Donald A. Mackenzie — Scottish Pork Taboo 



In Sir Walter Scott's " The Fortunes of Nigel," the Green- 

 wich barber says to Nigel : — 



" Sir Munko cannot abide pork, no more than the King's 

 most Sacred Majesty, nor my Lord Duke Lennox, nor Lord 

 Dalgarno . . . But the Scots never eat pork — strange that ! 

 some folks think they are a sort of Jews." 



In a footnote Sir Walter writes : — 



" The Scots (Lowlanders), till within the last generation, 

 disliked swine's flesh as an article of food as much as the 

 Highlanders do at present." 



In his memoir on his Hebridean tour. Dr. Johnson writes 

 (15, 51):- 



'' Of their eels I can give no account, having never tasted 

 them, for I believe they are not considered as wholesome 

 food . . . The vulgar inhabitants of Skye, I know not 

 whether of the other islands, have not only eels, but pork 

 and bacon in abhorrence ; and accordingly I never saw a 

 hog in the Hebrides, except one at Dunvegan. Rasay (an 

 island adjoining Skye) has wild fowl in abundance, but 

 neither deer, hares nor rabbits." 



Mr. Robert Henderson, who was a farmer at Broomhill, 

 near Annan, during the latter part of the eighteenth and the 

 earlier part of the nineteenth century has written regarding 

 '' the prejudices so unjustly entertained against this species of 

 stock (pigs) " in his native land (13, 80-82). " I have only 

 now," he says, "to do away with the prejudices which exist 

 with many against swine." Referring to the Egyptian and 

 Jewish aversion to pigs he states with regard to the Scottish 

 aversion : ''Although permitted to Christians, yet there is still 

 some degree of prejudice exists (existing) against them in the 

 minds of many," including, he informs us, '' that very foolish 

 one concerning the devil in swine." He tells that in Ireland 

 '' it is a common practice for a cottager to keep a sow, which 

 both eats and sleeps in the house with the family," and adds : 



" I observed it mentioned some time ago, in the public 

 papers, that a gentleman near London trained his swine to 

 run in his carriage, and drove four in hand through 

 London." 



