Fairfield City - The New Model Council

A Cultural Look into Spitting

I am very curious about the culture surrounding spitting because it is something which I have never done (in public anyway) nor thought about much until now. First stop was Wikipedia which listed “spitting” under the category of “taboo activities” and provided a general definition:

“Spitting or expectoration is the act of forcibly ejecting saliva or other substances from the mouth. In some cultures it is seen as offensive to spit in public, whereas it is widely tolerated in others. In Europe Europe and North America, the action of spitting has become popular and "cool" among many children and teenagers as a sign of contempt or frustration at society in general, or (more commonly) higher powers such as the law.

Spitting is a crime in Singapore, but it is not illegal in Europe or North America. It is, however, illegal to spit on another person, such as on their foot or especially on their face. Although this is a universal sign of anger, hatred or contempt and you can be arrested for this offence, the more serious reason for its illegal nature is that it is possible to transmit infectious diseases this way.”

However, I wanted to find out about the historical and cultural differences in the act of spitting. After much trawling on the net, I found an article written by Dr. Sarfaraz Niazi called “The Spitting Syndrome” which I thought was quite fascinating.

Niazi details the emotional and cultural value of spitting, which has been referenced by many writers such as Shakespeare and also various mythology from countries such as Egypt, Germany and Scandinavia.

“In the Noris (German and Scandinavian) mythology, the truce among the gods is celebrated by a meeting at which all the gods spit into a bowl, creating a giant called Kvasir, who is the sign of peace and harmony among the deities. Kvasir is later sacrificed and from his blood a more potent drink for the gods is made that inebriates deities and gives inspiration to the poets.”

Niazi suggests reasons why people spit and lists three main reasons.

Firstly, salivary secretions help in digesting the food that we eat, however the phlegm from the lungs is a way to expel the intruding contaminants which may enter the lungs. The environment we breathe in can sometimes irritate our lungs which creates this phlegm which is most common in chest infections.

Secondly, Niazi mentions the category of people who chew on tobacco or beetle which creates saliva and must be spat out; using the example of rodeo competitions which host spitting contests of who can spit the farthest. Baseball is another sport which hosts the act of spitting out tobacco. The habit of spitting is done to lubricate the balls before they can give it a curved pitch.

Thirdly, there are people who spit regardless. They spit because it is a habit or because they wish to show their feelings towards something or someone.

It appears that in the modern Western culture, it is simply considered bad and derogatory.

posted by Thao @ 9:58 pm