Brief History of Spitting: An Indian Account
Arijeet Mandal The first reaction after receiving a small cut or bruise in humans is to put it inside the mouth. If the bruise is in some other part of the body that we cannot readily lick; we often apply spit. Children do it too, often learning from other children or from the oral fixation triggered after the hurt. This is a trait we share with almost all the other mammals that we share our Earth with at the present moment. This is not mere mimicking of other mammals (though predators often mimic the calls or behaviours of their prey). The spit is, as if, an inherent biological trait. Children and adults alike do it almost automatically, as if with a gene-deep certainty. We apply spit to what was hurt, or in other words, what hurts us. At first it appears to us that the answer to the question “What is spit?” is easy. Spit is saliva thrown (spat) out of the mouth. Saliva itself is a reflex function that comes from salivary glands upon expectations of external factors like tasting or eating. Saliva contains around 99% of water, along with several other inorganic and organic compounds which help in several processes of the mouth and digestion. Not only it helps in fighting tooth decay, pose as a bulwark against harmful bacteria but also produces mucin, which in turn “acts as a lubricant during mastication, swallowing and speech”[i].In other words, not only does saliva help in tasting, chewing and digesting, but also effectively is a catalyst in one of the fundamental aspects of human nature—speech. During old age, one of the problems in speech and overall oral health is caused by the erratic nature of salivary glands (ibid.). Saliva itself has been used differently throughout history, perhaps requiring separate book on it, if not volumes on the subject. We know for sure that the salivation of certain birds in the form of their nests are consumed as human food. The industry that runs on the (wrongly named) Indian Swiftlets’ bird’s nest has gained such popularity that it has been named “caviar of the east”[ii]. We know of ceremonial uses of spitting across cultures, or the fact that there were cultures of ceremonial spitting[iii]. The spit was also believed to be a good fermenting agent and was used to ferment different elements like the ceremonial Japanese sake and various other edibles throughout history (ibid.). We also know of other medicinal uses of saliva, and the medicinal concern of the same. For the longest time people held the belief that spit after fasting has healing properties. Jesus used the ‘spittle cure’ by smearing saliva thrice in The Bible, in the passages of Mark 8:22-26, Mark 7:31-37 and John 9:6. Jesus, in The Bible at least, had healed two blind men, and one “deaf and dumb” person using his spit[iv]. Theology aside, a rational look then would suggest a major cultural belief of the healing properties of spit, especially by Monarchs and healers. Spitting, however, also had another concern for the medical world. The British Medical Journal made a report as far back as in 1900 about the ‘spitting nuisance’ that has been causing the rampant spread of tuberculosis in the urban areas[v].The Americans too were not falling short on taking measures against spitting in public spaces. Once again, this was due to the rising crisis of the spread of tuberculosis. Just on the basis of its economic loss, America had lost almost $33,000,000 by the 1900s to tuberculosis, or as it was known, the “White Plague”[vi]. While the ground problems of rapid industrialization and lack of healthcare was the primary problem, unfortunately, it was not the primary concern for the growing bourgeoisie owners. ‘Not spitting’ was supposed to be one of the primary targets in spreading public health awareness. However, as the author puts it, “The rise of anti-spitting legislation was on one level a practical response to a legitimate medical concern, but it frequently over lapped with wider issues concerning the consolidation of the middle class and the social control of the working classes (ibid.)” Just as the author notes, the class question about certain diseases and their spreading has seldom been studied. Historically, we can see that diseases and their class relations have often been ignored. However, spitting takes a special position in a class based society. Since the early times of Western society (except for Pliny’s account on spittle cures) spitting has been in general associated with rudeness, uncivil behaviour or an act of humiliation. In India too, at least in Natyashastra, the act was related to similar feelings, so much so that even aesthetically ‘vamati’ or ‘sthiv’ are under the Bibhatsya (odious) Rasã, and are not to be associated with the ‘high-borns’ or upper-castes. In essence, it appears that the ruling classes had generally posited spitting against civil behaviour, a savage instinctual nature versus culture. It is as if the good classes of history do not spit, unless met by lack of order. Spitting, or expectoration, for most of history has been an act of ridicule and humiliation. In all of recorded human history, we find but a few dots to map out some divine or superstitious reverence for spitting. For the most part, we have hated spitting, and we had spit on those we hated or held in contempt; whether they were powerful individual or empires, powerless peasants or rude rebels, or perhaps some image of God itself—some human at some point had spit on them. The real question not asked is this: What does spitting really mean? The Ontic Problem Up until now, whatever was discussed was either a scientific or a historical fact. Therefore, it is ontic in nature. By ontic, I mean a fact or information which proves to be a useful tool in unravelling an idea, but lacks the quality to clarify what it really means. An example would be this: we know for a fact that we have but