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»Beer, meat, and politeness«
(A Baganda list of requirements for a good leader1)
Nam-äag5-ga kaä-am nam-hul kaskal-àm
»Pleasure -it is beer. Discomfort - it is an expedition.«
(Sumerian Proverb2)
I. Introduction
In a passage of his Memoir describing his munificence and personal involvement in the labor on Jerusalem's ramparts, Nehemiah includes a statement about his mensal practices: »Moreover at my table there were 150 people, Judeans and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations round about« (Neh 5,17). He boasts that this large number of guests enjoyed handsome hospitality: »Now that which was prepared daily was one ox, six choice sheep, and poultry; this was prepared at my expense. And at ten-day intervals, we had wine of every kind in abundance« (v. 18).
Table-fellowship and feasting similar to that described by Nehemiah is encountered throughout the ancient world, where it played a central role in displaying power, forming social bonds, and fortifying political alliances. Surprisingly scholars have rarely if ever brought this comparative data to bear upon the Memoir.3 The present essay works toward redressing this deficit by discussing a wide range of texts and images related to commensality. My overarching interest is how feasting functions within the political calculus of ancient Western Asian rulers as one of the most popular means to promote internal social cohesion and forge external alliances - either as a way of avoiding military conflict or as a prelude to warring against a third party. In keeping with this interest, I devote an extensive portion of the discussion to the manner in which feasting works: By making a deep impression on his or her guests, the host creates memories of the feast that contribute to the maintenance of the social bonds formed in the act of feasting. Both of these aspects figure prominently in Nehemiah's Memoir, with its themes of social bonding, external conflict and the memory of the host. The implications of this study are however not confined to research on the Nehemiah Memoir. Indeed, many of my analytical distinctions, observations, and conclusions apply equally to a wide range of commensal practices in other times and places.4
II. Commensality - Anthropological Considerations
In a recent volume on The Archaeology...