• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Soul food

March 26, 2009 5 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized


The Moot with No Name, Devereux pub, Strand. Subject: Sin-eaters by Shani Oates.

Intrigued by this subject I took a friend, saying the people at the Moot with No Name are some of the most interesting and knowledgeable people I have met in London.

Unfortunately Shani read her ‘talk’ from a large wad of papers using complex and academic language. It was hard to follow. You could see the packed room’s attention wandering. 
I only started to make head or tail of it when we were allowed to ask questions. Steve Wilson, the MC of these talks, announced that Shani was the first person from the Robert Cochrane tradition to speak at the moots. Steve Wilson ominously requested that people not ask about ‘lineage’. The room, full of the usual assortment of tricoteuses, witches, Shakespearean speaking frog-like creatures, long haired tailors, beady-eyed astrologers and other marginals, grumbled in response.
Robert Cochrane, originally from a strict Methodist background, claimed to come from a line of hereditary witches. He practised from his council home in London and elsewhere. There seems to have been some inter-coven rivalry with Gerald Gardner another hereditary witch (who spent much of his life studying local traditions in Malaysia) before returning to England to work eventually with Aleister Crowley. He started an affair with one of his coven, in front of his wife Jean, and grew fond of ‘witches potions’ (psychedelic drugs to you and me). He eventually committed ritual suicide, drinking belladonna, at the summer solstice of 1966.
The celebrated witch Doreen Valiente(1) one of his followers, became disenchanted saying

“cease to have silly bickering between covens, because they happen to do things differently from the way we do them. This incidentally is the reason why I eventually parted from Robert Cochrane, because he wanted to declare a sort of Holy War against the followers of Gerald Gardner, in the name of traditional witchcraft.”

One of the main problems for Gardner, and is no doubt still an issue, is that the OTO was gender imbalanced, 80% to 20% women. The women were frequently reluctant to participate in the ‘Great Rite’ (sexual intercourse) on the altar. Spoilsports!
So with a little post-lecture research I have managed to make some sense of the talk.
Shani talked about the relevance of Sin-eaters to ‘the craft’, how sin is ritually dealt with via confession, expiation and purification.

“Sin” states Shani “has long been recognised as undesirable. No one can be responsible for the sins of somebody else but this is exactly what Sin-eaters do”. 

Traditionally each village would have a Sin-eater, often beggars, who, by eating food and drink placed on or over the body of a corpse, would consume/remove the sins of the corpse. They, along with other professions such as tanners, were pariahs, untouchables kept on the outskirts of society. 
Adam Dilwyn Vaughan was the last known Sin-eater, living in Hereford in the 1960s. Richard Munsloe, a Sin-eater in Shropshire, enjoyed as his payment warm cake and spiced ale.
Soul-caking(2), funeral biscuits in Shropshire, corpse-cakes in the Balkans, the Dutch dead-cakes, burial cakes (still made in Lincolnshire and Cumberland) all derive from Sin-eating. Similarly in Cornish custom, children were encouraged to kiss the corpse. In the Andes, we see Tlazolteotl, a purification goddess,”eat the filth” of a corpse.
Salt and smoke would be used in the ritual, denoting healing and absolution. Fire and candles feature heavily in funerals, and the word derives from the Latin ‘funeralis’ meaning torch. It is taboo to light anything from a corpse candle. All attendees must carry salt in their pockets.
Salt represents many things: 
  • a symbol of Man’s labour
  • incorruptibility (it is extracted intact from nature)
  • sterility (makes all living nature barren)
  • friendship and wisdom. To eat another man’s salt is to make a bond. To eat the salt of your King is to owe him fidelity.
Salt is used in all the higher magical orders. But it is rumoured that some witches reject salt.
Other techniques used include ‘dry retching’ into a cleared ground, to suck out energetic debris from places of congestion in the body, to get it out of the system. ‘Corpse silver’ is given over the body, silver being a powerful conductor. The face of the Sin-eater is covered in black ash.
At the end of the talk Shani rejected the idea that eating sins had any deleterious effect on the Sin-eaters health. 

“What is sin for you?” asked someone

“Sin is not following your purpose” replied Shani “Crowley said sin equals restriction”.

(1)Doreen Valiente also believed that the future of paganism and the craft in “the age of Aquarius, lies in feminism and Green issues associated with the environment” (quote from http://www.controverscial.com/). It seems to me that Stawhawk et al, with their activities at the anti-G8 camp, are pursuing Valiente’s legacy.
(2)”Soul-cakers would go to each house, singing either a begging song or a plea for prayers for the dead. They would put on a mummers play for the residents of the house, which would consist of a challenge, a battle, a death, and a magical revival. Specially-made cakes were given to the Soul-cakers at the conclusion of their performance. Soul-caking is still the custom at Antrobus, in Cheshire, but there has been a change or two. Instead of going house-to-house, the Soul-cakers go pub-to-pub, by car! Leaving cakes and wine out for visiting ancestors is also an old custom that has carried over into many British households, even today.” From Cyberwitch.com

Recent posts

Midsummer Supper Club 21st June 2025

June 1, 2025

Soup recipes for a broken arm

February 26, 2025

The future of farming

January 20, 2025

Previous Post: « Rosehip Syrup
Next Post: Bellaphon »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Blackthorn

    March 27, 2009 at 1:03 am

    Hello Ms MarmiteLover !

    Thank you for writing your review of the Sin Eater's talk.

    We did hope to all attend but unfortunately had to deal with other more pressing matters 🙂

    Ho hum…maybe next time !

    F/F/F

    Blackthorn
    Magister of Tubal Cain
    Derbyshire / U.K.

    Reply
  2. theundergroundrestaurant

    March 27, 2009 at 9:07 am

    Hello Blackthorn,
    thanks for stopping by. What were the pressing matters?
    ms ml

    Reply
  3. Blackthorn

    March 27, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    Hello Ms MarmiteLover

    Unruly Moon jugs and a nasty Natterjack! (of all things).

    Thankfully, not a drop of milk was spilt in this tear free opera.

    F/F/F

    Blackthorn
    Magister of Tubal Cain
    Derbyshire / U.K.

    Reply
  4. LATENT NEWS

    March 28, 2009 at 2:07 pm

    Hi Marmitelover, actually I quoted Crowley, not Shani.

    I wondered if you were the lady who piped up and commented on Shani reading from her notes. It has to be said that Shani is not a very experienced public speaker and it was a difficult subject.

    How amusing that "Blackthorn" claimed to be dealing with more pressing matters, one of his cronies was there, and had been running round town boasting how he was going to ask awkward questions. Sadly, he ran away without a word. I'd have thought it was possible to open up the subject without being accused of trouble-making.

    That, incidentally, was why there were references to "lineage" from Steve and why Shani agreed to talk about this matter if anybody required it. Unfortunately there have been fraudulent claims made that would be nobody's business except they have been made so publicly. Fortunately there is sufficient evidence available for anybody interested. If you do want to see this evidence it can be viewed on the 1734 website.

    FFF
    Stuart Inman

    Reply
  5. MsMarmitelover

    March 30, 2009 at 10:52 pm

    Hello Latent news,
    Very interesting comment. Yes it was me that piped up. I guess I was just frustrated that Shani's interesting talk was not delivered as effectively as it could have been. I know it's difficult to speak publicly. But I did feel she hid behind her notes. It would have been nice if she had introduced herself fully, said which branch of craft she came from, explained why she was so interested in sin-eaters, stuff like that.
    I felt bad afterwards, sometimes I just can't stop myself saying what I think. But Shani was very graceful and we had a chat later.
    She just needs more practice!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

msmarmitelover

Can’t wait to delve into this by one of my favou Can’t wait to delve into this by one of my favourite food writers @kitchenbee it’s got everything: kitchenalia, divorce and food. Did you know that what we call heartache is actually stomach ache? It’s now recognised that rejection actually causes physical as well as psychological pain. A study shows that pain relief medications such as paracetamol can alleviate heartache. Some of our emotional pain is autonomic: it’s referred to as polyvagal theory. #heartbreak #foodwriting #lovehurts #takotsubo #dopaminewithdrawal
Midsummer supper club 21st June. The theme is frag Midsummer supper club 21st June. The theme is fragrance and scent. Tickets are £45  and you can bring your own drink. Starts 7.30pm and the nearest tube is Kilburn on the jubilee. Parking is free outside. Exact address given on booking. https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-2025-scent-and-fragrance #london #supperclub
Oil portraits of me painted at Burning Van festiva Oil portraits of me painted at Burning Van festival by artists @cristina_vercesi (left) and YouTube sensation and Royal Portrait gallery exhibiter @alex_tzavaras. It was an utter privilege to sit for these wonderful artists- a real highlight. I’m taking them home and framing them. It was easy to sit still for 90 minutes with the amazing DJ set @leonidas_lovetoparty More deets later. #portraiture #festivals #oilpainting
Went with influencers to @standrewslakes in Kent w Went with influencers to @standrewslakes in Kent with @ourfinland @lakelandfinland @pcagency to experience Finnish food such as Karelian pies with egg butter, cinnamon buns, blueberry pies, and pea soup which they have with mustard and sour cream. We did zip lining, kayaking, saunas, whipped ourselves with birch sticks, ate in a gorgeous wooden bbq shed @arctic_cabins at the end of all this activity we were all tired but happy. @miramakeup @holidaywiththeheathers @amie_jane__ @onehungryasian @iamtimchung @travellingtuesdays @helimendetravels @charlotteemilyprice #presstrip
@camille.osullivan @camilleosullivanpics and @grah @camille.osullivan @camilleosullivanpics and @grahnort @wiltonsmusichall god this woman is talented. She did a solo show of The Rape of Lucrece. Her voice! #theatre #shakespeare #london
My latest article on Hungarian cuisine, a unique m My latest article on Hungarian cuisine, a unique meeting of east and west, for @ckbk It's a blend of Ottoman, Eastern and middle European, Austro-Hungarian empire and cowboy food. #food&travel #foodanthropology #hungary
Made Fermented Cucumber dill pickles from @nickvad Made Fermented Cucumber dill pickles from @nickvadasz book The Pickle Jar. At @katzsdeli in New York they sell half sours and full sours. I reckon these are 3/4 sour. The white mould is fine btw. These are delicious #pickleperson #fermentation #guthealthy
London in bloom: wisteria, cherry blossom, lilac, London in bloom: wisteria, cherry blossom, lilac, plum blossom, 🌸 you don’t need to go to Japan for the Sakura season- it’s all here- london at its most beautiful. #london
Bluebell walk on Wanstead flats. The scent is incr Bluebell walk on Wanstead flats. The scent is incredible: similar to lily of the valley. These are actual English bluebells - a deeper colour & more delicate than Spanish bluebells which are rather invasive. #london #walks #april #bluebells
Snapshots from portobello rd market. Portuguese fo Snapshots from portobello rd market. Portuguese folar de pascua bread from Lisboa patisserie,  a gorgeous mosaic table from Fez, my favourite antique shop @muirshindurkin, Alice’s shop, an Easter hat, the best wisteria I wrote a substack on portobello road: https://open.substack.com/pub/kerstinrodgers/p/where-to-go-in-portobello-road-the?r=3873k&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true #london
I visited @tokyobagellondon with my granddaughter I visited @tokyobagellondon with my granddaughter yesterday to try one of their viral wobbly bunnies. We also tried the multi layer Oreo pancake cakes, the onigiri shaped croissant. My sister had the black sesame latte and I had yuzu tea. I spent £35 in a short space of time as each dessert was £5 but it was a fun experience. Ophelia said ‘lovely flowers’ which shows a degree of sophistication for a 2 year old. I preferred the strawberry to the coconut flavour . #londondaysout #grandmacore #easter
A quick high protein lunch of ratatouille with smo A quick high protein lunch of ratatouille with smoked tofu.  @pomoragoodfood olive oil then an aubergine cut into thick slices then quartered. Fry till translucent then add the chunks of red pepper. 2 fat garlic cloves sliced thinly, a block of smoked tofu in chunks, 2 bay leaves, a small handful of maldon salt. A courgette cut into thick half lengthways- then sliced into half moons. I might chuck in a handful of pantelleria capers in vinegar to give some acidity. Serve hot or cold. #sololunch #protein #vegetables
Inspired by @nickvadasz book The pickle Jar I used Inspired by @nickvadasz book The pickle Jar I used his dill pickles to make one of my favourite recipes for lunch - a potato, sour cream & pickle soup. Recipe on the blog. #soup #pickles
One of my favourite ways to eat mushrooms. Cook wh One of my favourite ways to eat mushrooms. Cook whole button mushrooms in olive oil, lemon juice, a little white wine vinegar, salt, bay leaves, whole coriander seeds, thyme, and white wine if you have it to hand. I used @pomoragoodfood olive oil. You can eat it straight away or leave it to marinate longer and eat the next day. #vegetarian #vegan #mushroomrecipe
Table side Caesar salad @maisonfrancois for @sienn Table side Caesar salad @maisonfrancois for @siennamarla birthday 🎂 #london #restaurants #caesarsalad
I went to sheffield to visit the @reclaimedbrickco I went to sheffield to visit the @reclaimedbrickcompany to look at their hand cut, wire cut and tumbled bricks for a herringbone patio. I love the historical aspect of bricks, the different quarries from different parts of the country. #patio #englishhistory story
Made brussel sprouts with pistachio pesto. The pis Made brussel sprouts with pistachio pesto. The pistachios came from Brontë in Sicily- they are the best pistachios in the world. You can make pesto with any nut: it’s usually with pine nuts but I’ve used hazelnuts, almonds (trapani), walnuts. #vegetarian #pesto #bronte
Bathroom palette: @firedearthuk scallop tiles @top Bathroom palette: @firedearthuk scallop tiles @toppstiles honed white marble skirting and dado @paintandpaperlibrary paint @sanderson1860 wallpaper this is my first rodeo when it comes to bathroom design. Follow my progress
Yesterday I cooked ( needed help with heavy pans a Yesterday I cooked ( needed help with heavy pans and pouring) pesto alle genovese. Made pesto in the vitamix: fresh basil leaves, 4 cloves garlic, 100g pecorino, 100g pine nuts, 150ml olive oil, salt, and juice of half a lemon. Whizz up.  Then cook the pasta - traditional shape is trofie but I only had fusilli. Top with small boiled potatoes and steamed green beans. Douse again with olive oil and more pine nuts. I served this with green salad with cucumber, avocado, pumpkin seeds and a mustard lemon olive oil dressing. #familylunch #sundaylunch #pestopasta #pestgenovese
Unstyled food photos no.4: butternut squash soup. Unstyled food photos no.4: butternut squash soup. Peel and cut up the butternut squash. Discard the seeds. Roast with olive oil, salt, smoked paprika in the oven for 30 minutes. Soften 2 brown onions in a deep pan with olive oil, add 3 cloves garlic minced, 3 bay leaves. Then add the veg stock powder and 1.5 litres hot water to the pan. Stir. Pour in the roast butternut squash. Cook for 10 minutes. Then remove the bay leaves and blend. Add 3 large scoops of natural yoghurt or skyr. Season to taste. Transfer back to the deep pan and serve with grated cheese, pumpkin seeds, chilli. 🌶️ #vitamix #soup #winterfood #agacooking
Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2025 msmarmitelover