"SIN EATER'S BANQUET" © M. E. Parker A Hearty Feast for the sin eater to consume as he takes on the sins of the recently deceased's soul . Set out as a banquet, the sin eater would eat to save the soul of the sinner. An age old tradition brought to life. In actuality, a sin-eater would go to the house of the deceased or the place of mourning and eat loaves of bread and other foods directly off the body of the deceased....and drink wine or ale or water along with it to help wash away the sins. You may have heard of old the Celtic custom that was common in the 15th and 16th century. An old tradition that may still happen back in the primitive areas of the mountains . . . When somebody dies, a huge meal is laid out either directly on the body for more effective cleansing, or in the coffin, or directly on a table with the body. The real purists would always want the food in contact with the deceased persons skin. Water and salt are part of the meal. Usually there is a large feast for everyone, with the Sin eater eating last. It could either be a male or female, and often would be a person not well himself, or suffering from mental illness. He goes to the coffin to do his duty... in a rather prayerful ritual , and eats. The more ravishing of an act he puts on, or the more dramatic he sounds... prays, chants, -sometimes yelling out in painful screams- the happier the family is that is listening in the other room or outside of the door. It assures them that the Sin Eater is 'capturing' and 'consuming' the worst sins, cleansing the body of their loved family member. The Sin Eater symbolically consumes all the sins of the dead person, so the spirit can rest in peace, almost like a baptism/cleansing. After he has consumed the sins of the deceased soul, having finsished the 'banquet' he leaves the house of mourning, and goes to a body of water (preferably salt water) and with all his/her energy , displays a throwing gesture toward the shore while chanting a chant like the one below: "By the Stones, by the Wind, by the Fire, by the Tree, From the dead man's sins set me free, set me free! This will help the sin eater to rid the sins he has eaten, or he may be accountable for them along with his own. (alright... so I'm lying about the banquet feast, but the custom is true...and I got your attention! ) The photograph was actually from a wedding shoot... a wonderful little banquet table for a new age couple tieing the knot in a ring-binding ceremony.