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everything you NEVER wanted to know about striped hyenas!
Striped hyenas as food and medicine
The 6th dynasty mastabas of Mereruka and Kagemni at Saqqara depict two keepers struggling to hold a striped hyena down on its back whilst stuffing pieces of meat and poultry into its muzzle. The most ferocious specimens had to have their hind legs tied together first. Though it is generally thought by archeologists that this was done to fatten hyenas for food, some writers believe the intention was to train hyenas for taking part in hunts.[11] The Ancient Greeks and Romans used the blood, excrement, rectum, genitalia, eyes, tongue, hair, skin, and fat, as well as the ash of different parts of the striped hyenas body, as effective means to ward off evil and to ensure love and fertility. The Greeks and Romans believed that the genitalia of a hyena “would hold a couple peaceably together” and that a hyena anus worn as an amulet on the upper arm would make its male possessor irresistible to women.[7] In the Muslim nations of Sistan, Kohat, Bannu, and Cholistan, striped hyena meat is considered halal and can therefore be consumed. This represents an exception to the rule that predatory animals are not to be eaten, due to their being haraam. This stems from the fact that the striped hyena is an omnivore, rather than a purely carnivorous animal.[7] Among the Bedouin of Arabia, the striped hyena is permitted for human consumption, though hyena meat is generally considered more as a medicine than as food.[7] In West and South Asia, hyena body parts apparently play an important role in love magic and in the making of amulets. In Iranian folklore, it is mentioned that a stone found in the hyenas body can serve as a charm of protection for whoever wears it on his upper arm. In the Pakistani province of Sind hang, the local Muslims place the tooth of a striped hyena over churns in order not to lose the milk's baraka.[7] In Iran, a dried striped hyena pelt is considered a potent charm which forces all to succumb to the possessors attraction. In Afghanistan and Pakistan striped hyena hair is used either in love magic or as a charm in sickness.[7] Hyena blood has been held in high regard in northern India as potent medicine, and the eating of the tongue helps fight tumors.[7] In the Khyber area, burned striped hyena fat is applied to a mans genitals or sometimes taken orally to ensure virility, while in India the fat serves as a cure for rheumatism.[7] In Afghanistan, some mullahs wear the vulva (kus) of a female striped hyena wrapped in silk under their armpits for a week. If a man peers through the vulva at the woman of his desire, he will invariably get hold of her. This has led to the proverbial expression in Dari of kus-e kaftar bay, as well as in Pashto of kus-e kaftar which literally mean "it happens as smoothly as if you would look through the vulva of a female striped hyena".[7] In the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan, the Pakhtun keep the vulva in vermilion powder, itself having aphrodisiac connotations. The rectum of a freshly killed striped hyena is likewise used by homosexuals and bisexuals to attract young men. This has lead to the expression “to possess the anus of a [striped] hyena” which denotes somebody who is attractive and has many lovers. A striped hyena’s penis kept in a small box filled with sandur can be used for the same reasons.[7]
from wiki (hence the random #'s all over the place)
Striped hyenas as food and medicine
The 6th dynasty mastabas of Mereruka and Kagemni at Saqqara depict two keepers struggling to hold a striped hyena down on its back whilst stuffing pieces of meat and poultry into its muzzle. The most ferocious specimens had to have their hind legs tied together first. Though it is generally thought by archeologists that this was done to fatten hyenas for food, some writers believe the intention was to train hyenas for taking part in hunts.[11] The Ancient Greeks and Romans used the blood, excrement, rectum, genitalia, eyes, tongue, hair, skin, and fat, as well as the ash of different parts of the striped hyenas body, as effective means to ward off evil and to ensure love and fertility. The Greeks and Romans believed that the genitalia of a hyena “would hold a couple peaceably together” and that a hyena anus worn as an amulet on the upper arm would make its male possessor irresistible to women.[7] In the Muslim nations of Sistan, Kohat, Bannu, and Cholistan, striped hyena meat is considered halal and can therefore be consumed. This represents an exception to the rule that predatory animals are not to be eaten, due to their being haraam. This stems from the fact that the striped hyena is an omnivore, rather than a purely carnivorous animal.[7] Among the Bedouin of Arabia, the striped hyena is permitted for human consumption, though hyena meat is generally considered more as a medicine than as food.[7] In West and South Asia, hyena body parts apparently play an important role in love magic and in the making of amulets. In Iranian folklore, it is mentioned that a stone found in the hyenas body can serve as a charm of protection for whoever wears it on his upper arm. In the Pakistani province of Sind hang, the local Muslims place the tooth of a striped hyena over churns in order not to lose the milk's baraka.[7] In Iran, a dried striped hyena pelt is considered a potent charm which forces all to succumb to the possessors attraction. In Afghanistan and Pakistan striped hyena hair is used either in love magic or as a charm in sickness.[7] Hyena blood has been held in high regard in northern India as potent medicine, and the eating of the tongue helps fight tumors.[7] In the Khyber area, burned striped hyena fat is applied to a mans genitals or sometimes taken orally to ensure virility, while in India the fat serves as a cure for rheumatism.[7] In Afghanistan, some mullahs wear the vulva (kus) of a female striped hyena wrapped in silk under their armpits for a week. If a man peers through the vulva at the woman of his desire, he will invariably get hold of her. This has led to the proverbial expression in Dari of kus-e kaftar bay, as well as in Pashto of kus-e kaftar which literally mean "it happens as smoothly as if you would look through the vulva of a female striped hyena".[7] In the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan, the Pakhtun keep the vulva in vermilion powder, itself having aphrodisiac connotations. The rectum of a freshly killed striped hyena is likewise used by homosexuals and bisexuals to attract young men. This has lead to the expression “to possess the anus of a [striped] hyena” which denotes somebody who is attractive and has many lovers. A striped hyena’s penis kept in a small box filled with sandur can be used for the same reasons.[7]
from wiki (hence the random #'s all over the place)