Eating Death: a ritual? (Was: Etymology of "Death Eater" )

[lealitchi]

No: HPFGUIDX 117387


Carol:
> The idea of Death Eaters eating bottled death strikes me as some sort of evil parody of the communion service in which Catholics, Episcopalians, and various other Christian denominations (Lutherans?) symbolically eat the body and blood of Christ to share in his resurrection. Are the DEs eating Voldemort's death or their own? > 

Lea:

I found a reference to the very similar "sin-eater" superstition in 
a very useful little book I own:

"One medieval superstition now almost forgotten is that of the sin-
eater: someone, either professional of a dupe, would eat food passed 
over the corpse.  This represented the sins that the dead person had 
comitted during their lifetime, and the sin-eater took on 
responsibility for them by eating the food."

Could the DE's really be a part of LV's immortality experiments by 
taking on ("eating") his death and mortality....?

Lea