Cultural Aspects
In Sicilian witchcraft it is customary to leave a fish head on the door step of one's enemy to ward off malicious intention. It is also performed by the eldest grandma when a mafia fishing family has been wronged by a business partner. The practice dates back to at least 1308, when Dante referenced it in his epic, the Divine Comedy.
In a more serious feud, escalation of hostilities can be signaled by the appearance of a goat head or horse head.
There are many references to talking fish heads in various dream sequences featuring Tony Soprano in the HBO series The Sopranos.
Recently, fish heads gained notoriety with a Green Peace publicity stunt, in which members of the activist group dumped 5 tons of fish heads on the door step of the French Fisheries Ministry.
Read more about this topic: Fish Head
Famous quotes containing the words cultural and/or aspects:
“Hard times accounted in large part for the fact that the exposition was a financial disappointment in its first year, but Sally Rand and her fan dancers accomplished what applied science had failed to do, and the exposition closed in 1934 with a net profit, which was donated to participating cultural institutions, excluding Sally Rand.”
—For the State of Illinois, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“All the aspects of this desert are beautiful, whether you behold it in fair weather or foul, or when the sun is just breaking out after a storm, and shining on its moist surface in the distance, it is so white, and pure, and level, and each slight inequality and track is so distinctly revealed; and when your eyes slide off this, they fall on the ocean.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)