Penawaran
The Khaldaian tradition of Penawaran, offerings of food given to the gods at mealtimes, was once a genuine show of devotion. Every family would set aside a part of the meal on the household altar, for the gods to enjoy. It was a way of giving thanks for the food that had been provided.
Sometime around 429 AS, however, the tradition took on a different meaning, at least among the wealthy of Maidus, Khaldai's capital city. Penawaren became a chance to show off how wealthy you were, by offering whole dishes and even full meals that would never be eaten. Feasts, in particular, were prone to these displays of conspicuous consumption, when there was an audience to witness one's offering of largesse. It was not uncommon for there to be more food on the altar than served to the guests. This custom was especially popular with the ruling elite, the Mahada.
Many temple priests decried this practice, claiming it was an affront to the gods to offer food not out of a genuine feeling of thanksgiving, but rather as a prideful show, with no thought to religion at all. Other priests begged the wealthy to at least give the food as charity after the meal, rather than the common practice of returning it to the soil.
But it was the uselessness of the carefully prepared, fancy dishes that gave them their meaning. Preparing entire banquets of food that were never meant to be eaten truly showed how the host of the feast had more money than they cared about. The whole point of the tradition was to waste resources, not to feed the poor, or honor the gods.
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