"Nil igitur mors est, ad nos neque pertinet hilum;
quando quidem natura animi mortalis habetur!" cries Lucretius.
With the advent of Christianity, condemning as it did the
barbarous customs of self-mutilation and self-murder, these
practices seem to disappear gradually; but stoicism and
indifference to pain were exhibited in martyrdom. Toward the
middle ages, when fanaticism was at its height and the mental
malady of demoniacal possession was prevalent, there was
something of a reversion to the old customs. In the East the
Juggernaut procession was still in vogue, but this was suppressed
by civilized authorities; outside of a few minor customs still
prevalent among our own people we must to-day look to the savage
tribes for the perpetuation of such practices.
In an excellent article on the evolution of ceremonial
institutions Herbert Spencer mentions the Fuegians, Veddahs,
Andamanese, Dyaks, Todas, Gonds, Santals, Bodos, and Dhimals,
Mishmis, Kamchadales, and Snake Indians, as among people who form
societies to practice simple mutilations in slight forms.
Mutilations in somewhat graver forms, but still in moderation,
are practiced by the Tasmanians, Tamaese, the people of New
Guinea, Karens, Nagas, Ostiaks, Eskimos, Chinooks, Comanches, and
Chippewas.
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