Body Modification And Rituals In Africa

Body Modification And Rituals In Africa

In this paper I will discuss indigenous rituals and body modification in Africa and how it has affected global view of the continent throughout the ages. The world’s, namely the West’s, view was originally based on how explorers attempted to describe the native peoples. These descriptions were riddled with inaccuracies, taken out of context, and turned into justification for the sending of missionaries to “save the savages from themselves”[1]. In today’s culture the term ‘tribe’ is becoming taboo (even though there are still ethnic groups that refer to themselves as ‘tribes’) and the idea that Africans are ‘inferior’ or ‘savages’ is considered immoral. This stems from the west’s embracing the cultural differences rather then condemning what they see as unnatural or the work of the devil, as many Christian missionaries described them in the age of exploration.
      One of the largest misconceptions was cannibalism. Many stories came back of natives placing captives in a big caldron of boiling water, tossing in the vegetables, and brewing up a large bowl of missionary stew. In most cultures, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. While eating others’ flesh may have been, at times, necessary for survival, in most cases it was out of ritualistic respect. In many locations cannibalism was the ultimate honor for the victims (who were usually warriors, not missionaries); when the victors ate their enemies they did so to take on the characteristics of the enemy (blood for bravery, brain for knowledge, heart for courage, etc).   These falsehoods probably stem from stories told to outsiders, and not the witnessing of the act itself. “The Muslim explorer Ibn Batutta reported that one African king advised him that nearby people were cannibals (though this may have been a prank played on Ibn Batutta by the king in order to fluster his guest). However Batutta reported that Arabs and Christians were safe, as their flesh was “unripe” and...