Historical site of Bagheera - secrets of history, mysteries of the universe. Mysteries of great empires and ancient civilizations, the fate of disappeared treasures and biographies of people who changed the world, the secrets of special services. The history of wars, the mysteries of battles and battles, reconnaissance operations of the past and present. World traditions, modern life in Russia, the mysteries of the USSR, the main directions of culture and other related topics - all that official history is silent about.

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After Constantinople fell in 1453, the Black Sea turned into the “Turkish Lake” for three long centuries. The Turks and their allies, such as the Crimean Tatars, ruled the sea and its shores. Only the Zaporozhye and Don Cossacks, who acted boldly and courageously, like real filibusters, decided to challenge them in this domination.

War elephants and war chariots are sometimes called the tanks of antiquity. And although the actions of the infantry and cavalry of the enemy under the skillful leadership of military leaders were able to reduce the effectiveness of such "tanks" to almost zero, elephants and chariots more than once demonstrated their crushing power on the battlefields.

In the fall of 1942, experts from the Imperial Railways Department came from Berlin to Stalingrad to reconnoiter the area for the construction of a section of the transcontinental railway. This was told to the author of the article by his old acquaintance, a veteran of military counterintelligence B.V. Strokov.

“... A famous shaman from his birth was destined to become a hollow tambourine, wishing to become, with a multitude of copper pendants, fussiness of diseases eliminated, with a round hat-pendant, with a mallet-cross, wishing to become a prophetic-important, - they ripened, they grew up" - this is exactly how in the traditional Yakut folklore describes the beginning of the sacred ritual of initiation into shamans.

On January 31, 1943, in Stalingrad, the commander of the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht, Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, together with his headquarters, surrendered to the troops of the 64th Army, Lieutenant General M.S. Shumilova. On the same day, the second-ranking officer of the Stalingrad group of the Wehrmacht, the commander of the 51st Army Corps, General of Artillery Walter von Seydlitz, was captured.

Marshal of the USSR Vasily Konstantinovich Blyukher is inscribed in the history of the Soviet army as "an innocent victim of Stalin's arbitrariness." Let's not forget that rewriting history is our traditional national pastime, and at different periods of our lives one and the same person could turn out to be a hero or a villain for us, a savior of the Fatherland or its traitor. VC. Blucher is just one of these figures. Historians have yet to understand and understand the fate of Vasily Konstantinovich, but the final verdict must be made by time itself, and this will probably not be very soon. Let us take a closer look at the fate of the marshal.

Even in the harsh times of the Middle Ages, they tried not to execute sailors: it was too long and difficult to teach a good seaman. An experienced sailor was worth its weight in gold, which, however, did not prevent the ship's executioners (professors, executors - this position was called differently in the navies of different countries) in the era of sailboats to tear their servants like Sidorov's goats. But the death penalty for sailors was still quite rare. To do this, it was necessary to commit a truly terrible crime.

Great Britain is considered the official birthplace of tank building throughout the world. And in fact it is not. The first project of a tank caterpillar, as well as a tank itself, appeared in Russia at the end of the 19th century. It is noteworthy that the undeservedly forgotten son of the great chemist, Vasily Dmitrievich Mendeleev, became its author.

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There are few topics that would cause a person more disgust than cannibalism.

Eating meat of one's own kind is vile and immoral.

If we stick to our value system.

Incredibly, cannibalism remains a reality in remote parts of the planet. In some tribes, dishes made from human flesh have not so much food as ritual significance. No matter how terrible it sounds.

Did you know that cannibalism is deadly for the cannibals themselves?

Bloody backstory of cannibalism

Cannibalism has existed since prehistoric times, when our ancient ancestors ate meat, hearts and other organs of their enemies or fellow tribesmen.

To satisfy their hunger, to absorb their strength and courage, to appease cruel spirits.

This practice continued for many thousands of years.

Even in the 20th and 21st centuries, in times of need and despair, people often resorted to cannibalism in order to survive and save their children from starvation. Cases of cannibalism were recorded during the famine in North Korea in 2013, in besieged Leningrad in the 1940s, in communist China in the 1950s, in the Volga region in 1932-33.

Even earlier, in Europe at the beginning of the 18th century, human body parts could be purchased as medicine. Bones, blood, hearts, human fat were used. The nobility and even the clergy did not disdain to improve the health of human beings. It was used to treat gout, epilepsy, nosebleeds, and headaches.

In some cultures, it is customary to eat the remains of a loved one after the death of a loved one.

By the way, this is where the expression “become a part of someone” came from. Dead relatives literally became part of their hungry tribesmen. Sounds terrible to the civilized mind, but our distant ancestors would have been no less shocked to learn that we bury the dead in the ground for food for worms.

I hate to hurt anyone's feelings, but how far are we from cannibalism?

For example, some not the most cultured representatives of the human race still eat their nails and gnaw the skin from their fingers. And Hollywood divas use the placenta after childbirth to preserve beauty and youth.

The boundaries between us and our cannibal ancestors are much more subtle than it seems at first glance...

But the purpose of our article is not to delve into the roots of cannibalism, not to rant about ethical and religious prohibitions, but to inform the reader about the potential dangers of eating human flesh for health.

Mysterious disease of cannibals

American experts assure that eating human flesh is much more dangerous than other types of meat.

The most dangerous part - which, by the way, is not advised to eat in animals - is the brain.

The small 20,000-strong Fore people of Papua New Guinea until recently practiced eating dead relatives. It was this isolated group of people that helped researchers discover the fatal health consequences of cannibalism.

Kuru (spongiform encephalopathy) is a disease of the nervous system with a 100% mortality rate.

The disease is very close to mad cow disease, but is associated with a slightly different pathogen. In kuru, an abnormal glycoprotein known as prion protein (PrP) accumulates in the brain.

Prion proteins originate naturally in the nervous system. Their role is not fully understood, but there is a version that PrP is involved in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease.

The Fore people became the first community of people on Earth where an epidemic of kuru was registered. The peak of this epidemic, which led to the painful end of many local cannibals, was in the 1950s.

The word "kuru" in the local dialect means "to shake"; Kuru is sometimes referred to as the "laughing disease" because of the patients' pathological fits of laughter. The first reports of kuru were brought to us by Australians who explored the wild islands. Later, scientists realized that the cause of the disease is the use of prions.

“The first signs of imminent death are general weakness and the inability to stand on your feet. The victim is taken to the dwelling. There she can still eat, but suffers from severe trembling all over her body. Then he cannot even eat, and subsequently dies, ”a certain W. T. Brown described the picture of kuru.

At the peak of the kuru epidemic, the locals fell ill one by one with previously unknown symptoms, and slowly, in terrible agony, faded away. The disease predominantly affected children and women; in some villages the female half of the population disappeared altogether.

The gender difference had several reasons: Fore men believed that eating human meat during civil strife weakened their body, so the deceased were eaten mainly by women and children. In addition, a weak half of the population was responsible for skinning and cooking meat, and prion infection is transmitted even through wounds. This is really the curse of cannibals.

Interesting fact: prions remain dangerous even after many years of storage in formalin!

Symptoms and effects of kuru disease

Kuru disease is characterized by a long incubation period when a person does not have any symptoms: this asymptomatic period lasts 5-20 years, so it is simply unrealistic to associate the disease with some suspicious meal.

In some cases, the incubation period can be delayed up to 50 years, and the person manages to die a natural death, never knowing about the disease.

The physical and neurological symptoms of kuru are divided into 3 phases:

1. The initial (outpatient) stage of kuru: headaches and joint pain, tremors, balance disorders, speech impairment and progressive movement disorders.

2. The second (sitting) stage of kuru: loss of the ability to move independently, severe impairment of coordination and movement, increasing tremor and emotional instability (depression, laughter).

3. The terminal stage of kuru: patients are unable to sit without support, there is practically no coordination of movements, there is no speech, urinary and fecal incontinence develops, swallowing is difficult, and later the reaction to others disappears, bedsores and ulcers appear.

Death with kuru is inevitable; all the way from the first symptoms to death, patients pass within 2-25 months. Death usually occurs as a result of pneumonia or soft tissue infections.

Thank God, kuru has practically disappeared. Back in the 60s, Australian colonial authorities and Christian missionaries helped eradicate cannibalism in Papua New Guinea. The practice of eating human flesh has not completely disappeared, but its scale has been significantly reduced, and prion disease no longer spreads among the Fore people. Single victims were recorded in 2005.

Although kuru disease has never been a serious problem for Western civilization, recent outbreaks of mad cow disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) have revived the interest of scientists around the world in the mysterious disease of cannibals. Kuru remains the only human prion infection in history.

Guidebooks warn of many dangers that may await travelers in a particular country. But no one warns about cannibalism. Surprise! Cannibalism is still practiced in some tribes such as India, Cambodia and West Africa. And here are 7 countries in which tribes are still not averse to feasting on people.

South East Papua New Guinea

The Korowai tribe is one of the last on Earth to regularly feed on human flesh. They live along the river, and there have been cases when they killed random tourists. And the healers considered warm brains a real delicacy.

Why do they eat people? When someone in a tribe dies for no apparent reason (illness or old age), they consider it a trick of black magic and, in order to save others from harm, they must eat the person.

Interesting fact: In 1961, Michael Rockefeller (son of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller) disappeared while collecting artifacts about the tribe. His body was never found.

India

The northern Indian Hindu sect, the Aghori, eats volunteers who donate their innards. However, in 2005, Indian television crews investigated and learned that they also eat decaying corpses from the Ganges (a local tradition) and also steal organs from crematoria.

Why do they eat people?

Aghori believe that this prevents the aging of the body.

Interesting fact: They make really good jewelry out of human bones and skulls.

Fiji

Formerly known as "Cannibal Island". Until now, local residents cannot restore order, and there are still those who eat human flesh, but not all, but only enemy tribes.

Why do they eat people? This is a revenge ritual.

Interesting fact: Fijian cannibals are not animals at all - they eat with cutlery and collect rare items left over from their victims. In the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, you can find examples of such collections.

Brazil

The Wari tribe ate the pious and religious dead until 1960, and after that some state missionaries massacred almost the entire tribe. However, poverty levels in the slums of Olinda have been prohibitively high since 1994, and there are still outbreaks of cannibalism.

Why do they eat people? Poverty and hunger.

Interesting fact: In 2012, there was information from researchers who interviewed local residents, and they claimed to hear voices telling them to kill this or that person.

West Africa

The society of active cannibals Leopard has been eating people since the last century. Until the 80s, human remains were found in the vicinity of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire. The tribe is usually dressed in leopard skins and armed with their fangs.

Why do they eat people? The tribe believes that eating humans makes them stronger and faster.

Interesting fact: They have followers - the Human Alligator community, which is doing this.

Cambodia

Journalist Neil Davis reported that cannibalism in these regions gained momentum during the wars in Southeast Asia (in the 1960s and 1970s). Nowadays, manifestations of cannibalism are occasionally observed.

Why do they eat people? The Cambodian troops had a ritual - to eat the enemy's liver.

Interesting fact: Many people in cities and villages were under the control of the Khmer Rouge, which strictly controlled all food in the area and artificially created famine in the country.

Congo

There are cases of cannibalism in the Congo, and the last ones were recorded not so long ago - in 2012. They reached their maximum during the Congolese civil war (from 1998 to 2002).

Why do they eat people? During the war, the rebel factions believed that enemies should be eaten, especially the heart, which was cooked using special herbs.

Interesting fact: The Congolese still believe that the human heart gives special strength, and if there are people, it will scare away enemies.

Have a nice adventure! :)

Cannibalism (from French cannibale, Spanish canibal) is the eating of human flesh by people (the term anthropophagy is also used). In a broader sense, animals eat individuals of their own species. The name "cannibals" comes from "caniba" - the name that the inhabitants of the Bahamas called the inhabitants of Haiti, terrible cannibals, before Columbus. Subsequently, the name "cannibal" became equivalent to an anthropophagus.

There is domestic and religious cannibalism.
Household practice was practiced during the primitive communal system, due to lack of food, it was preserved as an exception during general famine. In contrast to religious cannibalism, which includes a variety of sacrifices, eating enemies or various parts of the body, dead relatives. Such eating is justified by convictions, they say, strength and all skills, abilities and character traits will pass to the eater. In part, the cannibalism of maniacs can be attributed to the religious.

SO...

Congo

In the Congo, cannibalism peaked during the Congolese civil war of 1999-2003. The last case was recorded in 2012. They eat people to scare off enemies, believing that a source of great power is hidden in the human heart, and by eating it, the cannibal receives this power.

West Africa

In western Africa there was a group of cannibals called "Leopards". So they were called according to their appearance, as they were dressed in leopard skins and armed with the fangs of these animals. Here and in the 80s of the last century, the remains of people were found. They explain their passion for human flesh by the fact that this action gives them energy, making them stronger.

Brazil

In Brazil, the Huari tribe lives, which is distinguished by its sophistication of taste. Until 1960, their diet included only religious figures, all kinds of enlighteners. Only recently, the need has forced them to eat not only the righteous and God's chosen ones, but also ordinary sinners. To this day, outbreaks of cannibalism often occur here.

It is officially recognized that cannibalism flourishes among them in view of their need and high level of poverty. But the locals claim that they hear the inner voice of whom to kill and eat.

Papua New Guinea

The last nation that constantly uses human flesh in the 21st century is the Korowai tribe living in this area. There is such a scenario that it was here that they ate Michael Rockefeller, the son of a well-known family name and the then Governor of New York, Nepson Rockefeller. In fact, Michael Rockefeller went on an expedition to Papua New Guinea in 1961 to study the life of this tribe, but never returned, and a number of search expeditions did not yield results.

They eat people after the death of a tribesman who died in the absence of any cause or disease, and in order to avoid future deaths, they eat the deceased. Since death without a cause, in their worldview, is black magic.

Cambodia

Cannibalism in this area reached its greatest extent during the wars in Southeast Asia during the 1960s and 1970s. Their warriors had a ritual to eat the liver of the enemy. The reasons why local residents use human meat are religious beliefs and the Khmer Rouge famine.

India

In the Indian sect, the Aghori eat volunteers who bequeathed their bodies to the sect after death. After being eaten, various ornaments are made from the bones and skull. In 2005, according to media investigations conducted here, it became known that this religious group was eating corpses from the Ganges River. "Aghori" believe that human flesh is the best elixir of youth.