A brief history of cannibalism - Bill Schutt

Translator: Hani Klafrina Reviewer: Lanny Yunita

15th century Europeans believed they had hit upon a miracle cure:

Kaum Eropa abad ke-15 mengklaim telah menemukan obat ajaib,

a remedy for epilepsy, hemorrhage, bruising, nausea,

yaitu obat epilepsi, pendarahan otak, memar, mual,

and virtually any other medical ailment.

dan berbagai penyakit lain.

This brown powder could be mixed into drinks, made into salves

Serbuk coklat ini bisa dicampur ke dalam minuman, dibuat salep,

or eaten straight up.

atau dimakan langsung.

It was known as mumia and made by grinding up mummified human flesh.

Serbuk ini bernama mumia, hasil tumbukan daging mumi manusia.

The word "cannibal" dates from the time of Christopher Columbus;

Kata kanibal muncul pada masa Christopher Colombus.

in fact, Columbus may even have coined it himself.

Bahkan, mungkin dia sendiri yang menciptakannya.

After coming ashore on the island of Guadaloupe,

Setelah mendarat di pulau Guadalupe,

Columbus' initial reports back to the Queen of Spain

Columbus melaporkan kepada Ratu Spanyol,

described the indigenous people as friendly and peaceful—

bahwa suku asli pulau itu ramah dan damai.

though he did mention rumors of a group called the Caribs,

Namun dia juga menyampaikan isu sebuah suku bernama Karib,

who made violent raids and then cooked and ate their prisoners.

yang melakukan penyergapan brutal, memasak, serta memakan tawanannya.

In response, Queen Isabella granted permission to capture and enslave

Dalam balasannya, Ratu Isabella mengizinkannya menangkap dan memperbudak

anyone who ate human flesh.

semua orang yang memakan daging manusia.

When the island failed to produce the gold Columbus was looking for,

Ketika penduduk pulau gagal menghasilkan emas yang diminta Columbus,

he began to label anyone who resisted his plundering and kidnapping as a Caribe.

semua yang menentang penculikan dan perampasan dinamai Karib.

Somewhere along the way, the word "Carib" became "Canibe" and then "Cannibal."

Seiring waktu, Karib berubah menjadi Kanib dan kemudian Kanibal.

First used by colonizers to dehumanize indigenous people,

Awalnya dipakai para penjajah untuk menghina penduduk asli,

it has since been applied to anyone who eats human flesh.

kemudian dipakai untuk menyebut siapa pun yang memakan daging manusia.

So the term comes from an account that wasn't based on hard evidence,

Jadi, istilah kanibal tercipta dari kejadian yang sulit dibuktikan,

but cannibalism does have a real and much more complex history.

namun kanibalisme mempunyai sejarah nyata dan rumit.

It has taken diverse forms— sometimes, as with mumia,

Bentuk kanibalisme juga beragam, misalkan pada mumia,

it doesn't involved recognizable parts of the human body.

mereka tidak mengambil bagian tubuh yang dikenali.

The reasons for cannibalistic practices have varied, too.

Alasan kanibalisme juga bervariasi.

Across cultures and time periods, there's evidence of survival cannibalism,

Sepanjang budaya dan waktu, ada bukti hidup dari praktik kanibalisme.

when people living through a famine, siege or ill-fated expedition

Saat melakukan ekspedisi, kemudian kelaparan, terancam, atau gagal,

had to either eat the bodies of the dead or starve to death themselves.

manusia harus makan bagian tubuh mayat atau memilih mati kelaparan.

But it's also been quite common for cultures

Namun dalam budaya tertentu sudah dianggap lazim

to normalize some form of eating human flesh under ordinary circumstances.

untuk memakan daging manusia dalam kondisi normal.

Because of false accounts like Columbus's,

Karena pemahaman Columbus yang keliru,

it's difficult to say exactly how common cultural cannibalism has been—

sulit dikatakan seberapa umumnya praktik kanibalisme...

but there are still some examples of accepted cannibalistic practices

Namun ada beberapa bukti bahwa praktik kanibalisme dapat diterima

from within the cultures practicing them.

dalam budaya yang mempraktikkannya.

Take the medicinal cannibalism in Europe during Columbus's time.

Contohnya praktik kanibalisme di Eropa pada masa Columbus.

Starting in the 15th century, the demand for mumia increased.

Mulai abad ke-15, permintaan mumia meningkat.

At first, stolen mummies from Egypt supplied the mumia craze,

Awalnya, mumi curian dari Mesir mampu memenuhi kebutuhan akan mumia,

but soon the demand was too great to be sustained on Egyptian mummies alone,

namun permintaan tersebut terlalu tinggi jika hanya disuplai mumi Mesir,

and opportunists stole bodies from European cemeteries to turn into mumia.

dan para oportunis mencuri mayat dari kuburan Eropa untuk dijadikan mumia.

Use of mumia continued for hundreds of years.

Penggunaan mumia berlanjut hingga ratusan tahun.

It was listed in the Merck index, a popular medical encyclopedia,

Hal itu tercatat dalam indeks Merck, ensiklopedia medis terkenal

into the 20th century.

pada abad ke-20.

And ground up mummies were far from the only remedy made from human flesh

Dan mumi terkubur bukan satu satunya obat yang terbuat dari daging manusia

that was common throughout Europe.

yang umum di Eropa.

Blood, in either liquid or powdered form, was used to treat epilepsy,

Darah dalam bentuk cair maupun serbuk, digunakan untuk menyembuhkan epilepsi,

while human liver, gall stones, oil distilled from human brains,

sedangkan hati manusia, batu empedu, minyak sulingan otak manusia,

and pulverized hearts were popular medical concoctions.

serta hati tumbuk dikenal sebagai bahan pengobatan populer.

In China,

Di Tiongkok,

the written record of socially accepted cannibalism goes back almost 2,000 years.

praktik kanibalisme yang dianggap lazim, terjadi 2000 tahun yang lalu.

One particularly common form of cannibalism

Satu praktik kanibalisme yang umum

appears to have been filial cannibalism,

adalah kanibalisme filial,

where adult sons and daughters would offer a piece of their own flesh

yaitu anak lelaki dan perempuan dewasa menawarkan potongan daging mereka

to their parents.

kepada orang tuanya.

This was typically offered as a last-ditch attempt to cure a sick parent,

Ini adalah cara terakhir untuk menyembuhkan orang tua yang sakit,

and wasn't fatal to their offspring—

dan yang tidak berakibat fatal bagi si anak,

it usually involved flesh from the thigh or, less often, a finger.

biasanya yang dipilih adalah daging dari paha atau kadang jari.

Cannibalistic funerary rites are another form of culturally sanctioned cannibalism.

Ritual pemakaman kanibal adalah bentuk lain kanibalisme yang diterima budaya tertentu.

Perhaps the best-known example came from the Fore people of New Guinea.

Contohnya adalah masyarakat Fore di Papua Nugini.

Through the mid-20th century, members of the community would,

Selama pertengahan abad ke-20, anggota masyarakat di sana,

if possible, make their funerary preferences known in advance,

jika memungkinkan, akan memilih cara pemakaman yang diinginkan,

sometimes requesting that family members gather to consume the body after death.

terkadang anggota keluarga diminta berkumpul memakan mayat si almarhum.

Tragically, though these rituals honored the deceased,

Tragisnya, meskipun ritual ini bertujuan untuk menghormati si almarhum,

they also spread a deadly disease known as kuru through the community.

hal itu juga menyebarkan penyakit mematikan bernama kuru.

Between the fictionalized stories, verifiable practices,

Antara cerita karangan, berbagai macam praktik kanibalisme,

and big gaps that still exist in our knowledge,

dan perbedaan besar yang ada dalam pengetahuan kita,

there's no one history of cannibalism.

tidak ada sejarah kanibalisme tunggal.

But we do know that people have been eating each other,

Namun manusia memang sudah saling memakan,

volunteering themselves to be eaten,

merelakan dirinya dimakan,

and accusing others of eating people for millennia.

dan selama jutaan tahun menuduh orang lain makan daging manusia.