Headless men
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| "To the west of Caroli are divers nations of Cannibals, and of those Ewaipanoma [[Headless men|without heads]]."--''[[The Discovery of Guiana]]'' (1599) by Walter Raleigh | "To the west of Caroli are divers nations of Cannibals, and of those Ewaipanoma [[Headless men|without heads]]."--''[[The Discovery of Guiana]]'' (1599) by Walter Raleigh | ||
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| - | "The account which [[Ralegh]] gives of the [[Indian]] tribes who have their [[headless men|eyes in their shoulders and their mouths in the middle of their breasts]], has been charged as another proof of his attempt to deal in [[fables]]. Such accounts however have existed since the time of [[Pliny]]; and when Ralegh reported the wonderful tales, which he sufficiently proves were not the offspring of his own imagination, he merely related the common belief of the natives, not only at the period of his visit but up to this day. How frequently have we heard, in our ramblings, the most circumstantial accounts of the existence of tribes equally absurd in appearance as Ralegh's Ewaipanoma! [[Ctesias]] speaks of men with the head of a dog, and Pliny repeats [[Herodotus]]' relation of the [[Acephali]], who, if the [[Libyans]] may be credited , “have their mouths in their breasts.” Sir [[John Mandeville]], speaking of the inhabitants of some southern islands, observes, “Alia insula habet homines aspectu deformes, nihil autem colli aut capitis ostendentes ; unde et acephali nuncupantur: oculos autem habent ante ad scapulas, et in loco pectoris os apertum , ad formam ferri quo nostri caballi frænantur.” We find therefore that Ralegh had several prototypes, and, as he himself observes, he grounded his belief of the existence of such a people upon the testimony of the natives. We learn from [[Humboldt]]'s narrative that the forests of [[Sipapo]], where the missionaries place the nation of [[Rayas]] who have the mouth at the navel, are altogether unknown. (Vol. 5. p. 176. ) An old Indian whom the great traveller met at Carichana, boasted of having seen these Acephali with his own eyes ; and , absurd as these fables are, Humboldt observes that they have spread as far as the Llanos, “where you are not always permitted to doubt the existence of the Raya Indians.” It is probable that Shakspeare, having read Ralegh's [[Guiana]] voyage, makes use of his account of the Ewaipanoma, which he introduces in his ''[[Moor of Venice]]'' ; and when Othello gave fair Desdemona a relation of the wonders he had seen, he included | + | "The account which [[Ralegh]] gives of the [[Indian]] tribes who have their [[headless men|eyes in their shoulders and their mouths in the middle of their breasts]], has been charged as another proof of his attempt to deal in [[fables]]. Such accounts however have existed since the time of [[Pliny]]; and when Ralegh reported the wonderful tales, which he sufficiently proves were not the offspring of his own imagination, he merely related the common belief of the natives, not only at the period of his visit but up to this day. How frequently have we heard, in our ramblings, the most circumstantial accounts of the existence of tribes equally absurd in appearance as Ralegh's Ewaipanoma! [[Ctesias]] speaks of men with the head of a dog, and Pliny repeats [[Herodotus]]' relation of the [[Acephali]], who, if the [[Libyans]] may be credited , “have their mouths in their breasts.” Sir [[John Mandeville]], speaking of the inhabitants of some southern islands, observes, “Alia insula habet homines aspectu deformes, nihil autem colli aut capitis ostendentes ; unde et acephali nuncupantur: oculos autem habent ante ad scapulas, et in loco pectoris os apertum , ad formam ferri quo nostri caballi frænantur.” We find therefore that Ralegh had several prototypes, and, as he himself observes, he grounded his belief of the existence of such a people upon the testimony of the natives. We learn from [[Alexander von Humboldt|Humboldt]]'s narrative that the forests of [[Sipapo]], where the missionaries place the nation of [[Rayas]] who have the mouth at the navel, are altogether unknown. (Vol. 5. p. 176. ) An old Indian whom the great traveller met at Carichana, boasted of having seen these Acephali with his own eyes ; and , absurd as these fables are, Humboldt observes that they have spread as far as the Llanos, “where you are not always permitted to doubt the existence of the Raya Indians.” It is probable that Shakspeare, having read Ralegh's [[Guiana]] voyage, makes use of his account of the Ewaipanoma, which he introduces in his ''[[Moor of Venice]]'' ; and when Othello gave fair Desdemona a relation of the wonders he had seen, he included |
| “The cannibals, that each other eat,<br> | “The cannibals, that each other eat,<br> | ||
Revision as of 21:21, 7 November 2022
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"The Blemmyae are said to have no heads, their mouth and eyes being seated in their breasts." --Naturalis Historiae (75 CE) by Pliny the Elder, Bostock/Riley translation "To the west of Caroli are divers nations of Cannibals, and of those Ewaipanoma without heads."--The Discovery of Guiana (1599) by Walter Raleigh "The account which Ralegh gives of the Indian tribes who have their eyes in their shoulders and their mouths in the middle of their breasts, has been charged as another proof of his attempt to deal in fables. Such accounts however have existed since the time of Pliny; and when Ralegh reported the wonderful tales, which he sufficiently proves were not the offspring of his own imagination, he merely related the common belief of the natives, not only at the period of his visit but up to this day. How frequently have we heard, in our ramblings, the most circumstantial accounts of the existence of tribes equally absurd in appearance as Ralegh's Ewaipanoma! Ctesias speaks of men with the head of a dog, and Pliny repeats Herodotus' relation of the Acephali, who, if the Libyans may be credited , “have their mouths in their breasts.” Sir John Mandeville, speaking of the inhabitants of some southern islands, observes, “Alia insula habet homines aspectu deformes, nihil autem colli aut capitis ostendentes ; unde et acephali nuncupantur: oculos autem habent ante ad scapulas, et in loco pectoris os apertum , ad formam ferri quo nostri caballi frænantur.” We find therefore that Ralegh had several prototypes, and, as he himself observes, he grounded his belief of the existence of such a people upon the testimony of the natives. We learn from Humboldt's narrative that the forests of Sipapo, where the missionaries place the nation of Rayas who have the mouth at the navel, are altogether unknown. (Vol. 5. p. 176. ) An old Indian whom the great traveller met at Carichana, boasted of having seen these Acephali with his own eyes ; and , absurd as these fables are, Humboldt observes that they have spread as far as the Llanos, “where you are not always permitted to doubt the existence of the Raya Indians.” It is probable that Shakspeare, having read Ralegh's Guiana voyage, makes use of his account of the Ewaipanoma, which he introduces in his Moor of Venice ; and when Othello gave fair Desdemona a relation of the wonders he had seen, he included “The cannibals, that each other eat, Oldys supposes that this was done in compliment to Sir Walter Ralegh. Keymis certifies the existence of the headless men, and speaks, in a marginal note, of a sort of people more monstrous, “who have eminent heads like dogs, and live all the day - time in the sea, and they speak the Carib language.” (Hakluyt, vol. iii . p. 677.)" --The Discovery of Guiana (1599) by Walter Raleigh, footnote of the Hakluyt Society |
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The Blemmyes (Latin Blemmyae) was a tribe which became fictionalized as a race of creatures believed to be acephalous (headless) monsters who had eyes and mouths on their chest. Pliny the Elder writes of them that Blemmyes traduntur capita abesse, ore et oculis pectore adfixis ("It is said that the Blemmyes have no heads, and that their mouth and eyes are put in their chests"). The Blemmyes were said to live in Africa, in Nubia, Kush, or Ethiopia, generally south of Egypt.
Some authors derive the story of the Blemmyes from this, that their heads were hid between their shoulders, by hoisting those up to an extravagant height. Samuel Bochart derives the word Blemmyes from two Hebrew terms, one a negation, the other meaning "brain", implying that the Blemmyes were people without brains.
In literature
Ancient writers sometimes used the term anthropophagi (Grk: man eaters) to describe the Blemmyes, as they were known for their cannibalistic proclivities.
In Umberto Eco's Baudolino, the protagonist meets Blemmyes along with Sciapods and a number of monsters from the medieval bestiary in his quest to find Prester John.
Science fiction author Bruce Sterling wrote a short story entitled "The Blemmye's Stratagem" (2005). The story describes a Blemmye during the Crusades, who turns out to be an extraterrestrial.
See also
