Kuru is a form or ritual and mortuary cannibalism practiced in papua new guinea. The family of the deceased will partake in the dismembering and eating of their loved one. they believe that it is so they always have a part of their family with them. Some tribes are aware of the effects of kuru while others seem to not be. Which brings the question if you know the effects of eating the human brain why still do it? Though there is a “ban” of the practice people still participate in the ritual.

This week I will talk about a book called the trembling mountain, It is a first hand account of an anthropologist in Papua New Guinea studying the affects of Kuru on the fore people. Kuru is a neurological disease caused by the eating of human flesh. It causes uncontrollable trembling/shaking affecting the nervous system slowly shutting it down. Causing a loss of movement, speech, motor functions, etc etc. within the community of the Fore they have very strict policies if you will about who is to see someone who is infected with the disease. In the book the Author had to speak with the chief of the tribe in the area he was in and then with the family and the chief again of course in the native language of pidgin then they were given permission to view the “patient” several of the people he examined died shortly afterwards after displaying only the trembling. This raises the question how fast does Kuru kill? does it lie dormant?