Cannibals of Orissa

Even in modern age of 21st century the Juang and Saora tribes of Orissa State in India are periodically reported to indulge in cannibalism and resides mostly in southern Orissa forests. Like Jarwas of Andamans they wear little clothes and avoid outside contacts. Traces of Neolithic life are found here and the Juang tribe found here are the last surviving tribes among the vanishing descendants of the Stone Age. Among the Saora tribe of Orissa State in India, young men and women sometimes exhibit abnormal behavior patterns that western trained mental health specialists would likely define as a mental disorder. They cry and laugh at inappropriate times, have memory loss, pass out, and claim to experience the sensation of being repeatedly bitten by ants when no ants are present. These individuals are usually teenagers or young adults who are not attracted to the ordinary life of a subsistence farmer. They are under considerable psychological stress from social pressure placed on them by their relatives and friends. The Saora explain the odd behavior of these people as being due to the actions of supernatural beings who want to marry them. The resolution to this situation is to carry out a marriage ceremony in which the disturbed person is married to the spirit. Once this marriage has occurred, the abnormal symptoms apparently end and the young person becomes a shaman responsible for curing people. In the eyes of the society, he or she changes status from a peculiar teenager to a respected adult who has valuable skills as a result of supernatural contacts. This Saora example suggests that some minor mental illnesses could be better viewed as ways of dealing with impossible social situations. In other words, they are coping mechanisms.