The Fore people began to die of a disease, and the disease seemed to target women and children specifically. (Bichell, 2016) The Fore people called the disease kuru in their native language, which meant trembling or shivering. (Bichell, 2016) During this time in the 1950s, researchers came in and were trying to discern what was happening to the Fore people of Papua New Guinea. They continued to research and test the people, and while doing so they kept eliminating disease after disease. During this time they tested for diseases, infections, viruses, etc. All of this just eliminated the various issues and taking them out of the equation. (Bichell, 2016) Many locals believed it was the result of sorcery, but they were insistent on finding out what was happening because with all the women dying, they were running out of bloodline. Around 1961, a researcher began to map out bloodlines trying to find a genetic link to the disease, but was unsuccessful. Then, there was a discovery. The Fore people believed that the bodies of their dead would be better served by being eaten by the women who loved them. This was because the bodies would have been eaten by worms or insects, and the Fore believed it was better if they ate their loved ones themselves. (Bichell, 2016) Typically the women would eat the loved ones, but the women would also feed the children “snacks” sometimes until they were old enough to live with the men. (Bichell, 2016) This was the cause of the disease. This disease was unique because it was nothing like anything scientists had seen before. It was not a virus or infection and it was later found that the illness caused was a protein that made the body eat away at the brain, making holes in it, and eventually killing the host of the illness. (Bichell, 2016) This story is a good example of anthropology’s holistic approach because it used testing that did not disrupt or hurt any additional people. It used genetic bloodlines and blood tests to find the right illness, instead of disrupting the people or causing more problems. This was great because the Fore were wanting help in understanding what was happening, but if people had come in and started causing problems among the people, they may have been forced out. This could have led to the complete extinction of the Fore.
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Gary:
The people of Papua New Guinea were a hidden species, until the 1930's and some twenty years from that, they began being studied and researched. It was estimated that some 200 people, per year died of a condition called " kuru" which meant shivering and trembling. When an individual, primarily a woman or young child ( under the age of 8) contracted the disease, they would lose control of their body functions and emotions. For this reason, some researchers called it the " laughing death". When 'kuru' was first studied, it was believed that sorcery was the culprit, and then further explanation thought it may be genetic. When it was discovered that the disease would occur in same social classes, but not genetic circles, then that idea was ruled out as well. The people that make up the Fore, practiced a funeral ritual which was the eating of a deceased body, a loved on. They believed this was an act of love and grief. Women were primarily the ones that consumed the dead flesh and passed it to their young children, which is why they were the primary targets of contracting the disease. Woman, at this time, were believed to be strong enough to hold and tame the dangerous spirits of the deceased.
"Kuru" is a neurological disorder, similar to a newer one known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. It is a bad protein that attacks normal proteins, and twists them, prions, and then these slowly destroy the cerebellum, leaving it with holes, similar to a sponge. It is believed that a member of the tribe, contracted CJD, which infected his brain, and with the practice of funeral feasts, the disease just continued spreading. The holistic approach, falls into kinship and societal norms. The children were kept with mothers, and during the ceremonial rituals, the infected brain was passed on. As children got older, and left the tribal sites with their fathers, they had the ability to pass from partaking in the rituals. The funeral feasts of eating the dead, showing respect, was a societal norm of the Fore, the disease was simply something they didn't understand, but accepted it as part of of their daily life.
In closing, this article was really fascinating to me. To think about how much our medical field, and technology today can predict, prevent and follow and to know that earlier societies accepted death and disease as part of their societal and cultural norms.
Gary
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