Re: Cannibalism in Prax (was Bestiality in Prax?)

From: Andrew Larsen <aelarsen_at_GnuuJZG8WOvc4I5vjXpz3_17Xq1P8d7A96dQ56Oer4gsOG20ly-PbLmUN8Xgw_fwuGs>
Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:08:52 -0600

Ok, but how do they survive otherwise? Prax is an extremely harsh place. The Beast Nomads survive because they have a culture that is very well-adapted to the ecology of the place. The Agimori survive because they are biologically adapted in a way that regular humans aren't and because they focus very aggressively on hunting. What do the Cannibal Cultists do for food other than have the occasional holiday feast of mock-pork? It seems unlikely that they can be as effective as hunters as the Agimori, since they lack the Men-and-a-Half's special adaptations, and the Agimori are a pretty marginal group, just barely surviving when compared to the Beast Nomads. I guess it seems likely to me that cannibalism is the particular adaptive strategy that the CC uses to survive.

	Are you suggesting that the CC is confined to a particular oasis that is haunted enough that other Praxians avoid it?  That's an interesting idea, but it sort of limits what one can do with them.  
	By the way, can anyone explain why I can't see my own posts on the forum?  I only know they're going through when someone else quotes them.  They're not just getting caught in my computer's spam filter.  

Andrew E. Larsen
On Feb 22, 2012, at 1:46 AM, David Cake wrote:

>
> On 22/02/2012, at 12:54 PM, Andrew Larsen wrote:
>
> > I think it's also important to consider that the Cannibal Cult almost has to engage in predatory behavior against others. All the other tribes of Prax are theoretically self-contained. They herd animals that eat the plants and they eat the animals. The Basmoli and Agimori focus on hunting animals. But the Cannibal Cultists, unless they engage in a lot of hunting of animals, pretty much have to survive by hunting humans to eat. Even if they don't focus exclusively on cannibalism, sentient protein has to form a major element in their diet. That means that Praxians are going to be on their guard around them at all times, because you have to assume that the Cannibals are seriously considering jumping you. How else can they survive?
>
> I don't think there is anything suggest the Cannibal cult have to survive by cannibalism alone. The cannibal cult is a spiritual practice, not a diet. And the primary purpose of the spiritual practice is dealing with hostile ghosts, personal power via cannibalism being secondary. They need to eat people once a year as a minimum, perhaps a few times a year normally. Cannibalism isn't their day to day life - for most cultists, cannibalism is simply the price they pay for a measure of safety the rest of the time.
> I think a typical pattern for a semi-permanent cannibal cult group is to settle in an area that is known to be haunted by hostile ghosts, appease the ghosts with their cannibal rituals so they can settle and live there, protected from harassment by the other natives of Prax by the surrounding ghosts. A ghost haunted oasis or similar is likely to have reasonable food supplies with minimal competition for them, as everyone else will be avoiding the place.
>
> Cheers
> David
>
>

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