Thread: Making up a man-eating culture

Looking for ideas on their culture and religion. Here's the knowns:

1. They live in a jungle very similar to the Amazon
2. They are extremely tall and skinny and grow up quickly (7'5", 130lbs, adult in four years)
3. They have totem animals and believes figures of these creatures have spiritual significance
4. Each clan tattoos itself differently. There are 21 known clans.
5. They believe strength can be passed from one animal to another by devouring flesh
6. They will poison themselves until they not only have immunity but sweat poison
7. They will raid settlements of humans, eat people and livestock
8. They steal infants of related species to improve their "blood and bone"
9. Any trip outside the jungle is viewed as dying
10. Heaven is the Jungle of Happy Hunting
11. Genders do not live with each other--mothers live with daughters, sons with fathers
12. There is a separate priest caste
13. Ritual cannibalism and animal/person sacrifice are both practiced

I have no idea how the gods, the afterlife and sacrifice really fit into the picture or how they believe they can get one outcome or another from afterlife.

Another aspect of cannibalism is that eating your enemy is the ultimate power over or insult to them.


Have you thought about how physically weak someone is if they are 7'5" and only 130 lbs? How could they overpower their enemies/meals? I assume they do not have advanced technology.


Do your people learn and mature fast enough to function as independent adults in only four years?


How do your people procreate if they do not live together? What is the marriage dynamic if they do not live together?


You do not have to have a negative outcome in the afterlife, although to get to the Jungle of Happy Hunting, one need only be a good cannibal. Bad cannibals go somewhere else. Think of the Norse concept of Valhalla. Animal/human sacrifice are usually associated with external religions where one must merely go through the motions, and the gods will be satisfied. Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism are all internal religions that require a lifetime of study/reflection to achieve the full satisfaction offered by the faith. Your man-eaters' religion does not need to be very sophisticated.


Sounds interesting. It's always fun to create an imaginary world. Good luck. C.M.

Yes, they are quite weak--it's why they usually use ranged weapons and spears. It's also why they get good and high on something that makes them berserkers before pitched battles. Good and psyched up. They have hollow bones and much longer legs (and tails). The flesh on their faces does not continue to grow past early childhood so they have heads the size of a two-year-old's. As the POV character described them, they look 'stretched', but she could wrestle them.

At four they can have underlings and mates of their own (though they can't have children until they're 7). the species has marked reproductive seasons so they don't have to worry as much about unplanned pregnancies. They are functional adults at 4 and physically adult (full height) at 2 though they do not have any social powers at that age.

Actually, eating you is a compliment; spitting you out is the insult. Just as strength is taken into the body, so is weakness. Otherwise buries are let out to be scavenged (as an insult to a weak enemy) or cremated (allies that are too poisonous to eat, sick people).

Once they reach 4, they can mate (this implies that from 3 on, they can single out potential mates and begin the year-long dominance combat). Most men do not bother to dominate women younger than 6 because they can't have children with her yet; this behavior is more common with 'puppy love' scenarios where two very young people 'love' each other and form a couple bond and may even live together as a couple. Such childhood arrangements usually fall apart as the two mature into societal roles and older, seasoned men take interest in the woman. Older couples do not live together; men with their fathers, women with their mothers. Sex can happen anywhere, in either hut or somewhere else private, though the society is not particularly sex crazed (If you think about it, it makes sense. It's like toothpicks rubbing on each other and kinda uncomfy). 'Marriages' are dissolved if the woman bests the man in ritual combat or another man bests the 'husband' for one year with declared intent of snitching his 'wife'. Not too uncommon as women who bear strong children are in high demand.

Therefore, a related species is actually a preferred mate to both genders. This related people lives nearby (just outside the jungle), is shorter but much sturdier (a bit more human in proportions). The two peoples are compatible with resultant offspring being short and skinny or tall and beefy (happens more often when a female Comedomini mates with a male of this species = unlikely because those guys don't want to do it with toothpicks)

Questions to consider:
Are they literate?
If so, then they can have holy texts. But they'd also need to be taught reading/writing in less than four years.
If not, then they have to have an oral tradition of some kind in order to keep the religion alive.
Do they get together once every so often to have a big meeting with the priests?
How does one become a priest? How does the male/female thing work with priests?
Do they have any physical places that are religiously important? Temples, statues, rivers, clearings, etc? The top of a mountain? The depth of a cave?
What rites/ceremonies does each individual go through? First kill? First time to the top of the mountain? First mating? etc.

Basically, I'd come up with a series of expectations (that must be followed for their community to survive), build a series of rituals and rites around it, and have the gods reward them for good things and punish them for bad things.

Also to consider:
Are you being culturally insensitive and offensive by portraying certain groups this way? I'm not entirely sure -- I feel like this can be done well and it can be done poorly, and it's a line you'll have to pay attention to.
Part of me wants to recommend that you read a non-fiction book called "The Forest People," (by Colin Turnbull) for research, but if you're portraying these people like it sounds, then I think I'd rather you distance yourself from such wonderful real cultures as much as possible. They're certainly not man-eating, but otherwise they have a lot of details that would be great to draw from. Or maybe just watch Apocalyptico and realism be damned.

Not sure how it would be culturally insensitive as the creatures aren't remotely human. That said cannibalism is just a fact of life and most peoples have done it under one circumstance or another--though it is very stigmatizing and I'd like to avoid making them CANNIBALS (in giant flashing neon letters) and make them people who occasionally eat other people under specific cultural rites.

Been toodling with the priest-y thing while I was at work today.

Priests have a specific garment and code of conduct. The usually come from the Red Clan and are pacifists, completely forbidden from any form of violence except for the purposes of designated sacrifices. They only eat meat of sacrifices and are otherwise vegetarian. Sacrifices are only performed in thanksgiving or to make a request of a deity. Communing with the spirit involves spreading a priest's blood on the ground. Priests believe all the earth is a spirit so sacrifices are done concerning ecological issues, especially natural disasters. It is commonly accepted among the priesthood that, should a sacrifice of people ever need be made, only the priests shall be sacrificed. All priests are male, and I do not believe they are permitted to mate--or, more to the point, they do not have mates that travel with them and it is strongly encouraged to not take a mate because women are great distractions from holy work, though they are strongly encouraged to adopt or take eHo (underlings).

Priests are responsible for trinkets of power--magic beads and carved stones, also artwork and paintings. They are renowned negotiators and peacekeepers. They eschew alcohol and find enlightenment in quiet self control. They have as little tattooing as possible. Most are raised into the priesthood.

Different clans have different beliefs and not all subscribe to the Red Clan's traveling theology. The Fish Clan believes souls are sucked into the ocean, which is a great neutralizing party that absolves and makes even and clean. The Tree Clan believes their bodies go to nurture trees and that their souls reside in the trees. The Frog Clan believes they are reincarnated as rain.

Just as many clans believe that good souls go to the Happy Hunt, many border clans especially believe that the sky will swallow them if they renege on clan obligations or bring shame to their fathers. The closest version I've seen to a 'hell' is their notion of a neighboring plains nation. The Red Clan's priests also spread this version of the underworld, called the Devouring Sky, where a soul is placed in an endless plain, with nowhere to hide, always pursued by enemies.

Reading is difficult to master in the short childhood.
Possibly the only readers would be the priests?

7ft 130? good human range 6'3"-170lbs
found a body wieght calculator-ideal body weight for 7ft is 178
7ft5-208lbs.

Low weight means very little muscle, as the organs have to weigh so much to support the body.

height gives leverage, but if the bones are weak leverage works against them easily. Bones snap easier then preasure needed for leverage to be a benefit.

From what I have read:
Best defense, short of a machine gun or other firearms, close in melee. Bones would snap easily. Quick movement and knock their legs out from under them. Just the fall could cripple them. This would be a severe weakness when the enemy figures out the best way to fight these critters.

They're very (over) adapted to tehir jungle home (really long story on that one) so when the POV princess Omi allies with them and takes them to her balmy volcanic island, they suffer altitude sickness and hypothermia (their used to very low altitudes, humidity 100% and 90F/32C degrees). Many of the clans require some drugs/poisons to stay alive; without them, they go into shock or withdrawal. They have very little melee strength but Omi's people give them firearms (and both peoples are good shots).

Also, because of chemical issues between Omi's people, the Alasei, and the Comedomini, all of the Comedomini males will have to take herbal supplements to suppress their reproductive seasons or they'll go crazy and get amorous with Alasei women in heat (possibly violently rape them, though that is less common with Comedomini than other knyran tribes because Comedomini breed younger, before their bodies are fully internally mature, which can take upwards of ten years).

Your weight figures have yellow/white bone marrow; the Comedomini are hollow-boned. They have very little muscle (very little it needed to move them--even over long distances--though they can't sprint well or lift much). They never seem wider than 12in/30.5cm. Yup, they're rails. Vicious fangly poisonous rails.

When arming them with firearms, give them some sort of support for the gun. A tripod, or maybe they fire lying down, because considering the recoil and their limited strengt and light bones, they'd be flying all over the place. Kind of like trying to hold a mortar like a handgun. You could even have an amusing scene involving the first time one of them tries to fire a rifle and is tossed backwards.

They usually fire lighter firearms or shoot lying down. Good idea on the 'flying' scene

I actually just pictured this terribly ironic scenario where they practice positions and formations for days with wooden practice rifles or their old spears. Everything from how to stand to "which end makes the bang and fire". Finally they are ready for target practice. They line up an entire regiment and they look quite formidable... until the captain screams fire and they all fly backwards, falling over each other and toppling things as they stumble about trying to calm their shaking knees after the shock. Their captain basically goes with the classic "facepalm" and sends all the rifles back to the armory to have them modified into a lighter mod.

I don't know how you pictured these guys visually, but what I'm imagining made me laugh out loud. My wife gave me one of those "what is this idiot up to now" looks. I love this concept of these mysterious warriors from the jungle being taken completely out of their natural setting and having their entire existence turned upside down.

Originally Posted by WolfieReveles

I actually just pictured this terribly ironic scenario where they practice positions and formations for days with wooden practice rifles or their old spears. Everything from how to stand to "which end makes the bang and fire". Finally they are ready for target practice. They line up an entire regiment and they look quite formidable... until the captain screams fire and they all fly backwards, falling over each other and toppling things as they stumble about trying to calm their shaking knees after the shock. Their captain basically goes with the classic "facepalm" and sends all the rifles back to the armory to have them modified into a lighter mod.

I don't know how you pictured these guys visually, but what I'm imagining made me laugh out loud. My wife gave me one of those "what is this idiot up to now" looks. I love this concept of these mysterious warriors from the jungle being taken completely out of their natural setting and having their entire existence turned upside down.

If they are not familiar with guns they might grab an enemies .44magnum(from dead or dropped weapon) and destroy both arms(shattered). Possibly a fractured skull. From the gun breaking both arms and hitting him in the face, rather then recoil pushing the gun over the shooters head.

I witnessed a drill at arms. It was… hilarious.

I have never seen a Comedomini wield a firearm before, and I have only seen rifles fired at ceremonies. To watch a row of such fine-boned creatures be knocked over by the recoil… I felt terrible for laughing at them when I saw the bruises spreading on their shoulders as the veteran warriors helped them up… but it was still funny.

HaiYuki says they practice “unmounted” (without tripods, strange three-legged contraptions made of heavy timber) standing positions to prepare new warriors for the recoil so that they are aware of the risks and “kick” before entering combat. It has become something of a trial of manhood, a competition, to fire one and not fall.

Truthfully, HaiYuki admitted to me later, they do this as an initiation and practical joke. “It is good for morale,” she says, tossing a wink over her shoulder and flicking her tail.

I believe this reason best as the warriors and bystanders enjoy the weekly spectacle immensely and line up to watch the young men be thrown by their own weapons.

How's this?