Traditional Punishment and Unexpected Death in Central Australia

Byard, Roger W.; Jd, Gilbert; James, Rosemary

doi:10.1097/00000433-200103000-00019

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…1 Traditional punishment is still practised in Central Australia, and grievances may be settled by formal spearing in the thigh. 7 Traditional Aboriginal elders have a deep knowledge of human anatomy and are skilled at spearing the femoral artery with deft accuracy. Injuries to the posterior thigh are intended to punish and permanently disable the victim.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemic of Stab Injuries: An Alice Springs Dilemma

Jacob¹,

Boseto²,

Ollapallil³

2007

ANZ Journal of Surgery

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This study is unique in that it strives to unfold, perhaps for the first time, the problem of stab injuries and resultant significant mortality and morbidity within the Aboriginal population of Central Australia. Demographic features presented in the study are quite different from other published Australasian and overseas experiences. There were 1550 stab injury admissions to Alice Springs Hospital during a 7-year period (July 1998 to June 2005). Thirty-two patients were dead before arrival, and there were only three deaths in the hospital during the period of study. The most unique demographic feature was that 99.99% were Aborigines, 53% were women and the most common location of injury was in town camps and homes. The mean age of this population was 31 years, and the average length of stay in hospital was 3 days. The most common site of the stab injuries was the thigh with a total of 605 (38%). Stab injuries to the abdomen were significantly low with 68 (<1%). Twenty-one per cent (332) presented 24 h to 10 days after stabbing. Another 21% (335) absconded before the completion of treatment. Of the victims, 31% (481) were under the influence of alcohol. Twenty per cent (311) of the patients presented with repeat stabbings during the study period. Traditional punishment is still practised in Central Australia and thus explains the high number of thigh injuries. A particular pattern of traditional stab injuries was also noted; medial thigh to kill, posterior thigh to permanently disable and lateral thigh to punish. Rampant alcoholism and social and family breakdown are thought to be significant contributors to the high incidence of violence in Alice Springs. There were only five firearm traumas during this period, two were self-inflicted and three were accidental.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemic of Stab Injuries: An Alice Springs Dilemma

Jacob¹,

Boseto²,

Ollapallil³

2007

ANZ Journal of Surgery

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“…Many of them have been associated with the habit of drinking of fresh blood from the cut carotid artery of animals [6]. Likewise, in Aboriginal tribal communities in Australia, traditional punishments (ritual stabbing, ritual scarring, spearing) are part of the customary law [7].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wiele z nich wiąże się ze zwyczajem picia krwi zwierząt ze świeżo przeciętej tętnicy szyjnej [6]. Podobnie w społecznościach plemiennych Aborygenów w Australii elementem prawa zwyczajowego są tradycyjne kary (rytualne zadawanie ran ostrymi przedmiotami, nacinanie skóry w celu pozostawienia blizn, przebijanie włócznią) [7].…”

Section: Dyskusjaunclassified

Atypical stab injury suggesting ritual suicide

Kučerová¹,

Vojtíšek²,

Hejna³

2016

amsik

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StreszczenieOstre przedmioty od dawna należą do narzędzi najczęściej wykorzystywanych w zabójstwach i samobójstwach. W większości przypadków samobójstw z użyciem ostrego narzędzia stwierdza się powierzchowne nacięcia próbne, a brak takich śladów zawahania może budzić wątpliwości odnośnie do rodzaju śmierci. W niniejszej pracy zaprezentowano niecodzienny przypadek zgonu 41-letniego mężczyzny, u którego stwierdzono pojedyncze ograniczone nacięcie zlokalizowane po prawej stronie szyi. Ciało ujawniono w kałuży krwi w kabinie prysznicowej w mieszkaniu denata. Badanie wewnętrzne wykazało kanałowy ubytek o długości 4 cm, przebiegający do wewnątrz i do dołu wzdłuż mięś-nia mostkowo-obojczykowo-sutkowego po prawej stronie. Przyczyną zgonu był krwotok zewnętrzny z uszkodzonej prawej tętnicy szyjnej i żyły szyjnej wewnętrznej. Brzegi rany były gładkie, nieotarte, pozbawione widocznych urazów wskazujących na zawahanie. W rozpryskach krwi zmarłego ujawniono fragment żyletki. Stwierdzono, że jest to jedyne narzędzie, jakie mogło zostać wykorzystane do zadania rany. Zgon w omawianym przypadku został uznany za samobójstwo.Słowa kluczowe: autopsja, rana kłuta, rytualne samobójstwo, żyletka, ślady zawahania. AbstractSharp weapons have been one of the most common deadly tools in cases of homicide and suicide for a long time. Tentative incisions accompany the majority of suicides by sharp force and the absence of hesitation marks provokes questions about the manner of death. We present the bizarre fatality of a 41-year-old male with an isolated circumscribed incision on the right neck, where the body was found lying in a pool of blood in the shower of his apartment. The internal examination revealed a 4-cm-long channel-like defect running inwardly and downwardly along the right sternocleidomastoid region. The cause of death was external bleeding from an injured right carotid artery and internal jugular vein. The wound had clean non-contused margins without any conspicuous hesitation injuries. A fragment of a razor blade, found in blood splatters, was identified as the only potential injuring tool. The case was classified as a suicide.

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“…Ritual bones can be emu, kangaroo or human, and are characterized by an attached braid of human hair, which some believe can drain a victim's blood. Once the intended victim finds that he or she has been ''sung'' death often follows quite quickly [4][5][6]. An alternative explanation for some of these deaths has been that pointing bones are sometimes soaked in putrefying corpse fluid before being used to prick a victim [5].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Death and sorcery

Byard

2016

Forensic Sci Med Pathol

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Traditional Punishment and Unexpected Death in Central Australia

Cited by 12 publications

References 1 publication

Epidemic of Stab Injuries: An Alice Springs Dilemma

Epidemic of Stab Injuries: An Alice Springs Dilemma

Atypical stab injury suggesting ritual suicide

Death and sorcery

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