Ethite Cannibalism (ɛθa͡it)

Aside from their barbaric practice of eating their dead, I believe the orthodox Ethites to be the most reasonable people in this country.

— Laura Pfieffer

History

The practice of funerary cannibalism has a long tradition in the Ethite religion. Historians believe that the practice began as a backlash against the stringent purification rituals which were in place by the early religious majority in Ethion. Some even think it came about because Ethites, as a minority, had only dead bodies to eat during lean times, though this is a more controversial opinion. In time, however, the practice also came to represent the remembrance of the dead and was a physical representation of the dead remaining with the living in some form. The flesh was typically cooked and eaten, and the bones were later buried. In the case of a body which could not be eaten, such as a person who had been attacked by wild animals or died of disease, the Ethites burned the body and cooked an animal to be eaten in place of the body. Often, the animal was cooked over the fire in which the body burned.
After Ethites became the religious majority of the area, Ethion was often viewed as a backwater country due to this morbid tradition. The tradition began to dwindle in the eleventh century, fueled primarily by wealthy merchants seeking higher prestige and improved international trade. This was also the time that Me Howe married an Ethite merchant and emigrated from Zenxon. Howe was instrumental in founding schools and promoting education for both boys and girls. She also heavily influenced the curriculum, which was based, whenever possible, on Zenxonian political and religious ideals. This eventually led to the Ethite religion merging with many Zenxonian beliefs, including the wearing of veils by women and an end to eyebrow piercing and cannibalism.
Because these schools were primarily attended by the the children of the wealthy, the shift to the New Ethite religion began among the upper echelons of society and trickled down to the lower classes over several centuries. As the religious minority was in charge of the country, however, laws against the practice of cannibalism were put into place much more quickly. Lawmakers used both scientific and religious reasons to justify this act, including the Ordeal of the Mirage and concerns that funerary cannibalism spread disease. Historians believe that the laws were actually created as a form of control, especially as cannibalism was still practiced somewhat openly in areas of Ethion for several hundred years.
As the practice further dwindled and more and more Ethites converted to the New Ethite traditions, the prestige of the country rose, while the view of Ethite cannibals fell even further. Where the practice of the cannibals was once understood, if not approved of, by the 16th century, many outsiders believed that Ethite cannibals were bloodthirsty savages who would kill and eat any unsuspecting traveler who stumbled into their village. Though Laura Pfieffer famously lived among Ethite cannibals and wrote honestly (if bluntly) about their practices, her journal  did little to assuage these fears, and if anything, further sensationalized the group.
By the 17th century, the practice of cannibalism has died out entirely

well, mostly...

, even among orthodox Ethites, and even people in Ethion had come to believe the rumors of violent cannibals. In the last hundred years, Pelan historians have tried to correct this image, bringing to light the complexity of the funerary practices. Ironically, this had led to the Pelan themselves being accused of cannibalism despite the fact that their own religious beliefs abhor the practice of eating human flesh.

Type

Religious, Cult