About Karankawa Religious Beliefs
The Karankawa tribe lived along the coast of Texas from Galveston to Corpus Christi until their extinction in the 1850s. What little knowledge obtained about Karankawa religious beliefs comes from accounts of European explorers and Anglo settlers to the area. Karankawa religious beliefs, as understood by non-Indian observers at the time, inspired fear and revulsion due to the Karankawa practice of ceremonial cannibalism.
Other People Are Reading
-
Misconceptions
-
While Karankawa religious beliefs did include ritual cannibalism, there is a widely held misconception that Karankawas were cannibalistic in general, often consuming human flesh as part of their diet. This is entirely false. The Karankawa diet consisted primarily of fish and shellfish, deer and vegetation gathered by tribal members. The cannibalistic element of Karankawa religious beliefs was only used on captive enemies based on the belief that devouring their enemy's flesh would give the Karankawa the enemy's strength or courage.
Time Frame
-
The first known written observations of Karankawa religious beliefs come from the first encounter of the Spanish with the Texas tribe. Cabeza de Vaca came upon the Karankawa near Galveston in 1528 after his expedition shipwrecked. The Karankawa were then without further European contact until the French arrived in their lands in 1685. Karankawa territory became a focal point in the desire for land acquisition by the Spanish and French in the area. When the Spanish took control of Texas they tried unsuccessfully to bring the Karankawa into missions in an attempt to eradicate the "savage" practices of some of the Karankawa religious beliefs. The Karankawa rejected Christianity, clinging to their way of life and religious beliefs until they were annihilated by disease and warfare in the 1850s.
-
Features
-
What is known about Karankawa religious beliefs centers around what the Karankawa referred to as "mitotes," or gatherings. These gatherings were religious in nature and held for a variety of different reasons, such as in celebration for bountiful catches of fish or hunts or in preparation for war. European observers also recorded that Karankawa religious beliefs called for these gatherings at every full moon. During these gatherings there was often music, dancing and the drinking of an intoxicating beverage made from yaupon leaves. Not unlike many Texas Indian tribes of that era, Karankawa religious beliefs did involve ceremonial cannibalism of the tribe's enemies. If the Karankawa captured a particularly strong or courageous member of a rival tribe, they would eat pieces of his flesh to gain his strength and courage.
Significance
-
While repulsive and highly sinful to European sensibilities at the time, the ceremonial cannibalism that constitued a large part of Karankawa religious beliefs played a major role in their cultural traditions. According to one Spanish observer, during these ceremonies the captive enemy was first tied to a stake, and then young male Karankawa would cut off pieces of his flesh, cook it over a fire, and eat it in front of the dying captive. This custom was common at the time among many Texas and Louisiana tribes.
Effects
-
Aspects of Karankawa religious beliefs, such as ritual cannibalism, were very feared, and misunderstood, by settlers of the Texas coast. Most Anglo settlers believed the Karankawa were cannibals that would have no reservations about capturing and devouring their children and themselves. While this may not have been an implausible deduction, it is highly doubtful the Karankawa had any large-scale cannibalistic designs on the settlers to the Gulf Coast of Texas. Nonetheless, fear of the Karankawa as hostile neighbors and of Karankawa religious beliefs with their cannibalistic aspects, inspired Texans to obliterate the remaining remants of the tribe, resulting in their extinction by the 1850s.
-
