An American cannibal amongst the Aghori

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Last week Bong Breaker contended that if there is a post on Sepia Mutiny about “Raw meat” then chances are that it may be one written by me. I hate to be predictable but I hate to disappoint even more. An SM tipster sends us the following article about cannibalism in India from Student Newspaper.org:

As we shared a bumpy auto-rickshaw journey between two North Indian villages, I began to realise that the frail old man I was rubbing thighs with was in fact a cannibal who claimed that babies taste “fresh” whereas the corpses of older people have a “stringy texture like wood”. Gary Stevenson (the name he used to introduce himself) then proceeded to illustrate and justify his preference for younger human flesh through the comparison of superior-tasting lamb over mutton…

Once we were sitting comfortably, Stevenson eagerly whipped out the skull of a young girl that he “dragged out of the Ganges” and carries with him at all times, proudly stroking the smooth bone and proclaiming the cranium to be the finest from his expansive collection. Licking his lips, my congenial cannibal enthusiastically described the sensation of eating his own species: “Human flesh smells like rawhide and tastes like pork. The fingers are the most succulent part,” declaring the practice of devouring corpse meat to be a sacred primordial ritual which still occurs amongst radical Hindu Aghoris in certain parts of India.

Houston-born Stevenson [a.k.a. Kapal Nath], who has come to be known as the “American Aghori”, told me of how he has roamed India for years in search of enlightenment, feasting on the remains of the Hindu dead “as often as possible…” [Link]

I didn’t know that there were any Hindu cannibals. It seems like such a contradiction in terms at its face. At first the only thing I could find was that National Geographic once featured a segment about them and that Wikipedia has a short entry about their ways:

A sect who them selves relates to the order of lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. Aghori means non-terrifying in Sanskrit. The sect is peculiar with its rituals and way of life. This extremely shy and secretive community is known to live in the graveyards, wearing the ash from the pyre, use human bone from the graveyards for the rituals.

The sect dates back to around 1000 A.D., and practices cannibalism in the belief that eating human flesh confers spiritual and physical benefits, such as prevention of aging.

A little more digging revealed that a ten minute documentary about the Aghori titled, “Feeding on the Dead” was completed just a couple of months ago by director Sandeep Singh:

While the sect has been written about, they’ve rarely been filmed performing rituals. Director Sandeep Singh, who shut down his transport business to pursue filmmaking, said it took him more than three months to gain the trust of an Aghori sadhu and convince him to be filmed while performing a cannibalistic ritual… There are about 70 Aghori sadhus at a given time, and they remain with the sect for 12 years before returning to their families. Unlike other Hindu holy men, most of whom are vegetarian teetotalers, the Aghoris consume alcohol and meat.

But it is their consumption of human flesh – a practice whose origins remain a mystery – which has earned them the condemnation of other Hindus and relegated most Aghori sadhus to living around crematoriums in the hills of northern India around the holy city of Varanasi, where the documentary was filmed.

Singh and three cameramen waited with an Aghori sadhu – whose name is not mentioned in the film – for 10 days in June before finding a floating corpse. Hindus generally cremate the dead, but bodies are sometimes ceremonially disposed of in the Ganges.

“The body was decomposed and bluish in color, but the sadhu was not afraid about falling sick,” Singh told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. “He sat on the corpse, prayed to a goddess of crematoriums and offered some flesh to the goddess before eating it…” [Link]

Discussing the Aghori seems like a touchy subject. A few years ago the Tampa Tribune had a macabre article (a must read) about them and this same Gary Stevenson (a.k.a Kapal Nath) which angered many in the Hindu community:

A June 2 story in the Tampa Tribune about cannibalism in India has angered Indian Americans, who said the article paints a sensationalistic picture of their homeland and the Hindu religion, reports San Leandro, Calif. weekly India West…

The story sparked complaints. “(It) gives the impression that foreigners come to India, get lost and are eaten by cannibals,” complained Tampa engineer Nainan Desai, who is leading efforts to organize protests. There are over 10,000 Indians in the Tampa Bay area. Indians are aggrieved that their country and religion are being mischaracterized by the story. [Link]

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p>Getting back to the story of this backpacker and her encounter with the American Aghori from Texas, it seems like she just managed to avoid ending up as a meal:

Later that day, as I searched for links between “Gary Stevenson”, “Kapal Nath” and “cannibalism” in an internet café, I discovered some disconcerting information; the man I had spent the afternoon conversing with was not only telling the truth about his human-eating habits, but had previously been locked up in a secure psychiatric unit in America. Nath is currently wanted by the FBI for questioning in connection with several missing backpackers whom the government suspect may have been ritually sacrificed and consumed by cannibals in India. Although relieved by my lucky escape, I felt somewhat offended that Nath was evidently not tempted to eat me. If only all the other men in India had as little carnal interest in me.

53 thoughts on “An American cannibal amongst the Aghori”

  3. Not cannibalism, but in-humane eating habits of Indians was shown in one of the Indiana Jones movies (also starring Amrish Puri). Not surprisingly, the movie was banned in India… or so I heard.

    Sandeep Singh’s documentary would be an interesting watch. At least it is based on facts, inverviews etc… unlike other films made in Varanasi.

  4. Anuj, keep pressing F5 and looking at the banner up top and you’ll see the very scene you refer to pop up (from The Temple of Doom).

    This is quite an interesting find Abhi (although I knew you were going to write it even before you did), but I wonder how she hooked up with this fella? That TampaTrib story is also pretty nuts.

    Having said all this, I really want to taste some fingers now. He goes on about them being the best bits. Crunch crunch.

  6. I didnÂ’t know that there were any Hindu cannibals. It seems like such a contradiction in terms at its face

    The link about a piece called “Contrary India” that Kush had given in one of the threads read the following:

    “Contrary India From The World in 2006 print edition The frustrating thing about India, I was told by one of my teachers, the great Cambridge economist Joan Robinson, is that whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true. This will continue to apply in 2006. Â…”

    So true !!!

  7. Definitely very weird. Someone needs to introduce Kapal Nath to this fellow I’m sure they would find a lot to chit chat about over hoers de ouvres…crunch..

  8. I dont know if you guys are aware, but the wildboyz on MTV had a whole segment on the Aghori tribe, and how they eat their dead friends, and drink urine. Sensationalism aside, its pretty amazing that there are people like this.

  9. “Human flesh smells like rawhide and tastes like pork. The fingers are the most succulent part,”

    Looks like he skipped the fava beans and chianti and went for the main course.

  10. I dont know if you guys are aware, but the wildboyz on MTV had a whole segment on the Aghori tribe, and how they eat their dead friends, and drink urine. Sensationalism aside, its pretty amazing that there are people like this.

    Come to think of it, why is this so sensational when you have people eating worms and pig crap on national television.

  11. I was dying for a lunchbreak,so thanks Abhi–I will now be more productive and skinnier because of you. :-p

    I hope somebody is in charge of making sure these guys don’t get eaten by anything else in the food chain. The smell of prions in the morning is no good at all.

  12. I dont know if you guys are aware, but the wildboyz on MTV had a whole segment on the Aghori tribe, and how they eat their dead friends, and drink urine.

    They also have some perverted sexual rituals that include necrophilia. But that MTV episode with the Jackass guys was pretty disgusting.

    When one of them said something along the lines of,”This isn’t even the craziest stuff, but we can’t show it.” Thats bad. One of the aghoris was actually biting the dudes, another one would walk up, grab either of the guys, and pelvic thrust/try to dry hump him.

  13. Tantric practices within Hinduism have always had these kinds of rituals. Tantra, as I understand, is a way of attaining higher realms of consciousness by ritualized breaking of social norms and rules. It, in a sense, is the ultimate mutiny 🙂

    I could dig up a few good academic refs on tantra if any of y’all are interested. Here’s one that’s recommended a lot by my friends in religious studies.

  14. If only all the other men in India had as little carnal interest in me.

    What a beeyaaatch.

  15. Here’s one that’s recommended a lot by my friends in religious studies.

    Our friend, the Indexotica blurb, rears its head once again:

    To plunge into this book is to find yourself rushing down the sacred River Ganges through the heart of India. Like a sophisticated travelogue, it brings into sharp focus the rich tapestry of the Indian ecstatic life and the exotic practices of Tantric Yoga that take place, metaphorically, on the banks of this Queen of rivers. The inner eye is challenged with mystical beasts bathing in the waters; holy men daubed in ashes undertaking bizarre and often previously never-before-seen Tantric rituals; the inner ear is filled with the rhythmic, pulsating chant of Om… [Link]

  16. Aluminum cans, dead people…it’s really all just recycling. If the Aghoris don’t get ya, the worms and buzzards will.

    Saheli brings up a good point. Scrapie sandwich, anyone?

    mmmmBRAAAAAAINNNzzzzz!

  17. Our friend, the Indexotica blurb, rears its head once again:

    Eeeeek. I do not endorse that! (serious gag reaction here)

    But seriously, this book is still supposed to be a good one, especially since it is used a lot by serious researchers and academics.

  18. Never having known about aghoris (or imagined their possibility), reading this post on SM was quite a surprise. Some googling later, I was struck by two very strange coincidences. 1) a page mentioned that the fingers were considered particularly… umm… delectable by some aghoris. Is anyone else reminded of the character “kevin” in sin city? 2) many sites mentioned the feeling of transcendence aghoris felt immersed in, after these meals. A small link again, to “white light”…

    Just some random connections, nothing more.

    –dm

  20. The body was decomposed and bluish in color, but the sadhu was not afraid about falling sick,” Singh told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. “He sat on the corpse, prayed to a goddess of crematoriums and offered some flesh to the goddess before eating it…”

    What the…
    on the flip side – some researcher should harvest their stomach contents and see why and how these guys live through botulism, ecoli poisoning or general nausea.
    MY GOD… this is worse than goatse.cx and the knowledge of even that is owed me by SM.. ugh.. need wash.

  21. All in all, these types of cults and practices also highlight the personal freedom present in that land for centuries – compared with other cultures in western hemisphere. More importantly, these appear to be non-violent and dont interfere and challenge the mainstream culture.

  23. Hooray. The literalists strike again.

    Sure, they are all over the place… even in movies..

    Sue’s film makes DJ (Aamir Khan) and his friends stop and stare at themselves for being the actual descendants of these great men and never recognizing and celebrating their courage and spirit. That is where the story of Rang De Basanti beginsÂ…

  25. `Sitting by the fire with an Aghori is like the worst of all evils,” Yon said. “An Aghori has no compunction about killing someone.”

    doesn’t jive well with:

    “Aghori means non-terrifying in Sanskrit”

    Hmmm. There was nothing about “killing” anyone, these sadhus are eating the remains of corpses that have been diposed of. Stevenson seems really off his rocker and just another weirdo looking for a place to be able to perform is special form of mental ilness. India, it seems, worked out. Killing someone though? Tantric practices are different than those of the Aghoris. I have heard of followers of Kali kidnapping travellers (long, long ago) but not of aghoris murdering someone and eating their remains. Ugh. The nasty taste in my mouth is going to take a whole day to clear away.

    Eating people is sensible? I believe that mad cow disease was started precisely because cows were fed the flesh of their counterparts. If you are starving, maybe. In reality, would you?

  26. hello all! why dont you guys understand that INDIA is a land of great cultural revolution and indeed AGHORA is one of them… i recently read a book on AGHORA by David Frawley….. the book is awesome bcos it gives us moderners a new found meaning in the dreadful worship…. actually after i read that book i have been transformed… i dont fear death and have come to see death in a way of reality…. well the book is good read for anyone interested in the life and ways of an Aghori… David Frawly is indeed a master bcos even though he was born and educated in America, he came to India and fell in love with the religion and the culture of India… after reading the book you wont be afraid on an AGHORI i promise…….. and i am no guy from the ancient world… i am studying a very important subject of modern science—Biotechnology…. we cant ignore science and religion…..

  27. It’s mind-boggling how much some people back in India try to put some alleged pseudo-religious/spiritual spin on what are, in some cases, the most misguided and horrifically depraved practices.

    Both the Government and the associated legal authorities need to stamp down hard on the people indulging in these kinds of activities (and the associated attitudes), certainly if people really want India to have credibility as a potential global superpower as per the whole “India Shining” aspiration. The same needs to be done by the main Hindu religious authorities, at least if these activities are being conducted as some way-off-left-field branch of Hinduism.

  28. legal authorities need to stamp down hard on the people indulging in these kinds of activities

    Why? There is nothing criminal/illegal that is being done, is there?

  29. Anuj,

    Are you telling me that cannibalism — even if it doesn’t involve murder — isn’t actually illegal in India ? Even if it involves fishing bodies out of the Ganges (which the dead people’s relatives have used to ceremonially dispose of the bodies, without knowing that cannibals would later be eating the decomposing remains) ?

  30. Are you telling me that cannibalism — even if it doesn’t involve murder — isn’t actually illegal in India ?

    That all depends on whether the British knew and approved of the cannibalism or not 🙂

  31. Curious. All depends on what you are taught as horrific. Here people will eat anything, with any chemical, color or preservative as long as it is wrapped in plastic and has danced on TV. If someone can eat Hostess Twinkies or zero calorie Sauce Alfredo….

    Don’t think the US, the UK or France has had any difficulty being recognized as a world power inspite of various adventures and ongoing atrocities.

    By the way I am a Jain!

  33. The road kill burgers come from outback australia.

    BFD about aghori.

    Its their trip, and from what I understand the actual killing, for food, of other humans, (or for any other reason) is frowned upon.

    The thuggees, who worship Kali would kill travelling male businessmen and merchants as sacrifice to her.

    Given the power of global corporatism, perhaps they had the right idea.

  34. aghora is the name of the hindu god lord shiva.but he is generally called as shiva.because “aghora” is described as a form of shiva in which his body is white and he is worshipped as a god in black magic or tantra shasthraa which is a forbidden act in hinduism.there are also other tantric or gods of black magic such as “shaakini”,”dhaakini”,”chinnamastha”,”aghora”,”kalimatha” etc.but eating dead people is no doubt a forbidden act and this must be eradicated.no hindu text said about this inhuman act.

  35. 24 april 2006 me and my friends are in india and arrived in vagator a week ago, and met a nice but a little crazy american called jerry (i thought, but my boyfriend tells me its gary) anyway he told us that he had eaten people and odviously we didnt believe him. we spent a few nights talking to him, with him telling us all these interesting tales, or so we thought. he is ill at the moment and suffering a bit and waiting to go to hospital. anyway we left to go elsewhere and thought we,d just check about cannibals in india and found out about a man called gary stevenson, saw photos and realised the man we were talking to is the same ‘american cannabil’. we think he is a nice man but are now in a bit of shock…

  36. does anybody know where I can get a copy of the film feeding on the dead which is specificly about this subject?

  37.  Shankaracharya(800 A.D) One of the greatest philosophers and savants of India. Shankaracharya is believed to be incarnation of Lord Shiva. He formed a group of Armed Sadhus to protect Hinduism from other Religions. It is believed tribal people were chosen to form this group. Shankaracharya lived for only 32 years. The group of sadhus which was formed by Shankaracharya later called themselves as AGHORIS - got seperated from mainstream (society), started practicing Tantras & cannibalism (which is still a mystery). But the objective for which this group was formed was never achieved. 
 Many have regreted for becoming Aghoris and committed suicide. Women who wanted to be aghoris have ended up in brothels. But not all aghoris are cannibals. You may find very few practicing these rituals. Many have givenup. Some aghoris grow opium in remote parts of himalayas. Consumption of narcotics is part of their rituals. For the same reason many criminals (Even from other countries), take refuge in this group. 
 Aghoris are banned from Hindu Society

  38. i think the aghori people are awesome i could hang out with them for a while… i saw them on wildboys and i thought they were really cool

  39. Hi Gary. Are you still in India ? I´ve tried to contact you both on the phone and e-mail. Take care. Nic

  40. “Both the Government and the associated legal authorities need to stamp down hard on the people indulging in these kinds of activities (and the associated attitudes), certainly if people really want India to have credibility as a potential global superpower as per the whole “India Shining” aspiration. The same needs to be done by the main Hindu religious authorities, at least if these activities are being conducted as some way-off-left-field branch of Hinduism.”

    Go to hell, who are you to decide what activities people are allowed to indulge in?

    Unless they’re murdering, which I don’t think they are, it’s no business of yours.

  42. dead people’s relatives have used to ceremonially dispose of the bodies,

    Bring your dead relatives to be dumped in the Ganges? A bit unceremonious, wot?

  43. Aghoris will use or eat anything because their faith teaches them that there is no line between the holy and the physical world. There is nothing impure, for if one thing were impure than all would be impure, and if all were impure then it wouldn’t really matter anyway. They believe that everything is pure and good and they set out to prove this by indulging in things that most people consider taboo. It is not that they enjoy eating corpses, but that they do not fear anything because we are one with everything and everything is one with ourselves. Study this topic from an academic standpoint and you will understand what Aghoris are about instead of fearing them like their countrymen do.

  44. Nameskar, So much mis-information on all subjects about Aghora Punth, Tantra and Yoga and mostly all about ‘Fads, Sex and Drugs. Persons like Mike Yon are only trying to degrade the Aghoris, and in the process have slandered the hell out of my name, and has turned my family and most persons who read all the dodgy rubish placed on various sites. They abuse Aghora and Indian culture as a freakie gimick to get hits on their bogus sites, which are mostly comsumer in nature. Many like Mike Yon and Bolinath, of ‘Tribe.net have been selling pictures of myself, and Mr. Bolinath Tribe.net has been selling a CD titled “American Aghori”without my permission. All I wanted to do was to shed light on Aghora and the amazing culture of India and her people. Living in India I have experienced more freedom possible than any place in the whole world. The people of India are mostly very respectful and most kind. I have in total spent more 20+years, now 17 years experiencing a supernormal live. If you would like to do an interview please contact myself. kapalidas@yahoo.com. Love and Respect. Kapalnathaghori.

  46. hey check out youtube dude for videos about these people and their way of life.It was very intresting but a little bit disgusting as well

  47. hi friends,

    Regarding cannibalism, my father used to tell me about greatest cannibals in the world.”blacks” from Africa were being chained,dragged,kept like “cargo” and American (north) people used to test,bargain and buy them.Is this practice still there in the USA?.Then there was famous (notorious) persons like American presidents who ordered massacre of (rather genocide) of peoples of various nationalities like Vietnam,south America and a very recent example of greatest CANNIBAL on the earth George Bush who had killed thousands of Iraqis,Afghans for his feast?.So it appears or most of the world feels that cannibalism is being practiced in the USA on a great scale.Think over it pals

  49. Good site regarding information as truthfully and not trying to judge but to watch-who knows what is what and what is and isn’t possible by which means? i also met gary down at vagator and watched some movies with him.well,he’s kinda in bad shape fighting worms in his belly now as long as his arm as he told me.anyhow,interesting chatting with him and i send him greetings.hate all this sensational press and am happy to read that there’s some humans after all and not only tunnelview matrix square agents. rebel on keep awareness growing … and don’t believe the hype!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  50. All this fuss about cannibalism, is that we tend to think that the people who do such acts are fond of ‘human flesh’ or they develop a taste for them. But it is not so. Cannibalism has always been a ‘ritual’ practised under proper guides… Its not like these so called ‘cannibal aghoris’ hunt for the human food every morning.. They dont have to be scared upon. They wait for some dead body to come floating in Ganges for 10 days.. They eat anything… even shit. If u dont like to see them, then call them ‘shitheads’ or simply neglect them.. But fearing them is the most lame thing one can ever do… They are of sublime nature than the ordinary people.. We have always believed that saints or the monks are powerful when they attain spirituality. But in actual sense, our definition of ‘powerful’ does not apply to them. In fact, in our state of mind’s context, we can say that they’ve become delicate. Yes, those spiritual persons are more and more delicate, such that their ways dont make any sense to us. We say that the spiritual persons are not affected by human bondings, relations etc.., (There are instances when one had to kill his own mother to attain spirituality). But infact they can be disturbed by very simple actions like clapping your hands, or beating a serpant. Suppose lets say you look at a yogi whom u hate a lot. But even if u want to harm him in any way, u will show inhibition initially. Even a hertless serial killer will have inhibition before killing, an innocent baby which doesnt have any Karma..

    MAybe thats why Jesus called all of us sinners.. even we sit just like that without doing anything!!!!!