# A History of Monsters, 97

The Carthaginians and other African peoples, when performing sacrifices, would cut off the ear of a beast as a first-offering; having thrown it over their houses, they would turn their heads away and then offer the sacrifice to the Sun and Moon. In Africa, there were also the Rhizophagi, who lived on reed roots; likewise, the Cyneci, who, fearing wild beasts, built their dwellings in trees. Additionally, there were the Akridophagi, who fed on locusts, and the Cynaminii, who raised a great number of wild dogs—peoples who were discussed in the chapter on human differences. The Lotophagi cast the corpses of their parents into the sea, caring little (according to Caelius) whether bodies are consumed by fire, earth, or water. The Psylli, considering the South Wind harmful to their region, would take up arms and pursue it as if it were a living person. Added to these are the Ichthyophagi, who live solely on fish, as well as the Amazons—warlike women who would cauterize their breasts, judging them to be an obstacle to fighting.

In Asia, there are the Ophiophagi, who eat serpents. The Nabateans are the most self-restrained of all, showing wonderful industry in the pursuit of wealth. Panchaea supported priests who were not permitted to leave their sacred precincts. In Assyria, it was the custom for suppliants to carry their hands bound behind their backs; others wear signet rings and carry elegantly crafted scepters in public. The Chaldeans preached that the world was eternal and foretold the future from the stars. To the Jews, the Sabbath was sacred, and their sacrificial victims had to be year-old males; furthermore, it was mandated by law that no enemy be left unburied. The Medes delighted in the study of archery and horsemanship. The Parthians ate no meat other than that obtained through hunting. The Persians worshiped the Sun above all, then the Moon, Venus, Fire, Earth, Water, and the Winds, performing their rites not on altars but in high places and under the open sky; indeed, according to Cicero, they would coat the deceased in wax so they might be preserved longer. The Hyrcanians raised dogs for no other purpose than to devour the dead.

In India, they did not slit the throats of sacrificial victims but killed them by cutting off their breath, so that something whole might be offered to God. Other Indians burned men while they were still half-alive, believing that to anticipate the day of one's fate was something noble and divine. Others threw as many fish into a tomb as the number of enemies they had slain. Among the Indians of Coiba, liars were punished with a capital sentence. The Comanese Indians dealt with physicians under a very secure contract: a doctor first had to consider carefully which sick person's care he wished to undertake; if the patient was restored to health, the doctor was given a generous and exceptional reward; if the patient died, the doctor received no fee and was put to death.

Others, polluted by unspeakable crimes, were condemned to a feminine condition—namely to the spinning wheel and the kitchen—as thereafter no role other than a woman's was permitted to them. To the Mexican King, those who could not pay other taxes due to poverty would bring bags full of lice to the court every year. Likewise, a certain Peruvian law for the needy ordered that the lame, the blind, the mute, the elderly, and the sick be supported by public census and brought to public banquets; indeed, another law required that they eat with their doors unlocked, so that the guests could be more easily inspected by public officials. Furthermore, the people of Andahuaylas (according to the Jesuit Eusebius), led by the suggestions of demons, worshiped Pilate, calling him the true God because he was able to kill Christ, the God of the Christians. Along the shores of China, colossal statues made of very hard stone were erected, of such great size that they could be seen from many miles away; they were called Chinese Pagods, as appears in this image