Amala and Kamala

Amala (died September 21, 1921) and Kamala (died November 14, 1929) were two "feral girls" from India who were said to have been raised by a wolf family.

Appearance

In 1926, The Reverend Joseph Amrito Lal Singh, rector of the local orphanage, published an account in the "Calcutta Statesman" saying that the two girls were given to him by a man who lived in the jungle near the village of Godamuri, in the district of Midnapore, west of Calcutta, and that the girls, when he first saw them, lived in a sort of cage near the house. [J. H. Hutton: "Wolf-Children" in "Folklore, Transactions of the Folk-Lore Society", vol. 51, nr. 1, pages 9 to 31, William Glaisher Ltd., London, March 1940] Later he claimed that he himself rescued the girls from the wolves' den on October 9, 1920. He named the children and wrote his observations of them in a "diary" (consisting of loose sheets, some dated, some undated) for almost ten years - which represents one of the best recorded attempts at describing wolf-children and the attempt to humanise them. The "diary" entry of October 17, 1920 states, "...the mother wolf, whose nature was so ferocious and affection so sublime. It struck me with wonder. I was simply amazed to think that an animal had such a noble feeling surpassing even that of mankind ... to bestow all the love and affection of a fond and ideal mother on these peculiar beings." Kamala was at the time about eight years old, Amala about 18 months.

Behaviour and treatment

Singh claims in his "diary", that at the orphanage, the two girls showed wolf-like behaviour typical for feral children. They would not allow themselves to be dressed, scratched and bit people who tried to feed them, rejected cooked food and went on all fours. Both girls had developed thick calluses on their palms and knees from having walked on all fours. The girls were mostly nocturnal, had an aversion to sunshine, and could see very well in the dark. They also exhibited an acute sense of smell and an enhanced ability to hear. The girls enjoyed the taste of raw meat and would eat out of a bowl on the ground. They seemed to be insensitive to cold and heat and appeared to show no human emotions of any kind, apart from fear. At night they would howl like wolves, calling out to their 'family'. They did not speak.

Singh claims that he took on the difficult task of trying to teach them ordinary human behaviour. Amala died in 1921 of a kidney infection. Kamala showed signs of mourning at her death. After this, Kamala became more approachable. She was eventually partially house trained and became used to the company of other human beings. After years of hard work she was able to walk upright a little, although never proficiently and would often revert to all fours when she needed to go somewhere quickly, and learned to speak a few words. She died in 1929 of uremia.

Controversy

Because of the many different versions, none of them substantiated by any other witnesses than the Reverend Singh himself, there persists considerable controversy as to the veracity of the account. Most scientists considered Amala and Kamala mentally retarded children with congenital defects. [Bruno Bettelheim: "Feral Children and Autistic Children" in "The American Journal of Sociology", Vol. 64, No. 5., March 1959, pp455-467] The "myth" of having been "raised by wolves" is an ancient Indian conception to explain the animal-like behaviour of abandoned children with congenital defects.

Recent study

According to the French surgeon Serge Aroles, the case of Amala and Kamala is the most scandalous swindle concerning feral children. In his book "L'Enigme des enfants-loup" (2007), Aroles describes his research of the case. He scrutinized archives and formerly unknown sources and concludes:
*The original diary which Singh claimed to have written "day after day during the life of the two wolf-girls" is false. It was written in India after 1935, six years after Kamala's death. (The original manuscript is kept in the Manuscripts division of the US Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.).
*The pictures showing the two wolf-girls walking on all-four, eating raw meat, and others, were taken in 1937, after the death of the girls. The pictures actually show two girls from Midnapore posing at Singh's request. The body and the face of the girl in the pictures are totally different from Kamala's body and face, as shown in true pictures of her.
*According to the medical doctor in charge of the orphanage, Kamala had none of the anomalies invented by Singh, such as very sharp and long teeth, all-four locomotion with fixed joints, nocturnal vision with emission of an intense blue glare by her eyes during the night, etc. [The American Journal of Psychology, 1934, p149)]
*According to several reliable testimonies collected in 1951-1952, [The Genetic Psychology Monographs, 1959, n°60, pp117-193] Singh used to beat Kamala in order make her act as he had described in front of visitors.
*The fraud was undertaken for financial gain. Aroles shows letters between Singh and Professor Robert M Zingg, in which Zingg expresses his belief in the financial value of the story. After his publication of Singh's "diary", Zingg sent US$500 to Singh who was desperately in need for money to maintain the orphanage. [P. J. Blumenthal: "Kaspar Hausers Geschwister - Auf der Suche nach dem wilden Menschen" (Deuticke, Vienna/Frankfurt, 2003, ISBN 3-216-30632-1)]
*Kamala was mentally defective, affected with Rett syndrome.

References

ources

*cite web|author=John McCrone|title=Wolf Children and the Bifold Mind|publisher=Carroll & Graf Pub|year=1994|work=The Myth of Irrationality: The Science of the Mind from Plato to Star Trek|url=http://www.feralchildren.com/en/showchild.php?ch=kamala| accessdate=October 18|accessyear=2005
*cite web|author=Joseph Amrito Lal Singh, Robert M. Zingg|title=Wolf-Children and Feral Man|publisher=Shoe String Pr Inc| year=1966|work=Wolf-Children and Feral Man|url=http://www.feralchildren.com/en/pager.php?df=singh|accessdate=October 18| accessyear=2005
*cite book|author=David Horthersall|title=History of Psychology|year=2004
* P. J. Blumenthal: "Kaspar Hausers Geschwister - Auf der Suche nach dem wilden Menschen" (Deuticke, Vienna/Frankfurt, 2003, ISBN 3-216-30632-1)

External links

* [http://www.feralchildren.com Kamala and Amala and other feral children at FeralChildren.com]
* [http://www.feralchildren.com/en/pager.php?df=singh J.A.L. Singh: "Diary of the Wolf-Children of Midnapore (India)"]