Impalement

For other uses, see Impale (disambiguation).

Vertical impalement

Impalement is the traumatic penetration of an organism by an elongated foreign object such as a stake, pole, or spear, and this usually implies complete perforation of the central mass of the impaled body. While the term may be used in reference to an unintentional accident, it is more frequently used in reference to the deliberate act as a method of torture and execution.

Methods

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Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, involves the body of a person being pierced with a long stake. The penetration could be through the sides, through the rectum, through the vagina, or through the mouth. This method leads to a painful death, sometimes taking days. When the impaling instrument was inserted into a lower orifice, it was necessary to secure the victim in the prone position; the stake would then be held in place by one of the executioners, while another would hammer the stake deeper using a sledgehammer. The stake was then planted in the ground, and the impaled victim hoisted up to a vertical position, where the victim would be left to die.

In some forms of impalement, the stake would be inserted so as to avoid immediate death and would function as a plug to prevent blood loss. After preparation of the victim, perhaps including public torture and rape, the victim was stripped, and an incision was made in the perineum between the genitals and rectum. A stout pole with a blunt end was inserted. A blunt end would push vital organs to the side, greatly slowing death.^[1]

The pole would often come out of the body at the top of the sternum and be placed against the lower jaw so that the victim would not slide farther down the pole. Often, the victim was hoisted into the air after partial impalement. Gravity and the victim's own struggles would cause him to slide down the pole.^{[citation needed]}

History

The earliest known use of impalement as a form of execution occurred in civilizations of the Ancient Near East, such as the Neo-Assyrian empire, is evidenced by carvings and statues from the ancient Near East.

Impalement of Judeans in a Neo-Assyrian relief.

Africa

The Zulu of South Africa used impalement (ukujoja) as a form of punishment for soldiers who had failed in the execution of their duty, for people accused of witchcraft, or for people who had exhibited cowardice.^[2]

The French occupiers of Egypt resorted to this method of execution towards Suleiman al-Halabi, the Syrian Kurdish student who assassinated General Jean Baptiste Kléber. This is the only instance of impalement in French justice, and was ordered in respect of local custom.

Americas

The Araucanian chief Caupolican suffered this death as a prisoner during the Spanish conquest of Chile. The method used was to make him sit on a stake while his wife was forced to watch.^[3] In 1578, the chief Juan de Lebú would be executed by the same manner.

Asia

Japan

Impalement was only occasionally used by samurai leaders during the Age of Warring States. Early in 1561, the allied forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga defeated the army of the Imagawa clan in western Mikawa province, encouraging the Saigo clan of east Mikawa, already chafing under Imagawa control, to defect to Ieyasu's command. Incensed at the rebellious Saigo clan, Imagawa Ujizane entered the castle-town of Imabashi, arrested Saigo Masayoshi and twelve others, and had them vertically impaled before the gate of Ryuden Temple, near Yoshida Castle. The deterrent had no effect, and by 1570, the Imagawa clan was stripped of its power.^[4]

Malay Islands

In Malay Adat law, the traditional punishment for adultery before the modern age was that of impalement, known in Malay as Hukum Sula. A pole was inserted through the anus and pushed up to pierce the heart or lungs of the condemned, the pole thereupon being hoisted and inserted into the ground.

Southern Asia

Impalement is known to have been employed in several regions of southern Asia, such as in the Bengal region, where it was known as Shul (Bengali: শূল) and in ancient Tamilnadu, in present-day India, where it was referred to as Kazhuvetram. Impalement was the usual sentence for the crime of treason against the king. A form of impalement existed in medieval Kerala as a method of execution.^{[5][dead link]}

Vietnam

During the Vietnam War of the late 1960s, one account alleges that a village headman in South Vietnam who cooperated in some way with the South Vietnamese Army or with U.S. soldiers might have been impaled by local Viet Cong as a form of punishment for alleged collaboration.^[6] The method of impalement was alleged to have been the insertion of a sharpened stake through the anus; the stake was then supposedly planted vertically in the ground in view of his village. The victim was allegedly tortured and humiliated by complete castration, with the amputated genitalia being forced into his mouth.^[6] Another account alleges that the pregnant wife of a village headman was vertically impaled.^[7] There is also an allegation from the Vietnam War of coronal cranial impalement. In this case, a bamboo stake was supposedly thrust into the victim's ear and driven though the head until it emerged from the opposite ear opening. The act was allegedly perpetrated on three children of a village chief near Da Nang.^[8]

Impalement and other methods of torture were intended to intimidate civilian peasants at a local level into cooperating with the Viet Cong or discourage them from cooperating with the South Vietnamese Army or its allies.^[7][9] The main culprits for the use of impalement appear to be members of the Viet Cong of South Vietnam.^[7] No allegations have been made against soldiers of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), nor is there any evidence that either the NVA or the government in Hanoi ever condoned its use.

Europe

England

Until the early nineteenth century, suicides victims and anyone killed during the commission of a crime were punished post mortem with impalement, in much the same way as a vampire was supposed to be treated. The law designated these deaths as felo de se (Felony against the Self) and declared the dead person's property forfeit to the Crown. The body was buried at a secret and unconsecrated location at night and a stake was driven through the corpse's heart. The burial location was usually at a crossroads or at the foot of a gallows or gibbet; no mourners nor minister were permitted to attend. This was done to inflict disgrace on what was seen as a shameful act, and to prevent the decedent's spirit from haunting the living.

During the reign of King Henry I, one of his enemies, Robert of Belleme, noted for his cruelty, preferred to torture his prisoners to death, rather than ransom them, as was customary at the time. Among other forms of punishment, Belleme was noted for his fondness of impalement, though he tended to use meat hooks rather than stakes. He died a prisoner of Henry I at Wareham.

During the Wars of the Roses, John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester, having witnessed this form of execution in Vlad the Impaler's Wallachia, notably had thirty men, found guilty of rebellion against King Edward IV, hanged, castrated, then beheaded at Southampton.^{[citation needed]} Following the execution, the bodies were stripped naked and hung by their feet from gibbets on the sea front. The heads were impaled on stakes, and the stakes were then driven into the rectum of the corpse to which the head belonged; with the amputated genitalia stuffed into the mouth. Despite the use of judicial torture at the time, Tiptoft's act aroused dismay and horror, and he was denounced for his cruelty. When King Henry VI regained the throne for a brief period (1470–1471), Tiptoft was captured and beheaded.

Roman Empire

In ancient Rome, the term "crucifixion" could also refer to impalement.^[10][11] This derives in part because the term for the one portion of a cross is synonymous with the term for a stake, so that when mentioned in historical sources without specific context, the exact method of execution, whether crucifixion or impalement, can be unclear.^[12]

Romania

Woodblock print of Vlad III Dracula attending a mass impalement.

During the 15th century, Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, is credited as the first notable figure to prefer this method of execution during the late medieval period,^[13] and became so notorious for its liberal employment that among his several nicknames he was known as Vlad the Impaler.^[14] After being orphaned, betrayed, forced into exile and pursued by his enemies, he retook control of Wallachia in 1456. He dealt harshly with his enemies, especially those who had betrayed his family in the past, or had profited from the misfortunes of Wallachia. Though a variety of methods was employed, he has been most associated with his use of impalement. The liberal use of capital punishment was eventually extended to Saxon settlers, members of a rival clan,^[15] and criminals in his domain, whether they were members of the boyar nobility or peasants, and eventually to any among his subjects that displeased him. Following the multiple campaigns against the invading Ottoman Turks, Vlad would never show mercy to his prisoners of war. The road to the capital of Wallachia eventually became inundated in a "forest" of 20,000 impaled and decaying corpses, and it is reported that an invading army of Turks turned back after encountering thousands of impaled corpses along the Danube River.^[15] Woodblock prints from the era portray his victims impaled from either the frontal or the dorsal aspect, but not vertically.

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire used impalement during the last Siege of Constantinople in 1453,^[13] though possibly earlier. Ottoman soldiers and authorities would later use impalement quite frequently in the same region during the 18th and 19th centuries, especially during some of the more brutal repressions of nationalistic movements, or reprisals following insurrections in Greece and other countries of Southeast Europe.

During the Ottoman occupation of Greece, impalement became an important tool of psychological warfare, intended to put terror into the peasant population. By the 18th century, Greek bandits turned guerrilla insurgents (known as klephts) became an increasing annoyance to the Ottoman government. Captured klephts were often impaled, as were peasants that harbored or aided them. Victims were publicly impaled and placed at highly visible points, and had the intended effect on many villages who not only refused to help the klephts, but would even turn them in to the authorities. The Ottomans engaged in active campaigns to capture these insurgents in 1805 and 1806, and were able to enlist Greek villagers, eager to avoid the stake, in the hunt for their outlaw countrymen.^[1]

During the Serbian Revolution (1804–1835) against the Ottoman Empire, about 200 Serbians were impaled in Belgrade in 1814, as punishment for a riot in the aftermath of Hadži Prodan's Revolt.^[16]

The agony of impalement was eventually compounded with being set over a fire, the impaling stake acting as a spit, so that the impaled victim might be roasted alive.^[17] Among other atrocities, Ali Pasha, an Albanian-born Ottoman noble who ruled Ioannina, had rebels, criminals, and even the descendants of those who had wronged him or his family in the past, impaled and roasted alive.^[17] During the Greek War of Independence (1821–1832), Athanasios Diakos, a klepht and later a rebel military commander, was captured after the Battle of Alamana (1821), near Thermopylae, and after refusing to convert to Islam and join the Ottoman army, he was impaled, roasted over a fire, and died after three days.^[1] Others were treated in a similar manner. Diakos became a martyr for a Greek independence and was later honored as a national hero.^[18]

Other countries

Impalement was also used in other European countries, though to a more limited degree. From the 14th to the 18th century, impalement was a method of execution for high treason in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.^[19]

During the 17th century, impalement was used by the Swedish forces in the Second Northern War (1655–1660) and the Scanian War (1675–1679). It was employed in particular as a death penalty for members of the pro-Danish guerrilla resistance known as Snapphanes, however it is uncertain if live impalement was typical, or if the victim was impaled after execution for public display.^[20]

Cultural references

In classic European folklore, it was believed that one method to "kill" a vampire, or prevent a corpse from rising as a vampire, was to drive a wooden stake through the heart before interment.^[21] In one story, a Croatian peasant named Jure Grando died and was buried in 1656. It was believed that he returned as a vampire, and at least one villager tried to drive a stake through his heart, but failed in the attempt. Finally, in 1672, the corpse was decapitated, and the vampire terror was put to rest.^[22] The association between vampires and impalement has carried on into 20th century cinema, and it has been portrayed in numerous vampire movies, such as the 1987 American film The Lost Boys and 1996 film From Dusk till Dawn.

The 1980 Italian film, Cannibal Holocaust, directed by Ruggero Deodato, graphically depicts impalement.^[23] The story follows a rescue party searching for a missing documentary film crew in the Amazon Rainforest.^[24] The film's depiction of indigenous tribes, death of animals on set, and the graphic violence (notably the impalement scene) brought on a great deal of controversy, legal investigations, boycotts and protests by concerned social groups, bans in many countries (some of which are still in effect), and heavy censorship in countries where it has not been banned.^[23][25] The impalement scene was so realistic, that Deodato was charged with murder at one point. Deodato had to produce evidence that the "impaled" actress was alive in the aftermath of the scene, and had to further explain how the special effect was done: the actress sat on a bicycle seat mounted to a pole while she looked up and held a short stake of balsa wood in her mouth. The charges were dropped.^[24]

A graphic and historically accurate description of the vertical impalement of a Serbian rebel by Ottoman authorities can be found in Ivo Andrić's novel The Bridge on the Drina. Andrić was later awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for the whole of his literary contribution, though this novel was the magnum opus.

In stage magic, the illusion of impalement is a popular feat of magic that appears to be an act of impalement.

Animals

The reviewed literature does not record any culturally sanctioned use of intentionally prolonged impalement, as punishment or utility, against live animals. Animals have been hunted with so-called "primitive weapons", such as spears, atlatl darts, or arrows, though impalement in these cases is incidental to the kill, and the animal is usually despatched as quickly as possible.^[26][27] In southern Asia, tigers have in the past been caught using trapping pits with sharpened stakes thrust into the floor. The pit was set on a trail that the tiger used and camouflaged. When the tiger fell into the pit, it would be impaled on the stakes. This method of catching a tiger was simple, effective, and used minimal labor cost; however, it severely damaged the tiger's skin, thus it was probably only put in use against persistent man-eaters.

In arthropodology, and especially its subfield entomology, captured arthropods and insects are routinely killed and prepared for mounted display, whereby they are impaled by a pin to a portable surface, such as a board or display box made of wood, cork, cardboard, or synthetic foam.^[28] The pins used are typically 38mm long and 0.46mm in diameter, though smaller and larger pins are available.^[29] Impaled specimens of insects, spiders, butterflies, moths, scorpions, and similar organisms are collected, preserved, and displayed in this manner in private, academic, and museum collections around the world.^[30]

See also

• Impalement arts
• Iron maiden
• Penetrating trauma
• Punishment

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Aiolos (2004), "Turkish Culture: The Art of Impalement", Hellenic Lines: The National conservative newspaper, http://www.e-grammes.gr/2004/11/souvlisma_en.htm, retrieved 9 February 2011 
2. ^ Cmdt S.Bourquin. "The Zulu Military Organization and the Challenge of 1879". Military History Journal, Vol. 4, Num. 4. Archived from the original on 2008-01-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20080125054940/http://rapidttp.com/milhist/vol044sb.html. Retrieved 2010-06-04. 
3. ^ Jerónimo de Vivar. "Crónicas de Los Reinos de Chile, Ficha Capítulo CXXXVI". artehistoria. http://www.artehistoria.jcyl.es/cronicas/contextos/10896.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-04. 
4. ^ Kobayashi, Sadayoshi; Makino, Noboru (1994) (in Japanese). 西郷氏興亡全史 [Complete History of the Rise and Fall of the Saigo Clan]. Tokyo: Rekishi Chosakenkyu-jo. p. 612. 
5. ^ Chapter-8 MEDIEVAL KERALA History Textbook, Kerala State
6. ^ ^{a b} Baker, Mark (2001). Nam:The Vietnam War in the Words of the Men and Women Who Fought There. Cooper Square Press. ISBN 0815411227. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} De Silva, Peer (1978). Sub Rosa: The CIA and the Uses of Intelligence. New York: Time Books. ISBN 0812907450. 
8. ^ Hubbel, John G. (November 1968). "The Blood-Red Hands of Ho Chi Minh". Readers Digest: 61–67. 
9. ^ Sheehan, Neil (2009). Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. New York: Modern Library. 
10. ^ A. Walde, Lateinisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3. Aufl, Heidelberg 1938, S. 297
11. ^ K. E. Georges, Kleines lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 4. Aufl., Leipzig 1880, Sp. 621
12. ^ Brandenburger, Egon (1975). The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing Co.. p. 391. 
13. ^ ^{a b} Reid, James R. (2000). Crisis of the Ottoman Empire: prelude to collapse 1839-1878. Stuttgart: Steiner. p. 440. ISBN 3-515-07687-5. 
14. ^ Florescu, Radu R. (1999), Essays on Romanian History, The Center for Romanian Studies, ISBN 973-9432-03-4 
15. ^ ^{a b} Axinte, Adrian, Dracula: Between myth and reality, Stanford University, http://www.stanford.edu/group/rsa/_content/_public/_htm/dracula.shtml 
16. ^ Sowards, Steven W. (2009). "The Serbian Revolution and the Serbian State". Twenty-Five Lectures on Modern Balkan History (The Balkans in the Age of Nationalism). Michigan State University Libraries. http://staff.lib.msu.edu/sowards/balkan/lecture5.html. Retrieved 9 February 2011. 
17. ^ ^{a b} Dumas, Alexandre. "3". Celebrated Crimes: Ali Pacha. 8. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2753/2753.txt. Retrieved February 2011. 
18. ^ Paroulakis, Peter Harold (1984). The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence. Hellenic International Press. ISBN 0-9590894-0-3.. 
19. ^ Tazbir, Janusz (1993) (in Polish), Sława i niesława Kostki-Napierskiego 
20. ^ Åberg, Alf (1951) (in Danish), Snapphanarna, Stockholm: LTs Förlag 
21. ^ Barber, Paul (2010). Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300164815. 
22. ^ Caron, Richard (2001). "Dracula's Family Tree". Ésotérisme, gnoses & imaginaire symbolique: mélanges offerts à Antoine Faivre. Belgium: Peteers, Bondgenotenlaan 153. p. 598. ISBN 90-4290955-2. 
23. ^ ^{a b} Deodato, Ruggero (2000-11-12). Cult-Con 2000. Interview with Sage Stallone. Bob Murawski. Cannibal Holocaust DVD Commentary. Tarrytown, New York. 
24. ^ ^{a b} D'Offizi, Sergio (interviewee) (2003). In the Jungle: The Making of Cannibal Holocaust (Documentary). Italy: Alan Young Pictures. 
25. ^ "Films C". Refused-Classification.com. http://www.refused-classification.com/Films_C.htm#cannibalholocaust. Retrieved 2007-01-15. 
26. ^ Nuttall, Zelia (1891). The atlatl or spear-thrower of the ancient Mexicans. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology. OCLC 3536622. 
27. ^ Blackmore, Howard (2003). Hunting Weapons from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century. Dover. pp. 83–4. ISBN 0486409619. http://books.google.com/?id=XnnlOcLAnBIC&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=medieval+boar+spears&q=. Retrieved 9 February 2011. 
28. ^ Uys, V.M.; Urban, R.P. (2006). How to Collect and Preserve Insects and Arachnids. (2 ed.). Pretoria, South Africa: Agricultural Research Council. p. 112. ISBN 1-86849-311-3. 
29. ^ Solis, M. Alma (2005). "Collecting and Preserving Insects and Mites: Tools and Techniques". United States Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service. p. 8. http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/site_main.htm?docid=10141&page=8. Retrieved 9 February 2011. 
30. ^ VanDyk, John K. (2005). "Collections, by Taxonomic Group". Iowa State Entomology Index of Internet Resources. http://www.ent.iastate.edu/list/directory/155/vid/4. Retrieved 9 February 2011.