Interesting facts about incest

Incest or sexual relations between close family members biologically - is the idea, which today does not accept one. But it is often practiced all over the world throughout history. Members of royal birth is often married to a close family member to keep his bloodline "pure" and to protect the throne politically and economically. Public opinion about the incestuous relationship changed over the past century, more than many can imagine.

1. Ancient Africa

In the long-vanished empire Monomotapa (modern Zimbabwe) at one ruler had more than 300 wives. His "main wife" were close relatives, often sisters or daughters, and only their children could inherit the throne. Only the governor could take part in such incest, while others threatened with death if they dared to encroach on their family members.

Royal incest as happened in the kingdom of Dahomey (modern Benin), where the king could choose for themselves any woman: single or married, or foreigner dagomeyku, free or slave. Allowed even female relatives, including cousins ​​(but not native) sister.

2. Ancient Egypt

The pharaonic Egypt, it was believed that the dowry of the Royal heiress should include a throne. Egyptians also believed that the lineage can be strengthened alliance between brother and sister. Although today it is difficult to genetically test the offspring of consanguineous marriages, it is known that a lot of the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty married their sisters. That there is only Akhenaten (also known as Amenhotep IV), who married the sister of Nefertiti, and claimed that their parents were close relatives. Experts have suggested that their children could be genetic defects and anomalies. This was later confirmed following the analysis of genomic DNA samples Tut son Ehnatona. The observed anomalies may have been associated with mutations, usually caused by a marriage between close relatives.

3. Roman Egypt

In Egypt, the time of the Roman Empire "ordinary" people who did not have nothing to do with the families of the Pharaohs, easily engaged in incest between brothers and sisters. Although public morality was against consanguineous marriages, mere mortals that did not hurt, and the like was observed in all economic and social classes. The most surprising example was recorded in the history between the twins, who, with the heir was born. Such unions between relatives often were distributed in the community of Greek settlers.

4. Zoroastrian Iran

Zoroastrianism was the main religion in Iran prior to the invasion of Muslims in this country, and the incestuous marriage of that time were tied to the religious belief that such a marriage approved by the gods, and the sexual act is like worship. The Pahlavi texts (from the sixth to the ninth century BC) mentions the mother unions and son, brother and sister, as well as father and daughter, are considered particularly religious. Incestuous marriages were one of the ways in which (as did the Zoroastrians), you can go to heaven, and to purify the soul from sin.

5. Europe

On the XV to the XIX century European monarchs often married cousins. This can be seen in the Spanish Habsburgs, the Prussian Hohenzollern, the French Bourbons, Russian Romanovs and the royal families of England. Some experts believe that the decline in such dynasties as the Habsburgs, was caused by inbreeding, because mental and physical problems caused degeneration dynasties.

6. Madagascar

In the XX century, anthropologists have studied the Malagasy and their relation to incest. They found that Malagasy quite different views on incest. In some parts of Madagascar, and cousins ​​can marry, but in other regions it was strictly taboo. They think that if the race happens in incest (intentionally or accidentally), the result would be something terrible. For example, the harvest can be lost, drowned in the sea boat, their children die, women become infertile or cause birth defects, such as horns or crests.

7. The Incas

The Incas believed that they are direct descendants of the gods. Believing that their ancestors were the heavenly bodies, the local rulers of the family tried to "reflect on the Earth," the story of the Sun, who is married to his sister, the moon. When the Inca ruler Tupac Inca Yupanqui had married his sister, he was trying to fulfill the demand of their father and mother - in any case not to allow to the throne of "alien blood". If the royal marriage was childless, then the governor should have married his second and then a third sister, until the heir appears. If the "choice" was not of sisters, all reached cousins. Royal incest stopped only with the arrival of the Spaniards.

8. Polynesia

If a brother and sister of royal blood produced an heir, it was considered very successful, because their offspring, Polynesians believed was more "mana", power and prestige. No other claims to the throne was not even considered, if the ruling brother and sister appeared heir (even if the first-born was a girl). Hawaiian writer of the XIX century, David Little describes the hierarchy of power of Hawaiian kings as a fully dependent on public ties of kinship were the parents of a new heir to the throne. To keep the family tree as a "high-ranking" suitable partners for the ruler was his own sister, or (if there was) possible, cousin or niece. Such a union was considered so sacred that it was called the divine offspring.

9. Thailand

Y-Thai kings men had many wives, and they much more frequently engaged in incest than their subjects. They had large harems of women from different social classes, including relatives. In 1907, the King of Siam by the name of Maha Chulalongkorn Paramindr (aka Rama V) had relatives-wives, which was trying to "make" the heir to the highest possible political level. All in all, the king Paramindra had 84 children by 35 wives.

10. Tibet

People in Tibet do not like to talk about incest, and some argue that such generally do not have in their own land. However, if this happens, then in Tibet have a special pilgrimage that can be done to clear the couple of sin. "Nal" (incest) - is a word that can be found in the texts of the rituals, and it exists today with the same meaning as in the rest of the world. Tibetology Baffetrill Katya recalls the story in 1989, when it was discovered that one pair in the Tibetan village committed incest. They beat the villagers, after which the couple was sent to a sacred place, Chorten Nyima, the mountains on the eastern ridge of the Himalayas bordering India and Tibet. Once these people are bathed in a sacred lake, they were given a "certificate" on the observance of the ritual in the convent, so that they can prove to the villagers their "purification". Subsequently, the "sinned" have returned to their families and previous social positions in society.