It seems that human beings have no limit to devise ways to make their peers suffer or to execute. In Supercurioso we have seen the terrible tortures of the Inquisition or 5 chilling torture instruments and this time we wanted to approach a terrible method of execution that was used in Southeast Asia for almost 4,000 years: Crushing by elephant . For this they trained animals so peaceful and intelligent as the elephants .
Crushing was not the only mode of execution in which elephants were used, but one of the most common. They were also used to dismember or torture offenders in public executions carried out to deter and intimidate potential offenders.
Crushing by elephant
Although it was used especially in india and throughout Southeast Asia it was already known as a method of execution by Carthaginians and Romans and in the third book of the Maccabees, which the Orthodox Church considers canonical, it is explained how the Egyptian king Ptolemy IV tried to kill a large group of Jews by crushing them with drunken elephants and who were saved by an angel.
The use of elephants in executions had three main elements. The first was that the elephant was an animal that symbolized real power and that is why he acted as an executioner. The second was that unlike other beasts that used the Romans as lions, tigers or bears, the elephant could be domesticated and taught to torture and execute in very different ways. The third is that as always obeyed his tamer, the king could be lenient and grant forgiveness at the last moment, which was not the case with other animals.
Descriptions of European travelers to various parts of Asia until the 19th century when they could see execution or crush by elephant They are terrifying. They speak of elephants who "pierce the body with their fangs and then tear it to pieces and tear it limb from limb" or when the Sultan condemns someone to death the elephant "lifts the accused with his lip and kills him". There are also writings that explain how elephants are taught to prolong the agony of the captives by crushing the non-vital parts of the body or by chafing the prisoner's head resting on a pedestal. All of them were public executions and they persecuted to frighten the population, therefore the more cruel and terrifying they were better.
The practice of execution or crush by elephant it was suppressed when the countries in which it was carried out passed into the domain of foreign powers that were horrified by this method of execution, although in some places it lasted until the 19th century. Have you heard of the crush by elephant ? If you want to know more about elephants submitted and used by man, we invite you to read the post: The cruel hanging of Mary the elephant .