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The Grisly History Of Bamboo Torture, The Excruciating Method Of Tormenting Victims With Fast-Growing Bamboo Shoots
Wikimedia CommonsBamboo torture is a brutal form of torture in which bamboo grows through its victim.
History is riddled with rumors of bloody and brutal torture methods. From the pear of anguish to drawing and quartering, these methods are stomach-turning indeed. But few are as grisly as bamboo torture.
This torture method entailed tying a victim over a bamboo shoot, which would then grow through the victim, thus working as both a form of torment and execution. But while there are stories of this method being used throughout Asia, there are few tangible examples of its use.
So, what do we know about bamboo torture?
Stories Of Bamboo Torture Took Root In The 19th Century
Wikimedia CommonsBamboo is the fastest growing plant on Earth.
The earliest documented use of bamboo torture dates back to the early 19th century. In 1827, the published account of a traveler through India described bamboo torture as being used in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka).
Decades later, Sherard Osborn, an admiral in the British Royal Navy and an Arctic explorer, also described something like bamboo torture. In 1861, he published My Journal in Malayan Waters, in which he recounted his experiences in Malaysia. In the book, Osborn relayed stories that he and his crew heard from local people — including how they torture people to death.
Osborn claimed that these accounts were supported by various members of his crew, including a man who happened to be Malaysian.
He wrote that the local people tortured victims to death in various ways, including cooking someone alive, a process which involved placing a person in a hollowed-out tree, covering the tree in mud to prevent it catching on fire, and then lighting a fire around the tree. He also reported stories of people being doused with honey and tossed towards venomous ant nests.
But the most gruesome torture method that Osborn wrote about is very similar to what we know today as bamboo torture.
Wikimedia CommonsOsborn describes a method of torture similar to bamboo torture that uses Nipa palm.
In this torture method, an unfortunate victim is tied on the ground over the sprout of what Osborn described as a “young plant.” The plant has shoots can grow several inches in a single day, meaning the spear of the plant will ultimately puncture the victim’s body, grow through them, and kill them.
“They would construct a platform around it, and lash their miserable victim in a sitting posture over the young tree, so that its lance-like point should enter his body, and bring on mortification and death by piercing the intestines — in short, a slow mode of impaling,” Osborn wrote.
Osborn speculates the type of plant to be the Nipa palm, which grew all over the region. These are not bamboo trees. However, both Nipa palm and bamboo have shoots which grow very quickly. And the idea of tying someone over a fast-growing shoot is exactly the same as in bamboo torture.
A century later, this torture method was allegedly used by the Japanese during World War II. But are those accounts true?
Did Japanese Soldiers Really Use Bamboo Torture In World War II?
Wikimedia CommonsIt is unknown whether bamboo torture has ever truly been used.
The most recent stories of bamboo torture emerged after World War II. It’s no secret that the Japanese military could be brutal during in their treatment of enemy soldiers. The Japanese were known to employ multiple different torture methods, including forcing men to drink water and jumping on their stomachs. But did they use bamboo torture as well?
Accounts of bamboo torture from World War II allege that Japanese soldiers used the torture method against Allied prisoners of war. Similar to the stories Osborn heard about the torture method using the Nipa palm plant, these prisoners were tied over young bamboo shoots so that as the bamboo plant grew, it would slowly and painfully impale the person.
These claims are further corroborated by Chinese poet and author Woon-Ping Chin’s memoir Hakka Soul, which mentions how locals believed that the Japanese used bamboo torture on prisoners of war.
However, many of these accounts seem to be simply that: stories. According to contributing article to the BBC in 2005, the various rumored torture methods of the Japanese army often came from what surviving soldiers could piece together from the remains they found of their fallen comrades.
It’s possible these accounts circulated as an attempt to strike fear into Allied soldiers and civilians, but extreme torture methods weren’t unheard of during the Second World War. However, there is not much reliable historical evidence to confirm that bamboo torture was really used by the Japanese.
That said, bamboo torture is possible — in theory.
Can Bamboo Actually Pierce Human Skin?
Wikimedia CommonsBamboo is a strong plant, and has been known to break through concrete.
The most important question about bamboo torture is whether or not it’s actually possible to kill someone in that manner.
Bamboo is an incredibly tough plant. It’s even been known to break through concrete. And it grows incredibly quickly. Depending on the exact species of bamboo and the conditions, it can grow tens of inches in just 24 hours. One plant once grew 47.6 inches in a single day.
If any plant seems as though it’d be able to grow through a person, bamboo seems to be it. But luckily, this question has been tested – sort of.
In 2008, the television show Mythbusters tested this very question. Though, of course, they didn’t use actual humans.
Instead, the crew used ballistic gelatin, which has a similar consistency to human flesh. They placed the strong gelatin over a bamboo plant and found that after three days, the plant had pierced the material.
They ran another experiment with a more sophisticated torso, using ballistic gel inside a mannequin shell. This way, the gelatin wouldn’t melt and poison the plant under the hot sun.
The bamboo grew right through the torso, ending up about ten feet tall. Considering the plant had enough force to break through both fake torsos, the crew determined that the bamboo torture “myth” was indeed plausible.
So while there are no confirmed historical cases of bamboo torture being used, it is technically possible for bamboo to puncture and grow through human skin. It would take days, and would be a very slow and painful death, but bamboo torture could theoretically happen.
After reading about bamboo torture, discover the surprising story behind the iron maiden. Then, learn about these 11 medieval torture devices.
The post The Grisly History Of Bamboo Torture, The Excruciating Method Of Tormenting Victims With Fast-Growing Bamboo Shoots appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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