Myth or truth? The headless race

Myth or truth? The Headless Race. In August last year, someone in Japan took a random photo on the train. Unexpectedly, when he came home and looked at the photo, he found a headless man standing at the station. When the photo was uploaded to the internet, it immediately became a hot topic of discussion. Everyone wondered if this was due to the opening of the gates in the ghost month, which usually falls in the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Amid online discussions, another person posted a few photos from the late 19th century, during which there was a sudden trend for the British aristocracy to take headless photos. Some scholars speculated that this was a way to show the eccentric nature of the photos and the advancement of photographic techniques. However, some scholars believe that it was a move by the nobility of the time to imitate the headless race. People's fascination with headless creatures continued into the 20th century. In 1937, a German doctor by the name of Egon Hennemann claimed to come across a woman who was accidentally injured. Despite losing her head, under the treatment of Dr. Hennemann, she was able to continue her life with the help of tubes feeding her food and other necessary nutrition. Despite shocking many, the display of the headless woman was brought from Germany to the United States and quickly became quite popular in circuses and carnivals as a sideshow. At first, people thought the headless woman must be a human prop, but she was able to move and change postures. Of course, it ended up being an illusion, where the model wears a mask of mirrored panels that reflect the tubing and black background to give the appearance of having no head. However, it turns out that there could have been a headless race in history. They were usually gentle in nature, but can be fearless warriors. It was even said that Alexander the Great did not invade China for the fear of a headless race located further in East Asia. Yet, such a feared race mysteriously disappeared in history. Today, let us talk about the headless race. Before we continue, please subscribe to our channel Just Strange and press the bell to receive notifications of new content. Chinese Legend According to the legend, a long time ago in ancient China, there was an unprecedented war. It turned out that there were two rulers on the land, the Emperor Huang and Emperor Yan. Emperor Huang was ambitious and wanted to conquer the entire world. Soon, the two emperors launched into a century-old war. The earth was immediately dyed red with river-like blood and countless people died. Soon, Emperor Huang won and took over the world. However, Xingtian, a giant Chinese deity, was angry with Emperor Huang and tried to fight for supremacy. In the end, he was decapitated and his head buried in Changyao Mountain. Despite losing his head, Xingtian did not give up and wanted to take revenge on the Emperor. He drew eyes on his chest and mouth on his belly button and became the headless warrior recorded in Chinese legends. Coincidentally, at the same time, legends of the headless race also started to appear around the world. Africa In his book The Histories, written 2,500 years ago, the famous Greek historian Herodotus described a group of headless people who lived in the continent of Africa. It is believed he was describing the Blinis, whose origins began as a tribe inhabiting the lower parts of Nubia, but later depicted as a race of creatures believed to be headless who had eyes and mouth on their chest or shoulders. Not only Herodotus mentioned the headless people, a well-known Roman naturalist, Pliny the Elder, also described this mysterious race in his book Naturals Historia. According to both of them, the headless race are a group of giants living in northeastern Africa. They were all at least 12 feet tall, which equates to 365 centimeters. With disproportionately broad shoulders, they do not have a skull, but eyes and mouth on their chest. They are described to be very mysterious, usually living in tall jungles. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great rose against the odds and conquered Europe, parts of Asia and Africa in merely 10 years' time. And on his way to the east, he met the headless race, to whom he almost lost. In some records, it is said he imprisoned more than 30 headless people. Later, it was rumored that Alexander the Great, who was invincible in the war, ordered to stop the eastern expedition because he was not sure that he could win against the headless race again. Since then, ancient records of the headless race disappeared for a long time. And just when people thought the headless race was just a myth, they reappeared. The Reappearance In an ancient map of the Middle Ages, people once again found figures of headless creatures. Another 15th century sailor's navigation chart also depicted the headless race. Coincidentally, both maps show the location of the headless people in the east. Their book titled The Voyage and Travels of Sir John Mandeville described a trip where John Mandeville went on a solo expedition in 1332. And during this journey, he saw creatures with five heads as well as a group of very tall people inhabiting the forests of northeast Africa. But they did not have skulls. Yet, even without a skull, they can still hunt wild animals and are quick and powerful. They would sleep during the day and move around at night. Around the 16th to 17th century, English statesman explorer Sir Walter Raleigh also provides an account of creatures resembling the Balinese or headless race. Raleigh called the creatures Iwapanoma. He reports that they have eyes in their shoulders and mouth in the middle of their breasts, with a long train of hair growth backwards between their shoulders. Unlike Herodotus or Pliny or Mandeville, Raleigh claims these headless people live in Guyana, South America. Although Raleigh hadn't seen the Iwapanoma himself, he believed that they were real based on accounts that he deemed reliable. It seems that the descriptions of the headless race are surprisingly consistent throughout various texts. If the headless race are purely myth, why would ancient writers make records of such things? Numerous theories exist in an attempt to explain the headless race phenomenon. Some speculate these headless people are aliens. Others think they are humans who have shoulders raised to extreme heights, thus almost hiding their heads. There are also others who believe they are native warriors who have the custom of carrying shields with faces, making it seem like they are headless. So could the headless race have really existed? Is it a myth or truth? You decide.