Montaigne

Michel de Montaigne, a brilliant writer, historian, and ethnographer, was born in 1533 during the illustrious Renaissance Era. He dedicated himself to his literature, writing honestly and modestly on topics of which he had interest and knowledge, but he also chose to highlight the cultures and interests of others, continuously seeking more than what already lived in his own mind, intrigued by the lives of others. Montaigne was extraordinarily neutral on the lives and customs of others, choosing not to critique those outside of European customs, but rather to try to understand their mindset and culture. He asserted that "each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice," a notion that meant that Europeans (his control-population) will demoralize the "other," regardless of their customs, simply because it is not what they, themselves, adhere to. This is not an antiquated notion with no place in today's world; people still believe this to be true, though the measure of barbarism is not whether the practice is merely different, but whether or not it hurts humanity.

In his Essays, Montaigne described a group of Brazilian cannibals. The word "cannibal" typically does not need further explanation before a person would condemn the group responsible, so Montaigne went above and beyond to describe the tribe in question. He stated early in his essay "Of Cannibals" that it is crucial that "...we should beware of clinging to vulgar opinions, and judge things by reason's way, not by popular say" (1651). "Popular say" refers to the idea that one's mother culture sets president in the opinions and ideals that a person holds dear to themselves. However, this is not an accurate way to measure whether one ideal is better than another. 

Montaigne tried his hardest to dispel the notion that the European "way" was any better than the Brazilian-cannibal "way" by stating that the act of cannibalism was customary only after killing a violent enemy (1656). Of course, a European would look down upon this act, to which Montaigne points out that the taking and using of human flesh is not unique to the Brazilian tribe discussed in the essay-- it has been used in various points throughout history with little backlash because it was deemed necessary, and with explanation. However, because Europeans only knew what they heard through the grapevine about the Brazilian tribe, they were quick to point fingers and deem them barbaric. Montaigne points out that they were brave individuals, worthy of praise for their courage and honor and willingness to defend one another and act as a whole unit rather than separate parts, but because they committed cannibalism, a typical European would never even hear of their bravery-- just that they ingested people (1650). 

Of course, it is simple to say that we should defend the customs of others as being solely their own, as they should look upon our own customs (referring to any separate cultures), although putting that into practice is more difficult than it sounds. I remember, years ago, it was the first time I learned about the concept of leblouh, (or intense gavage), which is the force-feeding of young girls in Mauritania, to prepare them for marriage. I was absolutely appalled. A heavy-stature is desired in this part of the world; it means that a woman will be fertile, and is just generally viewed as what is beautiful. 

It's perfectly acceptable for a man or woman to find another large man or woman to fulfill their standards of beauty. What is unacceptable is the force-feeding of up to 16,000 calories a day to a young girl, threatening torture for refusal, or making them eat their own vomit when they inevitably cannot hold it all in. It would be easy to say "who am I to judge?" which is a comment I make in many situations regarding cultural norms or religious practices that do not bring harm to humanity. However, leblouh is intensely harmful to these girls, and it is never their choice. In a country where most girls wed between 12 and 14 years of age, their parents choose that life for them, paying people to make their girls obese. Is it barbaric because it isn't my own practice? No. It's barbaric because it's a violation of human rights. 

Moreover, I feel as though Montaigne might agree with me on this one. The cannibals were not hurting a living being, as Montaigne points out. They were not torturing their prisoner in life or eating him alive. They were just carrying out their death-rite custom. Leblouh is not comparable. It is just complete agonizing torture for those girls. 



Haworth, Abigail. "Forced to Be Fat." Marie Claire: Politics. Marie Claire, 20 July 2011. Web.

Puchner, Martin. “Michel de Montaigne”. The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Shorter Third Edition. Two-Volume Set. W.W. Norton. Ed. M Puchner. 2013. 1647-1650. Print.

Puchner, Martin. “Essays”. The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Shorter Third Edition. Two-Volume Set. W.W. Norton. Ed. M Puchner. 2013. 1650-1655. Print.