THE KILLER THUGS OF KALI

Kali was a monstrous goddess of destruction and a demon-slayer in the eyes of her worshippers. These worshippers, known as India’s Thugs, initiated the first original killer cult, which later became known as Kali’s Killer Thugs. These particular Thugs sacrificially strangled thousands of innocent people and they existed for nearly 1,000 years, the longest any known killer cult has ever existed. However, the true body count of their victims remains unknown, but they spread death across India like a plague. Their calling card became increasingly gruesome and violent, and grew to include the massacre of women, children, and babies. This reign of terror was put to an end when the British army became involved and hung over 4,000 group serial killers. The incredible thing about this death cult is the fact that it remained hidden from the public eye. Even today this cult remains completely cloaked in secrecy, yet they had the ability to create a terrorist conspiracy consisting of international links, and today this legacy is becoming more relevant than ever. However, in order to fully understand what is going on in present day, you must revisit the past, to the dawn of time, back to before history existed, and the age of mythology began.

Kali’s Eternal Dance of Death

In ancient times, our planet was being consumed and destroyed by two demons known as Shumbha and Nishumbha. They had no fear. They were ruthless killers and possessed divine protection, which allowed no mortal the power to kill them. Even the gods themselves were powerless against them and fled the heavens fearing demonic warfare. In a last ditch ever to seek freedom and salvation, the gods summoned the goddess to save the universe from demonic tyranny and certain destruction. The goddess, Parvati, heard their prayers and brought to life another creation from her own body. Kalika, was an ugly, blackened, grotesque being. After taking her vow to save the land and extinguish the demons, Shumbha offered his hand to her in marriage. In response, Kalika stated that she would marry only the one who would defeat her in battle. Consumed by fury, Shumbha sent another messenger to Kalika, however he never returned. Kalika simply roasted him alive.

An army of renegade demonics stormed her fortress in Calcutta, but her mighty lion sent them away. The demon generals, Chunda and Munda, attempted to perform a maneuver in order to outflank Kali, however, she assessed the situation and sent herself into a trance, in which her forehead was split open and a new goddess was born. She was dressed in tight fitting tiger skin, holding a shimmering sword and a hangman’s noose. She caught the enemy off guard and they retreated in disarray, with the two generals being captured and decapitated at Kali’s command. A demon by the name of Raktabji, was the strongest of all the demons and engaged Kali in a savage battle in the defense of Shumbha. Kali soon realized that each drop of blood spilt by Raktabji only created more warrior demons. In response, Kali redeployed the goddess she created to extend her gigantic tongue and lick up each drop of blood spilled before it touched the ground. They laughed in victory as Raktabji screamed in agony and eventually found death. As for the new warriors created from Raktabji’s blood, Kali wiped the sweat from her brow and two more of her loyal disciples arose. She handed them the noose she carried, and they strangled each demon without spilling a single drop of blood. As a reward for their service, she allowed them the right to kill in perpetuity and benefit from the spoils. Kalika however, was greatly weakened by the battle.

Shumbha’s and Nishumbha’s armies then ambushed her, riding atop of her own lion. The gods watched helplessly as their champion was preparing to meet her fate, until they realized there was one chance and one chance only to save her and themselves. The gods pulled all of their remaining abilities together and invested it in Kalika in order to restore her strength for one final battle to end it all. Kalika was rejuvenated and she began mercilessly slaughtering all enemies who stood in her path. She massacred the demon hordes and Shumbha watched in fear as he was greatly outmaneuvered. It was then reported that Nishumbha had been killed. At that moment, all of Kali’s powers were submerged back into her body and she stood alone before the fury of Shumbha. He grabbed her and flew up towards the heavens, two lone warriors exchanging blow for blow. However, Shumbha quickly grew tired and Kali twisted him around before hurling him to the ground. The war was over. Shumbha and Nishumbha had been slain and the remaining army of demons retreated back to Hell. Kali was enraged beyond anyone’s control, and her dance of death and destruction has continued into eternity.

Charred Remains

In what seemed like an eternity later, India found itself under British control. What once was a route of trading posts, where the British East India Company to do its dealings, soon became the crown jewel of the British Empire. John Maunsell, a British officer of the 23rd Native Infantry of the Bengal Army, set out to cross the country from Agra to Ettawah on a routine ordinance mission in October of 1812. He traveled riding a horse, armed only with a revolver and a sword, and two orderlies. A journey such as this should have taken no more than three days to complete. However, John Maunsell was never to make it to his destination. When his party never arrived in Ettawah, a search party was sent out buttons and insignia, however, his body was never found.

No one bothered to open an official investigation into his disappearance, the army simply went on a rampage destroying villages and randomly selected innocent people and tried them for murder. Had they launched a proper investigation, the British army could have possible been alerted to Thug activities taking place a lot sooner. An estimated 40,000 people were killed by Kali’s Thugs each year, however, oddly enough John Maunsell was the only Briton they were ever reported to have killed.

The Lone Investigator

The British were reluctant to get involved in these affairs because they deemed them a local affair, and sloppy bureaucratic and military incompetence added to it. The Thugs lived and died by the code of robbery and murder. Aside from the murder of John Maunsell, the Thugs typically avoided British targets in an attempt to stay under their radar and keep the British from becoming involved. Finally, a British army captain by the name of William Henry Sleeman, serving in India since the year 1806, was placed in charge of investigating several mysterious murders concerning wealthy businessmen within the Nerbudda Valley located in Northern India. Once appointed, he immediately began putting the puzzle pieces together. He noticed a lot of bizarre coincidences in reference to the crime scenes. Each victim was completely mutilated before being buried, all the graves were very similar and well camouflaged, with the bodies being buried according to its stage of putrefaction. He also took notice to the fact that any means of identification marks were removed, each victim suffered extensive wounds that served to speed up the process of decomposition, and each corpse was buried in a remote burial location, all of which served the purpose of destroying any evidence that could be obtained. One more thing he noticed, is that each victim was strangled before mutilation began in a ritualistic fashion. The last thing each of the murders had in common was the frame of time they took place. Each murder took place during fall. There are numerous forensic police reports that indicate a reluctance to pursue investigation.

When his superiors denied him the right to further investigate these matters, Sleeman took matters into his own hands. He held a discussion with an Indian acquaintance, whom openly spoke about such things as esoteric religious sects and human sacrificial cults who dedicated themselves to the goddess Kalika, or better known as Kali. Sleeman then visited the Temple of Kali in Calcutta during the festival of devotees. Once there, he witnessed the aisles of the temple caked with blood from sacrificial offerings of animals to the goddess, whose naked statue towered over the congregation itself. She wore a necklace of human skulls around her neck, and her four arms were holding a sword, a pike, a wheel, and an axe. Her mouth was open and human blood dripped from her rotting teeth. In honor of the goddess, priests would beat the backs of the worshippers, and only the most worth of people were chosen to have hooks stabbed into their backs, through their muscles, which were then attached to ropes and tied to poles. The victim was raised overhead, and as the poles spun around, the crowd was sprayed with blood as they chanted, “Victory to Mother Kali!”

By finding the connection to Kali, the investigation finally began to make sense to Sleeman. He was then informed of a cult of killers known as Kali’s Thugs. They infiltrated travelling groups with deceit, and then savagely attack by ganging up on them, strangling the victims, and offering them up to Kali as human sacrifices. Of course, all of their victims were stripped of their cash and valuables, and the spoils were divided among the entire group. The initiation was passed down through the generations from father to son. This particular cult dated back all the way to 760-800 AD. This inspiration for this sect came from sacred paintings discovered on the cave walls at Kailasa Ellora, which showed the act of sacrificing humans to appease the goddess.

Confessions of a Phansigar

Using skillful deceit was just a trick of the trade and part of the ritual, and it was a skill that all stranglers were proud of. It was a requirement of Thugs to have the ability to perform any role necessary, regardless of their class or personal profession. The most sacred rite among the cult was the ritualistic ceremony of burial, also known as Tuponee. Each member was armed with a pick axe believed to be the tooth of Kali, consecrated by the goddess herself as a gift to her disciples. A tent was erected at each crime scene as the participants gathered around the corpses and presented Kali with their human sacrifices and prayers of worship. The pick axes served the purposes of digging shallow graves in which the bodies were stacked upon each other. The graves usually consisted of sandy areas, concealed from public eyes. They were then covered with large rocks to deter animals seeking an easy meal. However, the Thugs considered crime scenes unsafe, so the bodies were carted off in sacks and buried later under more covert conditions.

During their human hunting season, Thugs were highly superstitious and relied heavily on positive omens and divination before embarking on a mission. Usually a silver or brazen icon of Kalika was erected, commonly surrounded by a lizard, snake, pick axe, noose, or knife, and then paired with cakes, fruits, and flowers. During this time, incense was burned and prayers were spoken. A sheep was then chosen and sacrificed by decapitation, with its right foot being placed in its mouth, a burning lamp on top being set before Kali, who then blessed the offering and accepted the sacrifice. The group sat by watching the animal to see if there were any convulsions of animation, if none occurred, their mission was dismissed and aborted.

Initiates of the cult wore white or yellow garments, representative of the goddess’s favorite colors. They spoke a codified language called Ramasee, which combined words, signals, and symbols. This system of communication was considered an enhanced form of bonding. The Thugs also adopted the animist spirit of the tiger as their cult mascot, respected for its stealth, strength, and predatory nature. Tigers were known to them as Kankali, or man-eater, and initiates were sworn to protect them. Witness accounts have suggested that in some cases poison or swords may have been used to murder victims, however strangulation was the preferred method of killing because the legends state that Kali strangled the demons to keep blood from spilling and achieve victory over Shumbha and Nishumbha.

Another influential bonding ceremony among the cult was the shared consumption of gur, an unrefined sugar drink. This ceremony took place before each mission and was thought to induce hallucinogenic trances. This was deemed a necessary part of cult activity, and part of the initiation rites for becoming a member. Thugs engaged in murderous activities for only a few months of the year, October and November during India’s Autumn Dasahara Festival. During their off seasons, initiates and members led normal lives complete with working conventional jobs and raising families.

Thug Busters

The earliest record reference to Kali’s Thugs appeared in the 13th century manuscripts of Jalala-d Din Firoz Khily, the Sultan of Delhi, who tried 1,000 captured Thugs. However, he chose not to execute them due to his own superstitions, so instead he exiled them to Bengal. In the late 18th century, France and Britain fought the Napoleonic Wars, and India’s Tipu Sultan ruled Maisaw. Tipu was known for statesmanship and military prowess, and he engineered the greatest Indian military victories against the British powers. Under Tipu’s rule, Maisaw was the first state to successfully banish the Thugs and protect the innocent citizens. Unfortunately, Tipu was forcefully defeated by an Anglo-Indian alliance at Seringapatam in 1799. It was this event that led to the first Thug arrests. However, they were soon released being deemed quasi-religious vagabonds.

In 1830, Lord William Bentinck appointed Sleeman to annihilate the Thugs completely. By this point the cult was degenerating and deserters began helping Sleeman detect those involved. For centuries this cult has preserved their status by adhering strict codes of conducts and producing fear within the citizens of India. Victims were carefully chosen, and some groups were forbidden to be harmed. These groups included women, the blind, beggars, the lowest Hindu caste, priests, carpenters, stone masons, and gold/brass/iron smiths. By the time the 19th century rolled around, the cult was shamed with greed and sloppy practices. They began killing women regularly, poorly burying bodies, and bribery among law enforcement became a new implemented practice.

Feringheea was a captured Thug leader, who confessed to every bit of his involvement when questioned. For twenty years, Sleeman hunted down Thug suspects. He sent roughly three to four thousand Thugs to the gallows or prison, which ultimately ended the Thugs’ cult activity. In the end, Sleeman was knighted for his perseverance and service well done.