On the Konds of India and their earth goddess Tari

"The Konds also related a certain myth, in which Tari made a revelation to humankind by taking the form of a woman, called Amali Baeli, one of their first ancestors. The myth runs as follows. At the time when the earth was created, every place was simply a swamp and the whole countryside swayed and shook continually. At this primeval time there was a Kui house shaking in the morass; a woman and a man lived there and their names were Amali Baeli and Bumi Kuari. When the man was out one day, Amali Baeli was peeling vegetables for the pot. She cut her little finger and the blood oozed out, not falling on the vegetables, but on the ground. Then the heaving earth solidified and became very fertile. Amali Baeli said, 'Look, what a good change! Cut up my body to complete it!', but the Konds refused. Thinking she was a Kond, they were unwilling to sacrifice her, instead, they resolved to purchase victims from other peoples. Believing that without the falling of human blood on the ground there is no fertility, Kond's ancestors sought a way of burying human flesh; and so began the mrimi sacrifice.

"According to the tradition of the Konds, men still complained to Tari that they were poor and troubled in many ways. The goddess therefore demanded an extension of the human sacrifice, which had to be performed on many more occasions, with new ceremonies and new arrangements for the provision of victims. In addition, she told them that she would no longer limit the value of human sacrifice to her worshippers, but would extend its benefits to all humankind. The Tari worshippers thus believed that they became responsible for the well-being of the whole world, with the result that they practised human sacrifices in great numbers."

from "Human Sacrifice among the Konds" by Lourens van den Bosch

Best new films of 2019

1. The Irishman
2. Gemini Man in 120fps 3D
3. Little Women
4. Monos
5. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
6. Marriage Story
7. Support the Girls
8. Her Smell
9. Midsommar
10. Us

Best non-2019 films seen for the first time in 2019

1. Bloody Sunday (2002)
2. Big Night (1996)
3. Swing Shift director's cut (1984)
4. Mikey and Nicky (1976)
5. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
6. Salesman (1969)
7. Melvin (and Howard) (1980)
8. High Noon (1952)
9. La Verité (1960)
10. Golgo 13: The Professional (1983)