Mayakai

The Mayakai people lived in Polynesia before European colonization.

According to their lore, the Moak (translated as "god" or "giant") taught them to "read" the bones of any animal. This led the Mayakai to be obsessed with animal biology, viewing all animals, from little to big, as weapons. By pointing bones at enemies and performing small rituals, they could cause cardiac, nervous, and muscular system reactions in targets. In late 1769, one of the few Europeans to ever encounter a Mayakai war party suffered from apparently inexplicable and severe brain damage.

In its later years, Mayakai society was led by an all-male council of war headed by six chiefs with strikingly ornate bone-staves.

Their culture went virtually extinct in 1773. (COMIC: Political Animals)