Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Trend Spotting: Buttock stabbing in Rome.

From BBC:

It's called the Eternal City by many, but Rome also has the sobriquet "Stab City" among football fans because of the level of knife attacks in the Italian capital.

There are fears tonight's Champions League final, being held in the city's Olympic Stadium, will be marred by such violence after several knife-related attacks on supporters from a number of English clubs over the last decade.

What is marked about the attacks is that victims are often stabbed in the buttocks. The practice even has its own slang name in the local Roman dialect - "puncicate". But why is the backside targeted?

According to those who have researched the subject, a stab wound in the buttocks may be chosen as it is seen as not likely to be life-threatening, but is humiliating and painful for the victim.

Experts believe the cultural tradition may even be linked to medieval duelling where slashing an opponent's buttocks was supposedly considered very skilful.

No comments: