The Invention of scalping - OUCH!

Reading:   Alma 41-44

There was some interesting reading today and I struggled with two great possible topic choices; writing about Captain Moroni and his insane defeat of the Lamanite invaders or whether I should talk of Alma's final words to Coriantor about the fall of man, garden of Eden, etc.  Hmmmm, yeah, I chose war...

So, Captain Moroni (a mere boy of only 25) leads the army of the Nephites and hides them in three places along the route of Zerahemnah and the angry blood-thirsty Lamanites.  Moroni decides that because of the evil intention of the Lamanites, and the vast number of men in the invading army, it would be no sin if he used "stratagem (Alma 43:30)" to defeat them.  After defeating Zerahemnah on three fronts and surrounding him, Moroni, seeing the terror in the eyes of his enemy, decides to offer Zerahemnah a deal.  Leave your weapons and make an oath never to take up arms again and the remaining members of the army would be released without harm.  Zerahemnah hands over his weapons but refuses to take the oath of peace...Moroni hands back his weapons and (I love this part) says, "...Behold, we will end the conflict."  Meaning, "It's on brother, prepare yourself and your men to meet whichever God you choose to believe in."

ALMA 44:12-14

12    And now when Moroni had said these words, Zerahemnah retained his sword, and he was angry with Moroni, and he rushed forward that he might slay Moroni; but as he raised his sword, behold, one of Moroni's soldiers smote it even to the earth, and it broke by the hilt; and he also smote Zerahemnah that he took off his scalp and it fell to the earth. And Zerahemnah withdrew from before them into the midst of his soldiers. 

13 And it came to pass that the soldier who stood by, who smote off the scalp of Zerahemnah, took up the scalp from off the ground by the hair, and laid it upon the point of his sword, and stretched it forth unto them, saying unto them with a loud voice: 

14 Even as this scalp has fallen to the earth, which is the scalp of your chief, so shall ye fall to the earth except ye will deliver up your weapons of war and depart with a covenant of peace. 

Is that awesome or what?  Scalped the dude!  Now, keep in mind that the Lamanites are the ancestors of the Native Americans who regularly used scalping as a tactical means of disheartening their enemies.  To put it into a plausible perspective - the great (x10) grandfather of the modern day native Americans, Zerahemnah (General of the Lamanite army), was scalped by a white guy (an unnamed soldier of Moroni's Nephite guard).  Extremely interesting don't you think?  And yes, maybe it wasn't the first intentional scalping but, it's the first listed in any historical document (c. 73 BC), so in my mind, it wins as the standout moment of invention.  It makes sense too because those Lamanites that did surrender, take the oath, and leave prior to the final battle and destruction of their brethren, saw the gruesome act and most certainly never forgot it.  The survivors told their families and children and the story was passed on from generation to generation.  The scalping of Zerahemnah became so legendary that it eventually became a warlike act preferred by Lamanite descendants...

~Kipling