fore women consumed the brain more than men and children did. because of this and their primary role in transumption, they had a much higher mortality rate of kuru than men, which spurred a demographic emergency. men took on the roles and duties of the mother in addition to that of the father, healers were consulted and pilgrimages organized, bride prices were withheld until the bride produced a child, and many feared extinction. the fore people believe that ailments and misfortunes stem from sorcery and witchcraft, so naturally they scrambled to find the sorcerers responsible for kuru. today, they no longer attribute kuru to witchcraft. however, they have not adopted modern western medicine nor abandoned their belief in sorcery.