Ya gotta figure that dude was starving to death.
In Alaska, and maybe other parts of the Arctic, a "delicacy" that often kills entire families is called stink flipper. The flippers and other parts of a walrus are stuffed into the stomach, along with the contents of the stomach, and buried for some time. It is later dug up and eaten ceremoniously. Botulism is not uncommon.
Talking to an elder, we agreed that at some time in the past someone was starving to death and remembered burying the gut pile. They ate and survived so then it became something of a ritual to recall lean times.
I couldn't get it past my nose.