Before pictures of gore and human flesh and blood flashes across your mind’s eye and your brain protests in disgust, halt your imagination overdrive and take a minute to dwell on the realism of the word ‘Cannibalism’! Perceived worldwide as the exclusive action of one human eating the flesh of another human, cannibalism has long been the subject matter of interest for explorers and human ethicists globally.
Simply stated, the act of consuming whole or some part of an individual of the same species as food is cannibalism.
Cannibalism- Perception
Cannibalism is a common, ecologically ingrained, animalistic behavior recorded in more than 1500 species on earth.
The current picture of cannibalism is something out of a Hollywood movie where after great violence and blood shedding, tribal communities involve in rituals of not only eating the raw flesh of the defeated enemy but also drinking the blood! Flaunting the skull or head of the defeated human forms a part of the victory festivities. This is the common perspicacity of cannibalism.
Cannibalism- Reality
However, this is only a part of the truth. Cannibalism exists amongst carnivores, detrivores and even herbivores. Different organisms engage in cannibalism for different purposes, apart from food.
1. Sexual Cannibalism: Females of certain species of animals, like black widow spider, praying mantis, redback spider and scorpion engage in sexual cannibalism, where they kill and eat conspecific males during, before or after copulation!
2. Filial Cannibalism: In this type, adults eat their own offspring, especially, during food scarcity or low energy conditions. In many fish species, e.g. teleosts, parents eat stillborn, miscarried fetuses or infertile eggs. In some eusocial insect species, males might eat up whole broods of offspring to maintain genetic continuity.
3. Size-structured Cannibalism: In this type, larger and matured members of the species eat the smaller conspecific members, simply to maintain population and group dynamics. Evidences of size-structured cannibalism have been found in pigs and chimpanzees.
4. Intrauterine Cannibalism: This type of cannibalism occurs within the womb itself where larger and stronger embryo feeds on the sibling embryos for nutrition. This is known to occur in some species of sharks, teleost fishes, gastropods and some marine annelids.
Human Cannibalism
So what makes human cannibalism so eye-catching? There have been various mentions of human cannibalism throughout the history of men. The word cannibal itself has been derived from the Spanish name of the hitherto Spanish Carib tribe that practiced cannibalism.
Early evidences of cannibalism indicate towards Aztec as well as Mayan civilization. Cannibalistic practices were very much prevalent amongst tribes in South Pacific region, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji Islands, Amazon basin and even amongst the Māori people of New Zealand.
Reasons for Cannibalism
1. In many tribes, cannibalism is a cultural ritual. Ritual cannibalism of a deceased tribe member is a part of grievance as well as a guiding path for the deceased soul into the body of a living member.
2. Occasionally, cannibalism is practiced in extreme conditions like famine and drought, even in modern times.
3. Consumption of a person from outside the community as a result of a fight or war is usually a celebration of victory. The skull or the femur of the deceased is used as a victory relic.
4. In any case, the belief prevails that by eating the flesh and organs of the person, the cannibal is endowed with the qualities of the deceased.
5. People marooned on islands or shipwrecked also sometimes resort to cannibalism due to dearth of food.
Modern Prevalence
Cannibalism is still practiced in many parts of the world, although there have been worldwide protest at the grotesque mass murders- cultic, ritualistic or otherwise.
The Korowai tribe of Papua New Guinea, Naihehe Cavemen of Fiji Islands, the Aghoris of India, many tribes from Congo, Batak tribes of Sumatra and Indonesia, tribes from Liberia, etc. are the modern day cannibals that eat human flesh for various reasons. The Aghoris from India involve in necro-cannibalism (eating corpses) for various spiritual and physical welfare.
The most famous modern day cannibal is Armin Meiwes from Germany. A nemesis of the fictitious Hannibal Lecter, Armin Meiwes is believed to have killed and eaten a voluntary victim!
So, how do you feel about cannibalism now?