Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act or practise of humans eating the flesh of other humans’ beings.  A person who practises cannibalism is called a cannibal.

The first known account of cannibalism was discovered by Columbus and his crew amongst the carib west indies tribe; a Spanish tribe.

The exact origins of cannibalism are not known. However archeological evidence suggests that cannibalism was practised as far back as the Neolithic Period and Bronze Age which is now Europe and America.

Evidence found in Croatia points to cannibalism amongst Neanderthal tribes, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Far East and Middle East.

Spiritual and Ritualistic cannibalism

Exocannibalism- a tribes consumption of humans from a different tribe. Some tribes do this to gain power over the other tribe, to scare off possible enemies and because they believe that consuming the enemy will allow them to obtain and absorb their sprit and skills.

Endocannibalism- a tribes consumption of a human from their own tribe. This is usually practised at ritual burial ceremonies. The Wari tribe of the Amazon rainforest believe that when you consume a deceased member of the tribe the entire tribe absorbs the deceased sprit and this is the most respectful way to treat a human body.

Aztecs in Mexico believed that sacrificing humans, either from their own culture or from an outside culture, would appease the gods and if they failed to do so, it would mark the destruction of all humanity. According to Peggy Sanday in her book Divine Hunger, cannibalism was a holy act, which allowed men to obtain divine powers through communication with their gods. Cannibalism was also practiced during times of great famine.

It was found that people in New Guinea who practised cannibalism had a disease the human equivalent of mad cow disease. The spread of this disease only began to diminish when the practice of cannibalism decreased.

Cannibalism has decreased because of the introduction of Christianity by missionaries.

Ritualistic & Epicurean Cannibalism

Modern cannibalism associated with satanic or cult groups and their reasons are similar to the tribes.

In 1999, a man named Dmitry Dyomin and two other accomplices abducted a fifteen-year-old girl in Kiev. The girl was eventually murdered and her tongue was removed and eaten by Dyomin. He and the other two accomplices decapitated the girl and kept the skull as a trophy.

Nicolas Claux

In France, Nicolas Claux was convicted of the 1994 murder of 34-year-old Thierry Bissonier. However, murder was not his only vice. Claux, who at one time worked at a children’s hospital morgue in Paris, admitted to stealing flesh from the dead children and taking it home to eat. In a Crime Library article on Claux written by David Lohr, Claux claimed to have eaten the human flesh for its taste, stating that he preferred to eat it raw. He likened the taste of humans to steak tartare. Claux is also believed to be a Satanist, which could be another motivation behind his cannibalistic practices.

I Focused on these types of cannibalism as it it relevant to our theme.