Page 5

Karen Lopez

Jose Arroyo

Zuliema Hernandez

Salvador Elizarraraz

Micah Diaz

Cannibalism: Spiritual or Survival?

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating flesh or internal organs of other human beings. The word was derived from cannibal, the Spanish name for the Caribs, a west indie tribe that formally practiced cannibalism. “Mostanthropologiststoday believe the practice ofcannibalismhas been part of human behavior since long before recorded history.” (Coffey, “Ritual Cannibalism: Past and Preset”).Cannibalism was performed for two different reasons. The first being a cultural practice or ritual, tribes believed that eating a person’s flesh or organs would endow the cannibal with some of the characteristics of the deceased. According to the article “Cannibalism in Early Jamestown” by Mark Nichols “Cannibalism was practiced in some contemporary Native American societies, particularly among tribes of the north and the west…it was usually confined to strengthening or purification rituals, or to the systematic humiliation of foes.” Tribes would perform cannibalism as rituals to keep their people safe, show leadership in a group, and to gain certain characteristics. In the Gimi tribe women eat their children and husbands to regain the life-drowning powers of child birth. There are many different reasons why tribes practiced cannibalism as rituals in their culture.

The second being using cannibalism for survival, essentially being food. There came a point in time where tribes were faced with a life or death situation, in which there would be no other source of food other than human flesh. “Survival cannibalism, is perhaps the most disturbing.Survival cannibalism isn't learned, it appears to be innate. It's also the one most easily forgiven in the minds of Westerners. And it's happened more commonly than civilized society would feel comfortable admitting. (Clark, “How Cannibalism Works”). There are countless amounts of stories that depict people having to turn to cannibalism to survive, their will to live overshadowed all other thoughts and feelings. As humans we naturally have survival and self-preservation instincts. Cannibalism as a survival tool is most commonly forgiven because people come to terms with the fact that it was the only way to survive and sympathize with the situation. Cannibalism tests the bounds of cultural relativism, as it challenges anthropologists “to define what is or is not beyond the pale acceptable human behavior”.

“Was cannibalism generated out of necessity and adorned with a metaphysical rationale afterward, or did cannibalism arise from established ritual practices? Specifically, this argument is divided between two schools of thought in anthropology --materialismandidealism.” (Clark, “How Cannibalism works”).

Figure 1 : Likely part of purification or martial rites, cannibalism was practiced by some Indian tribes, here in Theodore de Bry's 1592 scene.

Figure 2: Among the Gimi of Papua New Guinea, for example,cannibalismis rooted inancient mythologywhere the “mother” figure is depicted as a punishing deity.

Ritual:

Cannibalism clearly came about after a tribe known as the Caribs practiced their cultural ritualism using cannibalism. The Caribs did not practice cannibalism as a source of food or nutrients, they practiced it to get revenge of their enemies. (The Cannibal Within, pg 129) They also believed that eating the organs of someone with great characteristics would transfer to them. For example eating a heart from someone who was courageous would give them courage. Tribes would have plenty of food and water where they lived in the West Indies, there for not having to rely on cannibalism for survival. The West Indies is located in the Caribbean which is made up of island nations, there would be no need to eat human beings when you are surrounded with fruits and animals.

Cannibalism originated from the tribes as rituals, it has been done more as a ritual than for survival. (Evidence and facts to be provided)

endocannibalism is an ancient ritual that involves eating the flesh of a family member or friend who’s passed away. As opposed to eating human flesh for survival, endocannibalism is performed as a ritual and sanctioned by the tribe or participating group. Oftentimes, tribe members eat the flesh of the dead out of respect, believing that they can absorb the loved one’s wisdom through the ritual.

Aghori

Originate in India

The Aghori sadhus are an ascetic sect of Hinduism, specifically they are Shaivites, meaning they are devoted to Shiva, a powerful Hindu god of death and destruction often ominously referred to as “The Destroyer” and “The Transformer.” The Aghori are said to have split from another Shiva worshipping order, the Kapalika, sometime in the 14th century, but their sect in its present form is believed to have derived from an ascetic by the name of Kina Ram, who is thought to be an incarnation of Shiva and to have lived for 150 years during the late 18th century. Aghori are known to use corpses as a sort of altar upon which to pray or meditate, a practice known as shava samskara, believing that the dead body is a symbol of their own body. The sect is also perhaps most notorious for their grisly practice of cannibalism. The act of cannibalism is part of a ritual with the aim of not only absorbing alleged medicinal effects such as fighting off aging, but also facing the duality of life and death and gaining transcendence from one’s lower self into the universal consciousness. The human flesh that is consumed is cut from corpses and then either eaten raw, cooked over an open flame, or sometimes even in a putrid state.

Wari

The Wari', also known as the Pakaa Nova, are an indigenous people of Brazil, living in seven villages in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondônia. The Wari also practiced endocannibalism, specifically morturary cannibalism. Endocannibalism is the consumption of members of one's own society. This was done as a form of utmost respect to those who had passed. Similarly, following the death of a Wari tribesman of Brazil, family members will mourn and wail inconsolably over the corpse for several days until it begins to putrefy. Then it is ritualistically cut into small pieces. Initially, the brains, heart, and liver, then roasted, placed on clean ceremonial mats, then distributed among the relatives, the “best” pieces going to the parents and elders. The Wari believe they consume the animal essence of their loved ones which in turn contributes to their own inner strength.

Survival:

When one is driven to the point that they must eat a fellow human, it is to survive, as there is no means of obtaining food and/or water at all. There are many times when humans have been forced to eat one of their own, whether the person has died , or has been killed so the others may eat his or her body for survival.

Many cases of survival cannibalism have been recorded, between 500 years to less than a year ago. These cases range from land to sea, small groups and large groups. They typically happen because they are out in the middle of no where. Some examples of recent cases within the past 40 years, are the rugby players ,their families, and their close friends from Uruguay crashing in the Andes mountains on their way to a game, and the 33 Dominican immigrants who were stranded in a fishing boat in the middle of sailing to Puerto Rico to find a better life. On October 13, 1972, the Uruguayan rugby players were headed to a match with their friends and family when their plane malfunctions and crashes into the Andes mountains. The only supplies aboard the plane were wine and chocolate. After a few days their food supplies ran out, most of the survivors made a decision grudgingly to eat the flesh off of their dead companions. This was only done because they realized if they did not they would have died. Andes disaster survivors being rescued.

In 2008, 33 Dominican immigrants sailing towards Puerto Rico were stranded in the mild of the ocean on the Mona Passage in a wooden fishing boat. They had no food or water, and were driven to drink sea and rainwater. By the sixth day the first person died, it was not till the 15th day when the 28th person died, that the last five survivors decided to eat the recently dead man and cut small pieces from his leg and chest and swallowed them like pills.

The wooden fishing boat that the dominicans were stranded in.