Cannibalism
Cannibalism is a act of practice of
human eating other humans. The term dervies from the Spanish name (caribales)
for the Carib people, first encountered by Christopher Columbus. Care sgould be
taked to distinguish among ritual cannibalism sanctioned by a cultural
code,cannibalism by necessity occuring in extreme situations of famine, and
cannibalism by mentally disturbed persons.
Reliable firsthand accounts of the
practice are comparatively rare, causing some to question whether full-blown
cannibalism has exited. Most agree that the consumption of particular portions
or organs was a ritual means by which powers of witchcraft and sorcery might be
exercised. The Aztecs apparently practiced cannibalism on large scale as part of
the ritual of human sacrifice.
Nevertheless, archaeological research
suggests that ancient societies did practice cannibalism, and it has been
observed in Africa, North and South America, the South Pacific islands, and the
West Indies. Widespread cannibalism is usually not found in state-level
societies, which have the means to tax and control surplus labor.A minority of
anthropologists, however, believe cannibalism emerged as a cultural response to
chronic protein shortages.
Some of the best-documented examples
of cannibalism have been based on the conditions that take place during
widespread famines and on accounts of shipwrecked, marooned, or stranded groups
of people who have gone for long periods without food. Two of the best-documented
of many cases are the pioneer Donner party's isolation in the Sierra Nevada
Mountains in the fall and winter of 1846–1847, and the crash of the Uruguayan
rugby team in the Chilean Andes in October 1972. In these and other
well-documented cases, it is unquestionable that the food acquired by means of
cannibalism enabled some individuals to survive rather than starving to death.
The Fore tribe of the highlands of
Papua New Guinea was investigated at length beginning in 1957 by D. Carleton
Gajdusek, who won a Nobel prize in 1976 for his study of the
neurological-degenerative disease kuru, which he determined was caused by human
contact with infected human brain tissue. Among the Fore, the principal pattern
of contact with infected human tissue was during the mortuary preparation
associated with endocannibalistic consumption of dead kin. In 1979 William
Arens challenged Gajdusek's explanation for the spread of kuru on the grounds
that there were no direct observations of cannibalism in the Fore people.
Captain James Cook, the famous
navigator, was killed in Hawai'i in 1779; it is strongly alleged that his body
was ritually consumed.Sir John Franklin's lost polar expedition and the Donner
Party are other examples of human cannibalism from the 1840s.On October 13,
1972, a Uruguayan rugby team flew across the Andes to play a game in Chile. The
plane crashed near the border between Chile and Argentina. After several weeks
of starvation and struggle for survival, the numerous survivors decided to eat
the frozen bodies of the deceased in order to survive. They were rescued over
two months later. See Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. The 1993 film Alive tells
the story of this ordeal. It has been reported by defectors and refugees that,
at the height of the famine in the 1990's, cannibalism was sometimes practiced
in North Korea.
The wide use of the Internet has
highlighted that thousands of people harbor sexualized cannibalistic
fantasies.In Hindu mythology, cannibals are usually forest-dwellers that refuse
to join society and are known as Raksasa. However, there have also been
Raksasas such as Ravana, said to be shape-shifting creatures. A number of
high-profile cannibal cases have involved the eating of flesh in a sexual
context. Albert Fish, who has been called America's Bogeyman, raped, murdered
and ate a number of children during the 1920s. He claimed to have experienced
immense sexual pleasure as a result. Recently noida case proved again that
still cannibalism exist as the interrogations continue, further revelations
prove that Surinder singh, confessed to cannibalism..he consumed the liver and
other portions of the children’s bodies. Even in this case sexual arrestment
included as in the confession servant also said that they were raped either
when they are alive or dead.
Cannibalism throughout the world had
largely been eradicated – until now.it has been reported that
abortionists/midwives in China have eaten aborted babies in the belief that
they will restore some degree of health (a variant of herbal medicine) and are
reputed to be selling them for such purposes, it is not far fetched to believe
that dead babies are being eaten as portrayed. It is known that aborted preborn
babies are used for much experimental medical research and have been used in the
manufacture of cosmetics. Aborted babies are for some facilities a commodity
sold for profit.Creating rather a scope for modren cannibalism. Its the time
when we the people have to work against such inhuman activites and take proper
measures to eradicate such a inhuman pratice.
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