Cannibalism: The Reality of its Continuous Existence
Cannibalism, or anthropophagy, is the eating of human flesh by human beings and is a practice some cultures still use even to this day. In western culture, rumors of cannibalism are far more prevalent than actual proven cases. For most of us, the thought of a person consuming the flesh of another human is completely taboo. Despite the controversial nature of the topic, isolated occurrences of cannibalism have been confirmed in parts of the world. Though one of the last taboos of our society, fascination with the motives behind the act of anthropophagy arises from this anomaly in human behavior. Cannibalism exists in two forms: exocannibalism, the eating of human flesh outside one’s social …show more content…
While all forms of cannibalism are generally a taboo, survival cannibalism is the easiest type of cannibalism to accept considering the extreme nature of the situation. Due to such circumstances surrounding the situations in which survival cannibalism typically occurs, Western society has generally been more understanding and forgiving of it. The most historical example of survival cannibalism is with the Donner Party in 1846, when eighty-seven settlers were migrating to California. When the settlers reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the weather turned for the worst and they became trapped by snow at a point now called the Donner Pass (Neufeldt, 2012). After exhausting all of their resources, the individuals of the Donner Party did eventually resort to cannibalism. Contrary to what many people believe, the individuals who resorted to cannibalism did so only as a last resort. In the case above, we can see that the consumption of individuals took place within the group. This type of survival cannibalism is an example of endocannibalism, the eating of human flesh within ones own group. As stated previously, survival cannibalism is one form of cannibalism that is widely agreed upon in Western society. Therefore, those who are willing to accept endocannibalism in a survival form leads us to believe that even for those who do not believe in cannibalism can see the justification of its necessity in certain extreme situations. However, cannibalism is not only used as a means of survival; it is also practiced as a way of life in some non-Western cultures. This form of cannibalism is known as learned or customary
Cannibalism, or anthropophagy, is the eating of human flesh by human beings and is a practice some cultures still use even to this day. In western culture, rumors of cannibalism are far more prevalent than actual proven cases. For most of us, the thought of a person consuming the flesh of another human is completely taboo. Despite the controversial nature of the topic, isolated occurrences of cannibalism have been confirmed in parts of the world. Though one of the last taboos of our society, fascination with the motives behind the act of anthropophagy arises from this anomaly in human behavior. Cannibalism exists in two forms: exocannibalism, the eating of human flesh outside one’s social …show more content…
While all forms of cannibalism are generally a taboo, survival cannibalism is the easiest type of cannibalism to accept considering the extreme nature of the situation. Due to such circumstances surrounding the situations in which survival cannibalism typically occurs, Western society has generally been more understanding and forgiving of it. The most historical example of survival cannibalism is with the Donner Party in 1846, when eighty-seven settlers were migrating to California. When the settlers reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the weather turned for the worst and they became trapped by snow at a point now called the Donner Pass (Neufeldt, 2012). After exhausting all of their resources, the individuals of the Donner Party did eventually resort to cannibalism. Contrary to what many people believe, the individuals who resorted to cannibalism did so only as a last resort. In the case above, we can see that the consumption of individuals took place within the group. This type of survival cannibalism is an example of endocannibalism, the eating of human flesh within ones own group. As stated previously, survival cannibalism is one form of cannibalism that is widely agreed upon in Western society. Therefore, those who are willing to accept endocannibalism in a survival form leads us to believe that even for those who do not believe in cannibalism can see the justification of its necessity in certain extreme situations. However, cannibalism is not only used as a means of survival; it is also practiced as a way of life in some non-Western cultures. This form of cannibalism is known as learned or customary