History of Encounters with Cannibalism - Essay Example

Encountering Cannibals Introduction: Cannibalism is an aspect of human behavior that is abhorred and may be for this reason the practice of cannibalism remains shrouded in an element of doubt, with claims of cannibalism in various stages of history looked upon with skepticism. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines cannibalism as “eating of human flesh by humans” and provides the additional terminology for this practice as anthropophagy. The term cannibalism is derived from the West Indian tribe Carib, which was believed to have practiced cannibalism. (1) A Brief History of Encounters with Cannibalism: History of the new world as discovered by the Europeans is replete with instances of encountering cannibalism. In the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventh century this exploration of European nations into the new world spoke of encounters with native people so savage and evil that they practiced consumption of human flesh. In fact it is from this expression of the ferocity of the native tribes that the term cannibalism derives its origins from the name of the West Indian tribe Carib that was portrayed as consumers of human flesh. There is speculation as to whether this portrayal of savagery and evil in the native peoples of this land was a mere excuse for the violent means that were employed by the European nations in the subjugation of the native people of these lands. Religious intones were also provided in the 16th century by Pope Innocent IV declaring cannibalism as a sin that was to be punished through the use of force. Thus encounters of cannibalism in many of the new regions that were coming under European influence can be seen in the continents of America, Africa and Asia. It is this belief that these were mere pretexts for the colonization of these lands and subjugation of the native people that has led to disbelief and lack of credence in these reports of encounters by the explorers and conquerors that set out from Europe to discover new lands from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century. This line of thought has led to the belief that cannibalism except for stray incidents, where humans were forced into cannibalism to prevent starvation, cannibalism as such is a figment of imagination and the claims of the Europeans to have encountered cannibalism is not true and was never a socially accepted practice of any community. The definition of cannibalism says eating of human flesh by other humans, which by extension means eating of any part of the human body. Such practices existed in Europe during the seventeenth century. The only difference being that it was given a semblance of normalcy by making a part of the medicinal routine. Human blood and parts of the human body were consumed for relief from diseases and conditions. Europeans in the seventeenth century consumed fresh human blood as a cure for epilepsy and parts of the human body as cures for arthritis, reproductive deficiencies, sciatica, warts and skin blemishes. The source for these parts of the human body was the bodies of executed criminals. Even flesh from parts of the mummified bodies from Egypt was consumed as part of this medicinal routine. To dump all of the claims of the European explorers and conquerors as untrue runs against some of the anthropological finds that suggest that cannibalism was a practice in some of the societies of the ancient worlds. Such practices may have passed on to some of the societies that exist even today. The experience of the Wari case in Brazil, and as studied by Brazilian anthropologists give the best documented evidence of socially accepted cannibalism in a community in recent times. This experience that may never come again provides insights into the rationale behind socially accepted cannibalism in a community. Wari ethnography provides clarity for the factors that were responsible for motivation of the people of that society towards cannibalism. These factors ranged from hat and anger to respect and love providing a more sober picture of motivation for cannibalism. It is far different cry when the picture of cannibalism in the ancient Anasazis of America is taken into account. Butchered human bones have been found in the fossilized remains of human excrement and evidence of the myoglobin a human enzyme has been found in the muscle tissue and digestive tract. This confirms cannibalism as part of the social function of the Anasazis, with the added component of the cannibalism practice was more in keeping with the projected image of torture, mutilation and murder. (2). This is the picture of cannibalism that arises in the mind of most individuals, when cannibalism is mentioned and is the reason that there is abhorrence at its practice. Modern Encounter with Cannibalism: The belief that cannibalism, but for stray incidents to prevent starvation, in its full savagery of torture, mutilation and murder is a thing of the ancient world is hardly true. Cannibalism not as a social practice but in its savage form has been experience in the twentieth century during the Second World War. James Baldwin in his book “Flyboys: A True Story of Courage” has graphically presented the incident of cannibalism that took place during the fighting between the Americans and Japanese during the Second World War. The site of the incident is Chichi-jima, a small island near the more famous Iwo Jima, and a part of the Ogasawara Islands in the Pacific Ocean. On a bombing run in the battle for supremacy in the Pacific Ocean between the Americans and the Japanese, Chichi-jima became a target for American bombers, as it housed a small radio station that relayed information to Tokyo. In the raid an American bomber B-24 bomber was downed by enemy fire off Chichi-jima. Eight American aviators went down with the plane. One of them was picked up by an American survivor and this lone survivor of the eight American survivors was to become the President of the United States of America in his later years. He was none other than the former President George. W. Bush. The other seven American aviators were taken prisoner by the Japanese and held at Chichi-jima. These prisoners were Jimmy Dye, Glenn Frazier, Floyd Hall, Marve Mershon, Dick Woelhof, Grady York, and Warren Earl Vaughan. What happened to these American aviators has been considered so sordid that it has been kept under wraps, with not even their family members provided with the information. What happened to them is a reminder of the mindless inhumanity that can be encountered during war. Each of these soldiers were one by one tortured, mutilated and killed. Their flesh was consumed by the Japanese captors. The gruesome details include that to keep the flesh fresh, they were not killed right away, but were stripped of their flesh slowly, and the fresh flesh used as meat by the Japanese. This was no ceremonially killing and eating of the enemy as portrayed in cannibalism, but was brutality at its highest and required strong emotions if intense hate of the enemy for indulging in such gruesome and barbaric acts against the enemy. The author provides the reason for such intense hate for American aviators. The Bushido code of the Japanese provided the Japanese soldiers with a misguided sense of honor and warrior spirit. The Americans by their own atrocities became a target of this misguided sense of honor and warrior spirit. The fire-bombings of Japanese civilian areas during the Second World War, and the untold misery and suffering that it caused Japanese civilians sparked the flames of hatred and called for revenge. It was these emotions that caused the Japanese officers to order the execution of the seven aviators and the Japanese soldiers to practice cannibalism. (3). Conclusion: The Second World War is long past and the incident gradually becoming history. The incident however, is a reminder that intense hate and a strong feeling of revenge, as a response to atrocities faced, can evoke the barbaric practice of cannibalism in individuals. Works Cited 1. “cannibalism”. ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITTANICA online. 31 May 2007. . 2. Salisbury, F. David. “Brief history of cannibal controversies”. Exploration The online research journal of Vanderbilt University. 2001. 31 May 2007. . 3. Bradley, James. Flyboys: A True Story of Courage. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 2003. Read More