Why Canibals Eat Human Flesh | Teen Ink

Why Canibals Eat Human Flesh

January 18, 2009
By ~Wolf-Woman~ PLATINUM, Carthage, Missouri
~Wolf-Woman~ PLATINUM, Carthage, Missouri
24 articles 10 photos 31 comments

Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating other humans. Cannibalism has been practiced in modern times along with the past in Europe, Africa, South America, New Zealand, North America, Australia, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, New Guinea, India, Sumatra, and Fiji. Fiji was known as the “Cannibal Isles”.
To civilized people, the practice of cannibalism, or eating human flesh, is a disgusting thought. We want to puke just thinking about it. Yet it was practiced by many in ancient times and might still be practiced today by some. Some might have ate humans because they we’re insane, in an extreme survival situation, suffering from a famine, it was a cultural ritual the community took part in, or it was a social deviancy.
Some tribes didn’t eat flesh because they liked it; they did it because it was part of a religious observance or part of a sacred ceremony. Other tribes would eat their parents as a sign of respect and honor. Many older people believed they could acquire the traits of the people they admired or respected by eating them.
Among other primitive people it was the custom to eat a criminal who had been condemned to death. They believed that the criminal had offended the gods. Therefore the criminal had to be sacrificed to the gods to please them. It was the practice to taste the sacrifices they gave to the gods, so they had to eat part of it, even if the sacrifice was a human.

Nobody is truly certain how many tribes out there still practice cannibalism. Some say none, but others say some. Some could be individual criminals taking part in the eating the flesh themselves, working alone. Who knows? But we do know cannibalism was practiced for many reasons and not all liked it.


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 2 comments.


on Sep. 19 2009 at 3:12 pm
~Wolf-Woman~ PLATINUM, Carthage, Missouri
24 articles 10 photos 31 comments
well..i wasnt saying it was right or anything. i was just letting people know why some are canibals...thats also.

on Sep. 18 2009 at 5:20 pm
NorthernWriter, Fargo, North Dakota
0 articles 0 photos 326 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Only dead fish swim with the stream"

Very informative..but I still think it's wrong and disgusting.