CANNIBALISM

From Philosopedia

CANNIBALISM • Cannibal, n. A gastronome of the old school who preserves the simple tastes and adheres to the natural diet of the pre-pork period. —Ambrose Bierce The Devil’s Dictionary

• “Must have been someone he ate.” —Comedian Bob Hope

in “The Road to Zanzibar,” upon hearing an African native burp

Cannibalism, which is associated with a superstitious belief that the eater will absorb the magical powers of whatever he eats, has involved eating penises, breasts, hearts, brains, and other human parts, but it also has included “eating the god” (as it was called in Mexico) or food and drink in which the god was believed to be incarnated. Aztecs, according to Frazer, made dough images of Huitzlipochtli that were blessed by the priests long before Catholics arrived in Mexico. Westermarck’s Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas (1926) described cannibalism on four continents. Preservèd Smith’s work on theophagy emphasized the religious aspects of communion, the sacrament of figuratively eating the body and drinking the blood of God. Early Christians ate the dough image of a child at Easter, which may have given rise to the pagan charge of killing and eating children. The partaking of corn and wine at the Eleusinian mysteries may have influenced the Christian idea of a Eucharist. Rendel Harris in Eucharistic Origins (1927) suggests that the Christian rite was taken almost bodily from the cult of Isis and Osiris. Cannibalism from Sacrifice to Survival (1995) by Hans Askenasy, discussing “man’s last taboo,” states that most “appear to need a few taboos and for the time being cannibalism seems to serve that purpose admirably.” The Christian view about “transubstantiation,” or the Eucharist or communion, is that the worshiper is eating the body of Christ, symbolized by bread, and drinking His blood, symbolized by wine. Catholic doctrine holds that these substances turn miraculously into the substance of Christ. Freethinkers often hold that most Christians do not fully understand transubstantiation, often avoiding services at which communion is served. In The Man-Eating Myth: Anthropology and Anthropophagy (1979), William Arens differed from many of his fellow scientists. He claimed there has never been a human culture that has routinely eaten its dead or that killed and devoured its enemies. Exceptions were noted, but these involved incidents such as people starving after an accident or during famine. Different viewpoints are easily found. The Caribs ate not for appetite but to render an enemy’s spirit harmless, Caribbean journalist Larry Millman has written. First, they stuffed the body with herbs and spices, then trussed it on a pole, roasting it over a medium fire while women basted the body, lard being caught in calabash gourds. Reportedly, the French tasted the best, the Dutch were flavorless, the Spaniards tough and stringy. No related taste test was supplied for missionaries. (See entries for Communion, Preservèd Smith, and Theophagy. Suddenly Last Summer (1958) by Tennessee Williams brought up the subject.) {RE}