Different types of Cannibalism

While doing my research, I discovered that there is not just one type of Cannibalism. There are actually three main distinctions when discussing cannibalistic behavior. According to Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, the three types of cannibalism are endocannibalism, exocannibalism, and survival cannibalism. While endocannibalism was a sign of love and compassion for dead relatives or members of one’s own tribe, brutal exocannibalism refers to eating humans who are not members of one’s own tribe in times of war; obviously, with survival cannibalism, humans eat other humans to survive. The discussions in today’s society often evaluate the morality of cannibalistic rituals and cannibalism relevant to the survival instinct. Society will provoke the idea that all cannibalism is wrong without any in depth study of the topic or circumstances that surround those who are or forced to become cannibals. My goal is to keep an open mind; While doing my research I will try to see which of these types of cannibalism could be acceptable and which is completely unacceptable.

Intro to final paper

While reading one of my books for my topic I found the perfect intro. Although to most people it will disturb them, I believe it will entice and engulf them into my essay. The following is an actual account of one of the acts of Cannibalism that has taken place in Papa New Guinea:

“Down in the garden in the flaring firelight, the dead woman’s daughters ringed her wrists and ankles, sawed through the tough cartilage, disjointed the bones and passed the wrinkled dark hands and splayed feet of her brother’s wife… They opened the woman’s chest and slack belly and the smell of death wafted among the sweet-potato vines. Out came the heavy purple liver, the small green sac of the gallbladder cut carefully away from the underside and its bitterness discarded. Out came the dark red heart gory with clotting blood. [And] out came the looping coils of intestines, dully shining” (Rhodes 22).

Annotated Bibliography

“Cannibals.” Larry Engel. 2005. Television. The History Channel, 2009.

This is a documentary released by the History Channel that discusses the history of cannibalism including the Donner Party and Andes Plane Crash. It also investigates the indigenous peoples of Papa New Guinea and their relationship to Cannibalism.

Kidd, J.S. "Scholarly Excess and Journalistic Restraint in the Popular Treatment of Cannibalism." Social Studies of Science 18(1988).

This journal article discussed the stigma that modern day society places on the idea of cannibalism. It goes on to interpret that the damages associated with those forced to cannibals for survival were purely due to the social mindset of the world.

Littlewood, Roland. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute Mar 2000 155. Web. 2 Jul 2009. .

This journal focuses on the history and social effects of cannibalism. It traces Cannibalism’s roots with the indigenous peoples of Papa New Guinea. It also states the three types of Cannibalism: endocannibalism, exocannibalism, and survival cannibalism.

Pontell, Henry N. "Conflict theory."5th ed. 2005.

This textbook discusses the theory of Conflict Theory. This text will be used to discuss how Conflict Theory can be applied to acts of Cannibalism.

Rhodes, Richard. Deadly Feasts. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

This book investigates the discovery of the Indigenous people of Papa New Guinea by “civilized society. This book focuses on several accounts of the incidents, including those from the eyes of Indigenous people themselves.

Creative Paper

Journal of Roy Harley (Survivor of the Andes Plane Crash)

October 12^th , 1972:

We landed in Mendoza. The weather had become too bad for us to continue on our way to Chile. I just keep thinking about the rugby championship! It’s what passes my time just sitting here waiting in this boring airport. They say we will head out tomorrow afternoon. I hope so. I cannot take anymore of this dull waiting.

October 13^th , 1972:

Everyone was so scared! No one knew what to do! There was mass panic right after the crash. We counted the bodies and we found 12 dead. Five were missing. I remember how scary it all was: the crash, the ripping of the plane. The seats began to fold into each other which broke several peoples’ legs. I am in disbelief. How could something like this happen to us?

October 14^th, 1972:

It’s freezing up here. These two days seem like the longest days of my life. We huddle together for warmth in the plane but it does no good; we can still feel the cold. The cold makes you not want to move. It makes you want to sleep all day, but I can’t. I know if I sleep that’s when the cold wins. I cannot let it win. Luckily, two medical students survived the crash and are now applying splints made of plane parts to those with broken bones. We had little food and water, but we rationed it out today. It was nothing much, just some candy bars and dried fruit. I pray that we are found every second I get the chance to. Why has God let this happen to us?

October 20^th, 1972: Another of us died today. It is all due to the cold!

October 23^rd, 1972: All hope is lost! We found a small transistor radio; they stopped looking for us three days ago. We are all going to die up here! We are running out of food and faith. Our plane is even white; even if they were searching for us they would never see us in this blanket of snow. The others talk about expeditions to help, but I know they won’t work. We will all die up here from starvation and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

October 24^th, 1972:

We are all getting desperate. The food supply is dire. Other survivors even joke of eating the dead. They’re only joking though. The cold makes you think crazy things. I know everyone rather die than eat our friends. I rather die than do such a disgusting thing!

October 26^th, 1972:

I tasted my first flesh today. My hunger was unbearable. Others began to do it. My stomach turned; it turned from disgust and hunger. But at the same time I envied those who were eating. We had not eaten in several days; I could not fight it anymore I gave in! I am afraid I will never forgive myself. Can I live with this knowledge, knowing that I have eaten my friends to for my own survival? But I have to deal. We are all Roman Catholic; we take the blood and body of Christ. This is very similar. Yeah, it’s similar! That is our justification. That is our only way to live with ourselves.

October 29^th, 2009:

An avalanche hit! We are trapped under snow in the plane. The eight outside were killed by the impact. Parrado thought we would suffocate so he used some plane materials to create a hole through the snow to let air in. I feel horrible! When I heard that the eight had died, my first thought was not of mourning, not of grief or sadness, no, my first thought was “great, more food for the rest of us!”

December 12^th, 2009:

It feels like years have passed, but they tell me it has only been about two months. It’s hard to believe them. We have continued to survive by eating the dead humans. We have become more desensitized to the fact. It has been incorporated into our daily routine. We sent three others off today to find salvation. What’s the point! They are just going to die! We will never be rescued.

December 22^nd, 1972:

We are saved! Thank you God for your kindness! Parrado and Canessa are our saviors. They found a village that connected them to a rescue team. They led them straight to us. I am overjoyed! I cannot wait to get home, see my family, and never think about this horrible experience again.

December 26^th, 1972:

We have been made out to be monsters! The front page of the Santiago news paper informed the world of our horrible deed to survive. I had once thought I was over the guilt and pain of eating my companions, but society’s judgment is quickly returning. I repent to God everyday for what I did, but I do not regret it. I am here now; I see my family and my friends. I feel happiness again knowing that I am safe at home with them. I did not want to die! I think that what I did is forgivable!

Nature Vs. Nurture: Cannibalism

Hi everyone. My name is Jeff Goodman, and I am a Sociology and Math major. When recently taking a Social Deviance class at Mizzou, one topic came up that would evoke disgust and confusion with most everybody: Cannibalism. Clearly, we all know what this is, and we all know that gruesome wrenching feeling that we feel when we he hear the word...Cannibalism! In my Social Deviance class, our discussion mostly surrounded biology vs. social construction. In this sense, is the survival instinct (nature) more powerful than the social construction of what we as humans in our society deem a despicable (nurture). This discussion was used to investigate the Donner Party, immigrants to California from Illinois in 1846, and the Andes plane crash of an amateur rugby team. In these cases biology won over social construct -- both the Donner Party and the rugby team reverted to cannibalism in order to survive. Using this class as an opportunity to investigate a topic with my major, I would like to explore all aspects of the topic of cannibalism, ranging from complete acceptance to complete lack of acceptance of the issue.