human cannibalism

definitions

Cannibalism is the eating of human flesh by another human being.

the eating of the flesh of an animal by another animal of its own kind.

the ceremonial eating of human flesh or parts of the human body for magical or religious purposes, as to acquire the power or skill of a person recently killed.

the act of pecking flesh from a live fowl by a member of the same flock. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom .

 can it kill you?

In some regions human flesh was looked upon as a form of food. There's a biological reason why cannibalism is taboo in  many cultures: 

1- Eating other humans can make you sick. eating the brain of another human being can cause kuru — a brain disease that's similar to mad cow disease. Symptoms begin with trembling and end in death.

2-you run the risk of catching bloodborne diseases. I’m talking hepatitis, Ebola, HIV, syphilis—all that fun stuff.

3- Contamination from E. coli and other gut diseases are also a threat to your wellbeing when you munch on mankind.

4-The human body contains a significant amount of adipose tissue (fat),which can make you fat.

*some examples

1-cannibalism as a remedy 

There are many horrifying examples of cannibalism in Europe throughout history. But one of the most bizarre is that cannibalism was occasionally seen as a remedy. To pick one example, in Germany from the 1600s to 1800s, executioners often had a bizarre side job that supplemented their income: selling leftover body parts as medicine.

2-cannibalism as a sacred practice 

There are cultures that engaged in cannibalism as a ritualistic practice, but there are also times when people resorted to cannibalism during famine. Human remains found in Gough’s Cave in England dating to about 15,000 B.C.  Many of the skulls appear to have been used as drinking vessels, indicating that This was not mere cannibalism-for-survival; it was cannibalism-as-a-sacred-practice .

3-cannibalism as revenge

in Western New Guinea along the Ndeiram Kabur River lives a tribe called TheKorowai. The tribesmen believe that a witch man kills off members of the group and it is their duty to consume the dead man’s carcass in order to take revenge for the death.

4-cannibalism as a feast

Fiji is famed for its long running history of cannibalism, it was even previously dubbed ‘Cannibal Island’. The practices have almost died out in recent years with the exception of the Naihehe Caves, home to the last human-eating group on the island.

4-cannibalism in the wars

Cambodian soldiers fighting in the Khmer Rouge Rebellion were accused of cutting out the hearts and livers out of the bodies of Khmer Rouge soldiers who were killed in battle in order to eat them on the field or back at home for dinner.