Interesting Facts About Cannibalism

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Cannibalism, it is the ultimate taboo in the world, after all not everyone likes the thought of eating their own kind. Eating human flesh can be a very scary thought, but how much do you think you know about it? If you have wondered what it is all about then here we are for you with some interesting thoughts on cannibalism.

From time to time history records people who adhere to the business of eating human flesh, and society couldn’t be more shocked. What on earth could actually drive one human to eat another’s flesh? The answer to this question is not a simple one, because there are layers to the human mind that requires decoding in order to understand the depth of it. We have seen in the past that cannibalism that were prevalent in certain tribes seemed to display a sort of depravity and hence were justified to some extent.

But a modern day Hannibal Lecter is not what we can imagine. What about men who are perfectly normal and live their lives like you and your friends? Here are some interesting facts on Cannibalism for you to understand the likes of Hannibal the Cannibal.

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The Origin
Cannibal originates from Carib Indians of the Caribbean. They were accused by their neighbours of being fierce and also of being cannibals. The Spanish could not pronounce the ‘r’ in Carib and hence Canib and Cannibalism.

There are two Types of Cannibalism
Cannibalism is divided into two parts, namely, exocannibalism and endocannibalism. While the first type is defined as eating members of other groups like a conquered enemy, endocannibalism is eating members of one’s own group and this type is usually associated with some kind of ritual burial ceremonies. It is a widespread belief among these people that by eating the flesh of another person you gain his or her knowledge and skill.

The Real Hannibal
The most famous portrayal of cannibalism is by Anthony Hopkins who played the role of Hannibal Lecter in The silence of the Lambs. But did you know that this character was based on a real person? It is based on Russian man, Andrej Tjikatilo who ate about 56 people. He had the lust for human flesh from the time of his youth. When he was arrested in the 1980s, he helped the authorities with research but was executed in 1994.

The Uruguayan Crisis
Talking about interesting facts regarding cannibalism it is interesting to note here an incident of cannibalism driven by circumstance. A Uruguayan rugby team that was flying across the Andes had crashed in the year 1972. Fifteen people had died in the crash and others in an avalanche or from starvation. All the remaining passengers ended up eating the flesh of the victims so as to survive. They were rescued after 72 days.

An Asian Practice
Interestingly, a cannibalistic practice called Ko Ku and Ko Kan had occurred in China. Here children would donate their body parts such as their livers to their sick parents. In a more famous incident, a Princess known as Miao Chuang has surrendered a severed hand to her ailing father. After this incident she was deified.

These fun facts on Cannibalism is fun enough to read, but there are deep psychological problems hidden that need to be revealed.