Cannibalism In Its Rarest Form example essay topic

Cannibalism; dating earliest back to the British colonies, was saw as a form of war tactic, or a practice of religion (Arson 1). Though as a form of religion, it was a punishment tribal religions would use for the deepest sinners and atheists (Arson 1). Cannibalism was also a means for survival among slaves and peasants (Wikipedia 2). Though never really accepted as a "normal" thing in society, cannibalism is very apparent in a not so distant past (Wikipedia 2). Cannibalism is not a lawful or ethical form of practice for any religion or society. Cannibalism in its rarest form was once a practice of religion.

Cannibalism has been detected in the early religious writings of the Egyptians, Greeks and Catholics. In a funeral ritual it would be proper to eat the remains of a respected member of a clan to assume the life-spirit and to insure immortality. Also cannibalism was portrayed in many stories related to religion. It was used as a form of "scare-tactic" to insure the following of many people. It was also shown as a form of war tactic among gods to slaughter the demons that threaten them. Cannibalism is apparent in religion in as a form of punishment of non-worshipers.

Cannibalism is very present in the Bible. Cannibalism is apparent in the old testament of Deuteronomy 28: 53-57, God punishes the Hebrews who fail to worship him by making their enemies overtake them, leaving the Hebrews to eat their offspring. Though a more brutal from of punishment it is still very apparent that cannibalism is a big part of religion. Cannibalism was only present in religion, but in more normal settings.

Cannibalism was accounted during the years of British colonial expansion. It was common among slaves as a means of survival when faced with terrible conditions. Cannibalism was also common in the Chinese culture. Frequently written in Chinese literature was the killing and eating of human flesh. Mainly used as a war tactic and a means of gods punishing the souls who committed great atrocities. "Marvin Harris has analyzed cannibalism and other food taboos.

He thinks that it was common among bands, but disappeared in the transition to states, the Aztecs being exception". . Meaning, only individual tribes and clans practice cannibalism, also called anthropophagy, now while it used to be common among larger civilizations. Used in the First Crusade, Some of the crusaders fed on the bodies of their dead opponents after the capture of the Arab town of Ma " arat. During the later stages of the march on Jerusalem, foraging parties fed on the remains of the dead bodies. Though many reasons could have caused the act of insanity, hunger, fatigue, and a sense of want to force terror on their enemies, could have made the forces act as they did.

Cannibalism is also present in a more recent past. On October thirteenth, nineteen seventy two, an Uruguayan rugby team flew across the Andes to play a game in Chile. The plane began to have engine troubles and it crashed near the border between Chile and Argentina. Only twenty-seven of the original forty-five passengers survived the initial crash, but were stranded in a high, freezing mountain environment. The group survived for seventy-two days consuming the remains of passengers that did not survive the crash. Only sixteen passengers survived, and were rescued on December twenty second.

In Colorado in the 1800's, Alford Packer was accused of killing and eating several people traveling with him. He was later released due to a legal technicality, and maintained his innocence for the rest of his life. However, using modern forensic technology, unavailable during that time period, indicates that he did indeed murder and eat several of the travelers. Cannibalism though mainly a form of murder can also be used as a form of medicine. During the Tang Dynasty devoted sons would cut out pieces of their own skin to boil with the medicines to feed to there parents when they were sick. It was believed that the human flesh mixed with the medicine would help accelerate the healing and recovery process.

This process of medicine was banned several times and was looked down upon by the dynasty. The belief in the uses of human flesh for medicinal purposes drove many people to some murders. Records show a man eating a virgin boy to restore his sexual youth. A mother drank the blood of her daughter to try to create a more youthful look. These were not regular events in Chinese history they were only isolated events.