Cannibalism As Deviance

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Cannibalism as deviance. First, let us have a little brief history of cannibalism. Cannibalism has been around since the first primitive societies. It is still in New Guinea, where it is thought to be practiced today. Until recently, cannibalism, or autoprophagy, parts of west and central Africa, Sumatra, Melanesia, Polynesia, some American Indian tribes and tribes of aborigines have practiced this odd yet disturbing activity. There have been many reasons for why cannibalism may have come to be. Theses can range from having the taste and desire for human flesh to there being a shortage of protein rich foods. Mostly though, the reasons for cannibalism are ritualistic, magical or a form of criminal punishment. The bodies of deceased relatives were consumed out of extreme respect for their ancestors or for the soul to be reborn in the consumer (or endocannibalism) in some of these rituals. After battle, some tribes would consume the dead of their vanquished enemy. Headhunters wished to gain power by eating body parts of the person with the aforementioned power. As for civilized people, cannibalism became a last desperate effort for survival in certain dire situations. One of the more tragic stories of this was the Donner party. A group of immigrants led by George Donner were traveling through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California when they were all trapped in a heavy snowstorm. Survivors made their way out by eating the ones who fell in the storm. There have been some infamous cannibals all throughout history. A more recent example is German man Armin Meiwes. He was found to put advertisements on personals websites. One of these advertisements said, “Well-built men, 18-30, who would like to be eaten by me.” He then found a willing participant in Bernd-Jurgen Brandes. The consenting Brandes became high on painkillers and Meiwes proceeded to remove the man’s

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