Often, in our view, a cannibal is a person who existed far in the past, when wild primitive tribes inhabited the planet. Is it so? Can ruthless devourers of their kind exist in our civilized world?
Who is cannibal? Meaning and interpretation of the word
Cannibalism is often called cannibalism, although this is not entirely true. What is the difference? A cannibal can be any creature that eats humans. Basically, these are large predatory animals that are able to attack a person and eat, for example, brown and polar bears, sharks, chest of drawers, wolves and others.
Cannibal is a creature that eats representatives of its kind. That is, the terms "cannibalism" and "cannibalism" are equal only when it comes to man. Unfortunately, this is possible in modern realities. History knows many cases when people ate each other.
The word was formed from the name "kaniba". Before the discovery of the Bahamas by Columbus, the inhabitants of Haiti were called by that name. Eating people for Aboriginal people was commonplace. In the language of the African tribes, herero canibal means "brave." In Russian, figuratively, it is interpreted as "rude or cruel man."
Cannibalism in animals
In nature, the cannibal animal is not uncommon. More than a thousand species of mammals, fish, insects and arachnids eat their brethren. Strange behavior is explained as a manifestation of intraspecific competition. So there is a regulation of the population.
Cannibalism intensifies when living conditions become too harsh and animals suffer from a lack of resources, especially food. In this case, eating “friends” helps the rest to survive and preserve the population.
Females are usually more prone to cannibalism than males. For example, black widow spider females eat partners immediately after mating. Similar is observed in mantis, some species of mosquitoes, flies. To avoid death, males sometimes bring other insects to the female as their replacement.
Cannibals are found among lizards, snakes, turtles, rodents and primates. Some fish eat all small individuals in a row without sometimes distinguishing between their own offspring. The young lion, having displaced the aged leader of the pride, eats his offspring. Wolves and lynxes are also capable of eating their cubs.
Cannibalism in humans
Previously, people were less picky about food, and began to practice cannibalism since the Stone Age. At first, this was due to a lack of food, but over time it began to acquire religious significance. Many cannibals believed that eating the brain, heart, and other parts of the enemy would give strength and courage. Due to the lack of heat treatment, they often developed various diseases.
Medieval sailors periodically discovered cannibal tribes. One of them was allegedly eaten by James Cook. Cannibalism was discovered on the Malay archipelago, in Asia, Africa, and North America. Some researchers claim that it spread to Europe.
Greek, Scandinavian and other myths tell about cannibalism. The Greek god Kronos, for example, devoured his children. Among the ancient tribes, cannibalism was part of the ritual of sacrifice, which was later replaced by the killing of an animal, not a person.
Modern cannibal tribes
Not all people get rid of this tradition. Currently, there are quite a few tribes that civilization has not touched. Some of them still practice cannibalism. Members of the Aghori community in northern India believe that eating people slows down aging, although they only feed on volunteers.
Guinean cannibals believe in dark magic and witchcraft, which can only be removed through cannibalism. The news periodically publishes reports on the disappearance of tourists in the south of Papua New Guinea. Once they even abducted and ate voters in the elections.
Tribes of the island of Fiji use cannibalism as revenge on enemies. Examples of cannibalism are found among the tribes of Brazil and Congo. At the end of the 20th century, a tribe wearing the skins of leopards was discovered in the countries of West Africa, which believed that cannibalism gives strength and speed. Later they began to be inherited by the Human Alligator community.
Conclusion
Cannibalism is the eating of creatures like oneself. In the wild, it is widespread and is the main mechanism that controls the population size. Wild human tribes eat people not only for food, they often give spiritual or religious meaning to their actions.
Unfortunately, cannibal people are found not only among savages. There is a whole list of maniacs who killed and eat their victims. Many of them did not differ from other people in appearance or behavior. The famous Russian maniac cannibal Andrei Chikatilo had a family, worked as a teacher and more than once helped the police as a combatant.