Conscious Creatures: Cannibals

Cannibal is a word used to describe a trait which most conscious creatures would rather not resort to. Creatures with no conscious have practiced cannibalism for millennia with no apparent unfavorable results. Only conscious creatures seem to have difficulty with the concept; the only socially accepted cannibals are those who became so out of necessity. Why do we have such difficulty with the concept; our answer lies with the origins and meanings of what it is to be cannibal. Where does cannibal originate from? What makes a cannibal a cannibal? What sorts of conditions create a cannibal? A cannibal, however controversial, is an individual member of a group, pack, or society; who partakes in the consumption of the flesh of others identical
to itself for satisfaction of hunger, desire, or necessity.

Originally the word cannibal comes from one of the forms of the ethnic name Carib or Caribes, a fierce nation of the West Indies. Caribs were recorded to have been anthropophagi. After the 1492 discovery of the Caribbean Isles, Crístobal Colón continued his exploration of that particular island chain. When Colón landed on one of the isles, it was a Sunday, also known as the Dominical Day. So Colón named the island isla de Dominica. On this island, Colón found natives who actively participated in the devouring of human flesh. The first representation of the name as he heard it from the Cubans was Canibales, explained as "los de Caniba or Canima."

Cannibals very often show themselves in a variety of situations, and although they are very similar to placentophagists, vorarephilics, or necrophagists, they should not be confused with any of them.
All of these psyches have the similarity of devouring flesh, though the methods may differ. Placentophagy is the act of mammals eating the placenta of their young after childbirth, vorarephilia is a fetish which focuses primarily upon being consumed or contained, and necrophagy is the act of feeding on corpses or carrion. However similar they may be, they are not entirely synonymous with cannibalism. Placentophaghy can only be performed after childbirth, is most commonly done by the mother, and is not practiced at any other time. Vorarephilia is a fantasy condition, most commonly practiced in internet chat rooms; upon devouring small portions of ones flesh, the devourer is placed in complete control of the victim. Necrophagy is more commonly a forced condition, in which one has resorted to consuming the flesh of the deceased due to lack of nutrition or
resources.

Many times cannibals have resorted to their craft out of necessity, some out of desire, and yet others remain to be explained.
There are many instances in recorded history that show that humans have resorted to cannibalism. The Boyd was a convict ship which sailed to the east coast of New Zealand carrying about 70 passengers, after committing some injustices on natives and laying port in Whangaroa, the passengers were devoured by natives purely for revenge. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer. He murdered at least 17 men and boys; the murders were particularly gruesome, involving acts of cannibalism and torture, for which Dahmer was labeled as being criminally insane. The Donner Party was a group of 87 American settlers which where snowbound in the Sierra Nevada and resorted to cannibalism; a Uruguayan rugby team stranded in the snow swept Andes resorted to cannibalism in order to survive after a plane crash. Though some instances are usually accepted or understood, cannibalism typically remains a social stigma, and cannibals are traditionally feared and persecuted. It is not feared in the animal kingdom though; in fact cannibalism is a common ecological interaction. For example, in sexual cannibalism, the female spider eats the male after mating. In size structured cannibalism, when species like bats, fish or crustaceans are large enough, they devour those smaller than them. Within the animal kingdom cannibalism remains a significant and important
factor for population and community dynamics, even among non-carnivorous species, like herbivores and detritivores.

Cannibalism was practiced for centuries if not millennia before the popular term of cannibal was applied, despite this, it is not mistaken for other common words; and although many different terms may apply, it is still viewed as one common practice. Though legislation has passed against cannibalism in modern societies, it seems permissible in certain, unavoidable situations. Unlike previously believed, cannibalism is not just a result of extreme food shortage or artificial conditions, but commonly occurs under natural conditions in a variety of species. Whichever indulgence the cannibal fulfills, hunger, desire, or necessity; may have the same function of survival, but they do not carry the same consequences.