Cannibalism: The Ancient Taboo in Modern Times

Cannibalism:The Ancient Taboo in Modern Times

Ultimate taboo:anthropophagy

Reaches across centuries and cultures

Divine Hunger:appease the gods, survive famine, or exact

revenge on or control his enemies

Spiritual & Ritualistic Cannibalism

Exo-cannibalism: a culture, group or tribes consumption of another culture, group or tribe

Endo-cannibalism: the consumption of members within one’s own culture, group or tribe

Effort to create a universal balance between of the world and the cosmos

Kuru:an infectious agent introduced by the

consumption of deceased human tissues

Christian influences ended cannibalistic practices

Survival Cannibalism:humans eat the flesh of other humans in an attempt

to stay alive in adverse and desperate situations

Donner party (1846) Uruguayan rugby players (1972)

Punishable by social ostracization, institutionalization in a mental facility, arrest,

incarceration or even death

Criminal Cannibalism:the use of a corpse for the purpose of consumption by

another human in any situation, outside that of conditions of starvation

Four primary forms of criminal cannibalism:

sexual cannibalismaggression cannibalism

spiritual and ritual cannibalismepicurean/nutritional cannibalism

Sexual Cannibalism :sexualizing the consumption of another person's flesh

Albert Fish Edward Gein

Aggression Cannibalism:motivated by a desire to express power or control

over the victim

Anna Zimmerman Edmund Kemper

Spiritual & Ritualistic Cannibalism:associated with satanic or cult group rituals

Epicurean & nutritional cannibalism:consumption of human flesh primarily motivated by taste or

nutritional value

Issei Sagawa Nicolas Claux

Psychological Perspectives

over nurturing of a child

sudden stress

childhood trauma

anger and frustration

aggression towards the mother

sexual disorder

eating disorder

personality disorder