Depicting and Disputing Cannibals

• “Cannibalism,” Interview with Neil L. Whitehead on Here on Earth with Jean Feraca, August 7, 2005 Sunday 3PM CT —“Can we learn to love a cannibal? Should we? This hour on Here on Earth Jean Feraca talks with University of Wisconsin anthropologist Neil Whitehead about the persistence of cannibalism from Richard the Lion-hearted to Hannibal the Cannibal.”

• Cannibalism as Grief Management — Extract: “The general goal of Wari' funeral practices, Conklin says, was to erase reminders of the dead. The person's name was not spoken and his or her house was burned. During three days of mourning, the body decayed. As the mourning peaked, the dead person's in-laws cut up the body and cooked and ate portions of it….”

• Cannibalism Reconsidered — Extract: “Whitehead says, ‘A ritual and spiritual interest in the magic properties of human flesh and blood is certainly central to the cosmology of native people, and especially in South America’.”

• “Eaten Up by Stereotypes”, an article from the Internet Archive on Philip Boucher’s book, Cannibal Encounters: Excerpt —“… cannibalism has never been proven to have existed among the islanders Columbus encountered. Columbus and other Europeans had selfish reasons for spreading the message of cannibalism: It allowed colonists to enslave the islanders, an economic boon. After meeting enslaved islanders, Queen Isabella ordered the slaves released. Before her death, however, she relented and allowed the enslavement of ‘cannibals.’ Spaniards used the loophole to enslave almost any Indian within their grasp.”

• Eaten up by stereotypes: Second link "Christopher Columbus' stereotypes of Caribbean natives have been used by some of history's greatest writers and philosophers, says Dr. Philip Boucher, a history professor."

• English 102, Enlightenment Communications, Professor William B. Warner: "Lecture 2: Crusoe and Friday and Colonial Mastery"- Lecture Outline: I: Crusoe's Enlightenment analysis of Carib cannibalism: how to respond? II: Crusoe's ambivalence and his compromise formation, III: Educating Friday, IV: Defoe's prototype of the modern self and its power.

• “Learning to Love Cannibals” — a concise and engaging series of illustrated essays produced by the University of Wisconsin, with the contributions of Neil Whitehead and Beth Conklin.

• Robert Louis Stevenson in the South Seas: Chapter Xi — Long-Pig — A Cannibal High Place” — Extract: “NOTHING more strongly arouses our disgust than cannibalism, nothing so surely unmortars a society; nothing, we might plausibly argue, will so harden and degrade the minds of those that practise it….”

• "Rumor of Cannibals" by Dave D. Davis in "Archaeology" (January/February 1992, p. 49) - "…But, according to the Taino, these Caniba were warlike eaters of human flesh who periodically raided the peaceful folk of the larger islands."

• Seven Flags : The History of St. Croix: "PRE-COLUMBUS Prior to, and less than a century after Columbus' discovery, St. Croix was inhabited by two tribes of Indians: the Caribs and the Arawaks. The Arawaks were generally considered to be a peaceful tribe while the Caribs were warring cannibals."

• A Tale of Assault Sorcery "—extract: “…Regarding Indians in the New World who defeated warriors, Whitehead offers another dose of cultural relativism in an effort to understand the event. ‘To be captured and sacrificed by opposing warriors was a good death, it was the most direct route to becoming one with the gods. Dying as victim of those rituals was not nice, but it was a good way to die. If the gods are fed, they will feed us, will ensure the bounty of the land and the presence of fish and game’.”

The CAC highly recommends the following links:

• Giving Cannibalism a Human Face: an interview with Beth Conklin, an anthropologist at Vanderbilt University, with David Salisbury (August 15, 2001), in EXPLORATION: The Online Research Journal of Vanderbilt University. This is an excellent page on many counts, in terms of content, the critical intepretation of the myths and anti-myths of cannibalism, rooted in Beth Conklin's rich and extensive ethnographic fieldwork among the Wari of Amazonia. This particular page also features drawings, a photo slide show, audio clips of music, and video clips from the interview with Beth Conklin. This site truly sets the standard for the presentation of ethnography online. From the text: "The Wari' are unusual because they practiced two distinct forms of cannibalism in warfare and funerals ," Conklin says. "However, the two practices were very different and had very different meanings. Eating enemies was an intentional expression of anger and disdain for the enemy. But at funerals, when they consumed members of their own group who died naturally, it was done out of affection and respect for the dead person and as a way to help survivors cope with their grief."

• Brief History of Cannibal Controversies: a second page dealing with Beth Conklin's critical analysis of cannibalism, also from EXPLORATION: The Online Research Journal of Vanderbilt University. From the text: "Historically, charges of cannibalism were used by European nations to help justify their colonization efforts. As a result, many historical allegations of people eating are undoubtedly false. But the fact that such allegations were made is not sufficient grounds to conclude that all reports of cannibalism are untrustworthy and should be discounted, Conklin says."

• Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society, By Beth A. Conklin:this is the page for Beth Conklin's book by this ttitle. Donald Pollock, Associate Professor of Anthropology, at SUNY Buffalo wrote about the book saying: "This is probably the most significant ethnography of cannibalism. Period. . . . I expect this book to become a classic, an ethnography of exceptional depth and clarity by an anthropologist whose sensitivity and insight are apparent on every page."