Cannibalism

I'm doing my project on cannibalism practiced by the Wari, a tribe that live in the forests of Brazil. They have an intricate belief system that involves ritualistic cannibalism of dead members within their society. The consumption of the body is done by the in-laws of the individual who died. Only adults consume the body; they do so as a favor to the blood relatives who beg them to eat their close kin. The eating of the body is seen as a transformation between living with the tribe and coming alive in the underwater underworld. It is this place the Wari consider to be the resting place for spirits. According to Beth Conklin, expert on all things Wari, at the very moment the first cut is made on the body of the deceased their spirit wakes in the underworld and after the body is fully consumed the spirit is complete and able to join the other spirits. The spirit of ancestors, according to the Wari belief, often return to the tribe in the form of a white-lipped peccary (a pig like animal) extremely sacred to the Wari. Conklin has testimonial from several Wari elders who were active performers of the cannibalistic act before it was stopped in the 1960's. The elders explain that when the white-lipped peccary is roasted it transforms into the flesh of their ancestor who has in this way provided them with meat (this practice can be seen as sort of mental cannibalism). They also addressed that when the actual human body is roasted, in the same manner as the white-lipped peccary, it transforms into the animal itself. This parallel according to Conklin affirms the relationship between humans and their animal food source.

Two Wari boys with a white-lipped peccary.

 http://pib.socioambiental.org/en/povo/wari/865

Another reason that the consumption of the body makes sense as a Wari practice is because they greatly morn for their dead but after the mourning stage they like to completely erase the memory of the individual. The Wari do not believe in cremation and with burial it is harder for them to forget their dead; they are constantly worried as they believe their kinsfolk are cold and alone in the ground. They also believe that the ground hold several impurities and so it is better for a body to be absorbed into the bodies of other loved ones and the memories along with the bodies. In this way the individual can disappear too.

I cannot say that I have ever sympathized with cannibalism until I studied the Wari tribe. I do not think that I could ever be compelled to eat human flesh even if it were in the context of the Wari. I do not have their cultural background and their strongly rooted beliefs. I would be indifferent to the disposal of a human body as long as it is done in an ethical manner (I am using the term 'ethical' very loosely and with to encapsulate ethics of all cultures into this scope as impossible as that may be), for I am still skeptical of the afterlife and thus do not think that specific rituals will effect the spirit of the dead (rituals and afterlife in my personal belief are for the living because we can only comprehend what we know, life is what the living know, and thus the afterlife is a way to view the dead as still living). However, for those like the Wari who do think that their actions will benefit their dead ancestors it is immensely important and can effect the lively hood of the culture. I see nothing wrong with the Wari practices and if they wish to eat their dead I say by all means eat away. In this particular case there is no violence or death involved in the act of cannibalism. In fact it is an act of sympathy and respect directed toward the dead individuals blood relatives.

My final statement will be that since the 1960's the Wari have stopped being cannibals do to colonial demand. Though one of their rituals is lost it did not effect their strong belief system for their beliefs did not depend on the act of cannibalism. The act of cannibalism simply gave them a fluent outlet for their beliefs. The Wari did not depend on human flesh for their source of protein not did they crave it. Thus the culture has thrived on, though a unique practices has died out. Many generations have passed and though there are still some discrepancies by the elders most of the Wari have adapted to burying their dead.          

Articles Used:
Beth Conklin (1993) - Hunting the Ancestors: Death and Alliance in Wari' Cannibalism. 
D. W. Miller (2001) - Love Me, Miss Me, Eat Me.