Sacred Hunger As Cannibalism in Cultural Systems

Author: P.R. Sandy
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-17
Features: Cannibalism is resisted in some cultures due to its evil, while in others, it plays an important role in ritualistic rules. Although anthropologists have proposed various explanations for the existence of cannibalism, P.R. Sandy believes that none are fully sufficient. In this book, she proposes a new approach to understanding cannibalistic phenomena. Through an exhaustive examination of ritualistic cannibalism in selected tribal societies and comparative analysis of cases where cannibalism does not exist, she demonstrates that cannibalism is closely linked to certain fundamental tendencies toward the material and spiritual worlds and serves as a specific means of distinguishing the "cultural self" from the "natural other." Drawing on ideas from the works of Ricoeur, Freud, Hegel, Jung, and symbolic anthropology, she argues that ritualistic cannibalism expresses the ontological structure of human existence in the world based on humanity's understanding of life and death, and employs this understanding to control life force, which is considered essential for social reproduction. Whether cannibalism exists in a particular culture depends on people's fundamental attitudes toward life and death, and it is intertwined with the reality of the material world. This book not only makes original contributions to the understanding of cannibalism and the general human issues determined by the phenomenon but also offers some quite pertinent theoretical perspectives on typical anthropological analysis.