Cannibalism in the Heart of Darkness

Africa was once labeled the 'Dark Continent' because of the mysteries it held for 19th century European society, and because of colonial ignorance. If Africa did not merit such a title in that epoch, it seems as though it has earned it ten-fold in recent times.

In a land that suffers unceasingly from the brutal suppression of dictatorial governments and the bloodshed of internecine tribal conflict, there are yet darker phenomena. Recently, in the DR Congo, trustworthy reports from multiple sources have accused certain groups, most particularly northern militias, of feasting on human flesh in the war-zone.

It is one thing to suggest that cannibalism has been reincarnated on a distant continent, but another to comprehend the atrocities to which innocent and vulnerable Africans are being subjected. The story of Zainabo Alfani says more than I ever could, and invokes irrepressible revulsion for those responsible for her suffering. Read it.

I know; how could anything human be responsible for that?

The frightening thing is, and we must accept this, that the cannibals in DR Congo are human, and hence what they are capable of, we are as well. This is a disturbing realization, but one that is supported by the existence of ritual and cultural cannibalism in numerous societies throughout history and around the globe. When living in Indonesia, I had the fortune to visit the Batak people of central Sumatra, who had only abandoned their cannibalistic practices at the turn of the century. Similarly, my father regaled me with frightening stories of modern-day cannibals in Irian Jaya who, or so say anthropologists, are probably still around.

Consequently, cannibalism appears not to be a cultural anomaly we can dismiss ourselves from. Rather, somewhere in the dark recesses of the human psyche are the behavioral instincts that can turn a society into the Heart of Darkness. But what could the possible motivations for this behavior be?

Primarily, and this certainly seems to be the dominant reason for the behavior of militias in DR Congo, cannibalism is connected to power. Upon consuming the flesh of another, you are physically subordinating them, but also stating a clear case for the others in your tribe.

Another possible explanation is that the tribes that practice cannibalism actually follow the mantra 'you are what you eat', and therefore attempt to consume the strength, intelligence or beauty of somebody they fight against or admire.

A third possibility is that, well, they are just damn hungry. It wouldn't be the first time an individual or a micro-society had been forced into cannibalism out of desperation, and Africa clearly has no surplus of resources.

However, despite these potential explanations (or justifications, if you are comfortable calling them so), my own sense of innate morality, wherever it stems from or whatever its source, cannot accept cannibalism. It seems so entirely wrong to me that I could not imagine anyone with even remotely the same beliefs as myself engaging in that practice.

Perhaps that is why I fail to understand why the cannibals in DR Congo can justify their own actions.