Consuming Grief: Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society

Beth A. Conklin

Published by University of Texas Press 2001

Consuming Grief

Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society

Beth A. Conklin

https://doi.org/10.7560/712324

Overview
Contents

About this book

Mourning the death of loved ones and recovering from their loss are universal human experiences, yet the grieving process is as different between cultures as it is among individuals. As late as the 1960s, the Wari' Indians of the western Amazonian rainforest ate the roasted flesh of their dead as an expression of compassion for the deceased and for his or her close relatives. By removing and transforming the corpse, which embodied ties between the living and the dead and was a focus of grief for the family of the deceased, Wari' death rites helped the bereaved kin accept their loss and go on with their lives.

Drawing on the recollections of Wari' elders who participated in consuming the dead, this book presents one of the richest, most authoritative ethnographic accounts of funerary cannibalism ever recorded. Beth Conklin explores Wari' conceptions of person, body, and spirit, as well as indigenous understandings of memory and emotion, to explain why the Wari' felt that corpses must be destroyed and why they preferred cannibalism over cremation. Her findings challenge many commonly held beliefs about cannibalism and show why, in Wari' terms, it was considered the most honorable and compassionate way of treating the dead.

Author / Editor information

Beth A. Conklin is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University.

Reviews

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.

— Donald Pollock, Associate Professor of Anthropology, SUNY Buffalo

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
About the Artist and Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
A Note on Orthography Publicly Available Download PDF	xiv
Introduction Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
Part I. Contexts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part II. Motifs and Motives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	63
Part III. Bodily Connections Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
Part IV. Eat and Be Eaten Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
Afterword Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
Appendix A: The Story of Mortuary Cannibalism’s Origin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	242
Appendix B: The Story of Hujin and Orotapan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	252
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	277

Language: English
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 320

eBook

Published: January 10, 2010
ISBN: 9780292798236