Acquired Tastes: World Cannibalism
The Aztecs and the Tupi
The Aztecs of Mexico and the Tupi of Brazil practiced cannibalism on a large scale. Like the mourning wars of the northeastern indigenous, cannibalism served practical and religious purposes.
The Aztecs committed human sacrifices to the gods. Sacrifices were ceremonial and attended by crowds of people. The victims were taken to the top of a temple. Priests at the temple's top gave an incantation before removing the heart of a victim. The victim was sent down the temple steps. Priests at the temple's base gave the victim's arms and legs to honored families to be eaten. The victim's trunk was sent to the zoo and aviary. The victim's skull was displayed at the sacrifical temple, the contents also eaten.
In The Conquest of New Spain, Bernal Diaz del Castillo recounts his march on Mexico with captain Hernán Cortez in 1519. Of the town of Cempoala, near the coast, Diaz wrote:
Of Tenochtitlan, present day Mexico-City and heart of the Aztec empire, Diaz wrote:
Diaz described Aztec ritual sacrifice:
Like the Iroquois and the Algonquin peoples, the Tupi fought mourning wars. The Tupi committed human sacrifices to the gods but only ate warriors. The Tupi were animistic and believed that they could consume a warrior's strength and bravery by eating him. Still, records of Tupi cannibalism are primarily European.
Hans Strader was a European marine. Strader was captured by the Tupi in 1552. Strader recounts his captivity in Hans Strader's True History: An Account of Cannibal Captivity in Brazil. Strader tells that he was to be eaten by his captors, but that he cured a chief of a disease and was spared.
The following is an excerpt from Straden's account:
Aztec ritual human sacrifice portrayed in the Codex Magliabechiano.
Illustration from the Codex Magliabechiano. Aztecs honor the gods with the spoils of sacrifice. A Spanish witness wrote: "This figure demonstrates the abominable thing that the Indians did on the day they sacrificed to their idols. After [the sacrifice] they placed many large earthen cooking jars of that human meat in front of their idol they called Mictlantecutli, which means lord of the place of the dead, as it is mentioned in other parts [of this book]. And they gave and distributed it to the notables and overseers, and to those who served in the temple of the demon, whom they called tlamacazqui [priests]. And these [persons] distributed among their friends and families that [flesh] and these [persons] which they had given [to the god as a human victim]. They say it tasted like pork meat tastes now. And for this reason pork is very desirable among them."
Every day they sacrificed before our eyes three, four, or five Indians, whose hearts were offered to those idols, and whose blood was plastered on the walls. The feet, arms, and legs of their victims were cut off and eaten, just as we eat beef from the butcher's in our country. I even believe that they sold it in the tianguez or markets.
...more than thirty dishes cooked in their native style ... I have heard that [Emperor Montezuma's servants] used to cook [Emperor Montezuma] the flesh of young boys. But as he had such a variety of dishes, made of so many different ingredients, we could not tell whether a dish was of human flesh or anything else ... I know for certain, however, that after our Captain spoke against the sacrifice of human beings and the eating of their flesh, Montezuma ordered that it should no longer be served to him.
They strike open the wretched Indian's chest with flint knives and hastily tear out the palpitating heart which, with the blood, they present to the idols in whose name they have performed the sacrifice [primarily the Aztec sun god Tonatiuh.] Then they cut off the arms, thighs, and head, eating the arms and thighs at their ceremonial banquets.
Depiction of Aztec human sacrifice in Apocalypto (2006)
However, some days later, they wanted to eat a captive in a vilalge called Tickquarippe [Ticoaripe] about six miles away from where I was kept captive. Thus, several [persons] from the huts where I was, set out, taking me along with them. The slave whom they wanted to eat, belonged to a nation called Marckaya [Maracaiás], and we traveled there in a canoe.
(When they are about to eat a human, it is their custom to make a drink from roots called Kawi [Caium], and after they have drunk this, they kill him.)... I went up to the captive.... was consumed [italics added] with pity for him... told him to be comforted, for they would only eat his body. His soul, however, would travel to another place, where... there is much joy....
...he was eaten on the following day....
