In various past societies and culture, cannibalism was seen as a form of alchemy or transformation. It was an act that was highly ritualized and the line between ritual and coercion could blur, and perceptions of violence varied across cultures.
Eating a person was practiced to absorb their power, spirit, traits, and essence. It was a ritual of transformation where breaking down one's body elevated another person.
The intention behind this act mattered, some ate parts of their dead relative to keep them within the lineage. Others consumed their enemies because it was seen as a way to spiritually dominate them and to absorb their power and even humiliate them.
The act was seen as a symbol of death, integration, and rebirth and was deeply tied in the view that the body and soul were interconnected and that consumption equaled transformation and union.
Different body parts carried different energies, powers and symbolic meaning and were consumed with specific intentions.
The heart: It represented the courage and emotional strength and was consumed to absorb bravery power and spiritual essence of the person.
The tongue: It represented the influence and speech and was consumed to gain persuasive influence and eloquence of the the person.
The liver: Represented the strength, purification, and anger processing. It was consumed for emotional purification
The brain: Represented intelligence, wisdom, spiritual power and strategy. It was consumed to gain mental strength and spiritual insights.
The blood: represented life force, lineage, and vitality and drinking it was believed to absorb victim's years of life, vitality, and spiritual energy.
The bones: It represented ancestral power and endurance.
The genitals: It was tied to sexual power, fertility, and dominance. Consuming them was thought to increase feminine power and even absorb sexual energy.
The eyes: Represented Spiritual sight and intuition and was consumed to gain the victim's spiritual sight and see what they saw.
The skin: It was seen as a boundary of identity and consuming someone else's skin was intended to take over their spiritual identity and power.
The ritual was forbidden because of Various reasons:
-Change in religion and beliefs, an example is in Abrahamic religion the body is considered sacred especially after death and shouldn't be consumed.
-Evolution of morals and ethics: As human empathy deepened, cannibalism came to be seen as inhumane and violent.
-Spread of disease: Spread of prion diseases in places like Kuru in Papua Guinea.
-Colonial influence.
-Evolution of social rules.