While scholars generally accept that some forms of cannibalism were practised by
Aboriginal Australians, such acts were largely limited to certain regions such as the north-east of
Queensland, the coast of
Arnhem Land, and parts of
Victoria, and were most often associated with mortuary rites. Cannibalism was also sometimes practised in times of
famine. Reliable accounts of cannibalism mostly involve close kin eating specific parts of the dead in socially controlled rituals as a means of perpetuating the existence and attributes of the deceased. While there are accounts of some Aboriginal groups eating the flesh of very young infants, other close family members, and slain warriors and enemies, these groups generally did not kill others only in order to eat them. It is likely that most Aboriginal groups did not practice any form of cannibalism. According to archaeologist
Josephine Flood, "Aborigines generally abhorred cannibalism. Often an Aboriginal group would call their enemies cannibals and many myths were told of evil spirits that killed enemies for food." Nevertheless, funerary cannibalism of members of the Aboriginal group (known as
endocannibalism) is frequently attested in some regions. Anthropologists
Ronald Berndt and
Catherine Berndt state, "it seems clear that burial cannibalism was fairly widespread, [though] in most cases ... only parts of the body were eaten." Cannibalism was sometimes associated with
infanticide. Berndt and Berndt state that infanticide was mainly practised during bad seasons in the desert and to restrict the number of young children. Killed infants were not always eaten, but when they were, it was often by a sibling to strengthen them or in the belief that the infant would be reborn. They note that the prevalence of cannibalism after infanticide was "grossly exaggerated" by some authors (such as
Daisy Bates), but "underestimated" by others. In 1929, anthropologist
Géza Róheim reported that in the past some Aboriginal groups of central Australia killed every second infant younger than about one as a means of population control. In times of drought and hunger children might be killed and eaten by their mothers and fed to older siblings to give them strength. Some of Róheim's female informants admitted having eaten the flesh of their siblings when young. Men sometimes killed older children in times of famine, but did not eat the flesh of children and sometimes punished women for doing so. Reports of cannibalism of infants exist for other regions including central Queensland and Victoria. Cannibalism of people outside the social group (
exocannibalism) is also recorded. For example, the
Kurnai and
Ngarigo of south-eastern Australia were reported to only eat their enemies. Since the 1980s, scholars have been more critical of 19th century and early 20th century accounts of cannibalism. Anthropologist Michael Pickering surveyed the ethnographic literature in 1985 and concluded that 72% of accounts were unsourced or second hand and that there were no reliable eyewitness accounts of actual acts of cannibalism. Many accounts based on Aboriginal informants were of alleged acts of cannibalism by their enemies. He argues that language barriers and the belief of traditional Aboriginal groups in the reality of the
Dreaming and of sorcerers and spirits who eat human flesh may have caused some European observers to misinterpret symbolic stories and metaphorical language as accounts of real acts of cannibalism. Pickering and Howie-Willis argue that mortuary rituals involving the cremation, smoking and drying of bodies, the stripping of flesh and bones, and the carrying of body parts as mementos and charms were likely assumed by some observers to be evidence of cannibalism. Pickering concludes that there is no reliable evidence of institutionalized cannibalism in Aboriginal culture, although some groups might have resorted to cannibalism in times of stress. Pickering, Howie-Willis, and Behrendt argue that allegations of cannibalism were a means of demonizing Aboriginal people to justify the expropriation of their land, denial of their legal rights, and destruction of their culture. Behrendt states that accounts describing Aboriginal cannibalism are "sketchy at best", adding that the most reliably documented cases of cannibalism in colonial Australia were the acts of the European convicts
Alexander Pearce,
Edward Broughton, and Matthew Maccavoy. == Melanesia ==