Exocannibalism

It has been interpreted as an attempt to acquire desired qualities of the victim and as "ultimate form of humiliation and domination" of a vanquished enemy in warfare.

Historically, it has also been used as a practical expediency in especially desperate attritional or guerrilla warfare when the extreme hunger and the abundance of humans being killed coincide to create conditions ripe for cannibalism.

John Kantner, an archaeologist who studied cannibalism in the American Southwest, concluded that when resources decrease, the competition of societies increases and exocannibalism can ensue.

[2] While exocannibalism is generally contrasted with endocannibalism, both are forms of institutionalized or ritual cannibalism (widely accepted in the societies where they occur), as opposed to cases practised during starvation situations or by isolated, often pathological individuals.

Cultures practising both forms of ritual cannibalism seem to be rare, but one well-studied case are the Wariʼ, an Amazonian people in Brazil that used to eat both killed enemies and deceased relatives, though in markedly distinct ways.

[6][7] Cultures that are known or said to have practised exocannibalism include the Azande,[8][9] the Lendu, and the Songye (especially the Zappo Zaps) in Central Africa, the Batak and Dayak people in Asia, and the Attacotti in Europe.

[14][15] While the flesh of slain enemies was consumed to express domination over them, cannibalism was also a part of both political and religious rituals performed by the Fijian people.