Sale of human flesh in the late 16th century. Engraving by Theodor de Bry illustrating Filippo Pigafetta's Report of the Kingdom of Congo, which contains the oldest known account of cannibalism in Central Africa.
Acts of cannibalism in Africa have been reported from various parts of the continent, ranging from prehistoric times until the 21st century. The possibly oldest evidence of human cannibalism has been found in Kenya in eastern Africa. There is little evidence of later cannibalism in East Africa, but the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was reputed to practise it, and acts of voluntary and forced cannibalism have been reported from the South Sudanese Civil War.
While the oldest known written mention of cannibalism is from the tomb of the Egyptian king Unas, later evidence from Egypt shows it to only re-appear during occasional episodes of severe famine.
The oldest records of cannibalism in West Africa are from Muslim authors who visited the region in the 14th century.
Later accounts often ascribe it to secret societies such as the Leopard Society.
Cannibal practices were also documented among various Nigerian peoples such as the Igbo.
The victims were usually killed or captured enemies, kidnapped strangers, and purchased slaves.
Cannibalism was practised to express hatred and to humiliate one's enemies, as well as to avoid waste and because meat in general was rare; human flesh was also considered as tastier than that of animals.
While its consumption during peacetime seems to have ceased, cannibal acts are on record for civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone around the turn from the 20th to the 21st century.
In the late 19th century, cannibalism seems to have been especially prevalent in parts of the Congo Basin.
While some groups rejected the custom, others indulged in human flesh, often considering it superior to other meats.
Killed or captured enemies could be consumed, and individuals from different ethnic groups were sometimes hunted down for the same purpose.
Slaves were also sacrificed for the table, especially young children, who were otherwise in little demand but praised as particularly delicious.
In some areas, human flesh and slaves intended for eating were sold at marketplaces.
While cannibalism became rarer under the colonial Congo Free State and its Belgium-run successor, colonial authorities seem to have done little to suppress the practice.
Human flesh still appeared on the tables up to the 1950s and was both eaten and sold during the chaos of the Congo Crisis in the 1960s.
Occasional reports of cannibalism during violent conflicts continue into the 21st century.
North of the Congo Basin, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, dictator of the Central African Republic, seems to have eaten the flesh of opponents and prisoners during the 1970s. There are further reports of such acts from the civil war in the same country, which started in 2012.
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