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Fiji: The Cannibal Islands
The natives of Fiji were well known for their strong muscular bodies and physical grace, as well as their colorful native dress and costumes. But prior to the 20th century, it was the fierce martial abilities of the Fijian tribesmen that made Fiji a place that was not merely exotic but downright frightening. Fijians were known as absolutely ferocious warriors with a savage reputation for murdering and eating anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves stranded on the shores of this, otherwise, tropical paradise. When the legendary British seafarer Captain James Cook was in neighboring Tonga in 1777, he heard first-hand the fear the Fijians inspired. According to the Tongans, the men "of Feejee are formidable on account of the dexterity with which they use their bows and slings; but much more so, on account of the savage practice to which they are addicted... of eating their enemies whom they kill in battle." The American Commodore Charles Wilkes would also pass through, describing Fiji as "the abode of a savage, ferocious, and treacherous race of cannibals." Fijian social organization was quite complex, based on a foundation of chieftainship. The high chiefs of each smaller tribe were the center of a web of family relationships cemented by strategic marriages and sometimes temporary alliances among villages. The chiefs had unchallenged authority to inflict gruesome punishments on tribal members. Clubbing to death was considered to be the most merciful of these punishment rituals. Another of their chilling traditions was ceremonial strangling. When the chief died, by tradition all of his widows would be strangled to death, usually by their own sons.
There were certain conventions of war that served to impose tolerable limits to inter-village carnage. The Fijians also had their own code of acceptable conduct. Boasting too openly was frowned upon, as was attacking the enemy tribe while they were engaged in their own war dance ceremony. But full scale hostilities were serious affairs, usually with dire consequences for the losing parties. If a tribe's village was overrun, the victors would capture any warriors, women and old people they could lay hands on, carrying them back to their own village to be slaughtered and eaten. The conquered village would be burned to the ground and its crops destroyed. Sometimes survivors would return to the devastated site to rebuild the village and reconstitute the tribe, but under a heavy obligation to pay regular tribute to the victors. Cannibalism was a ritual of war as well as a form of vengeance on the enemy. Training in cannibal practices began early. At feasts pieces of human flesh were rubbed over the lips of young children so they would learn to appreciate the primal flavor. And as they grew older, at cannibal feasts the boys would be tossed the less prime cuts to snack upon. Training in warfare and the art of clubbing was an essential part of a young man's education. In fact, to learn the craft of beaning a man to death, sometimes these youths would get to practice with toy clubs on adult prisoners while their tutors held down the unfortunate victims. Of course, the key rite of passage to manhood was killing your own first victim with your own war club. And the lucky or skillful young man who had slain ten people received an honorary title and a special decoration, a black and white cone shell to wear on each arm. But Fijians apparently relished the taste of human flesh as well. One chief was so proud of his military –- culinary feats that he built a monument of 999 stones to commemorate each of his meals. However, Fijians apparently pursued their cannibalistic practices with exceptionally good manners. The feast itself required the observance of certain traditions. The feasters would wrap the leaves of a special vegetable –- solanum anthropophagorum – and cook the flesh on heated stones or special ovens. And although Fijians generally ate with their hands, for eating the delicate human flesh they utilized beautifully crafted special forks, considering it improper to touch cooked human flesh. After a major victory, the traditional Fijian celebration lasted a full four days. These were by all accounts parties of heroic, outsized proportions. As the cooking and the ceremonial dances of death proceeded, gustatory anticipation and sexual tension would build. When the feasting commenced, the revelers sated their appetites according to their status: the choice pieces, hearts and thighs, were for the warriors. The scraps, feet and hands, were for the weak and infirm. And after the last morsel was eaten, the tribe would indulge in frenzied sexual orgy. At the end of four days of such bacchanalia the warriors would enjoy a lengthy bathing and cleansing ritual. During most of the 19th century the London Missionary Society had been sending forth men of the cloth to Fiji as well as Papua New Guinea and other heathen islands. Many Fijians did not appreciate these visitors from the LMS. As one chief complained, these meddlesome missionaries and their religion "spoil our feasts." But the LMS persevered, and in 1854 Chief Cakobau, leader of one of the dominant Fijian tribes, converted to Christianity. The chief was baptized and he took the Christian name Ebenezer. Chief Ebenezer then proceeded to forbid cannibalism as well as ceremonial strangling. Within a few years most of the other tribes of Fiji would foreswear many of their old ways. back to top |
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