Cannibals were picky eaters? - Beyond Tiki

T TikiTomD Grand Member (6 years) Flagler Beach, FL Joined: Sep 20, 2009 Posts: 700	T TikiTomD Posted posted on Sun, Jan 1, 2012 11:47 AM VampiressRN, if I ever get to Fiji and see that implement brought out, I’ll know what (or rather who) is for dinner. Mahalo, komohana, for all of the interesting, if grisly, reading material on the subject, all of it new to me. Your point is well taken; cannibalism was not limited to any particular region of the world. In fact, the word itself originated from my part of the world, in the West Indies, according to this reference article in scribd.com... Caribs, native people formerly inhabiting the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. They seem to have overrun the Lesser Antilles and to have driven out the Arawak about a century before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. The original name by which the Caribs were known, Galibi, was corrupted by the Spanish to Caníbal and is the origin of the English word cannibal. Extremely warlike and ferocious, they practiced cannibalism and took pride in scarification (ritual cutting of the skin) and fasting... They were a warlike and savage people who are reported to have barbecued their captives and washed them down with cassava beer. In the History of Barbados, for example, it is reported that Caribs ate an entire French crew in 1596. They were incredibly accurate bowmen and used a powerful poison to paralyze their prey. Mike, that was most certainly a bit of 19th century political satire, but it sure fit in with the topic! Since VampiressRN introduced us to the subject of cannibal forks, here is a related article from more than 100 years ago that really shows its cultural bias... oh, those sly cannibal Fijians... The Reading Eagle July 1, 1899 (page 3) As cannibalism evolved to tourism, we have this report, again where the cultural lens of the times is so evident... The Windsor Daily Star December 22, 1956 (page 14) And from the Google News archive, we have this 1922 fictional tale by Richard Connell of an Ohio barber who fantasizes a South Seas adventure, then decides to make it real, “Mr. Potter and the South Sea Cannibals”(page 30)... -Tom

VampiressRN, if I ever get to Fiji and see that implement brought out, I’ll know what (or rather who) is for dinner.

Mahalo, komohana, for all of the interesting, if grisly, reading material on the subject, all of it new to me. Your point is well taken; cannibalism was not limited to any particular region of the world. In fact, the word itself originated from my part of the world, in the West Indies, according to this reference article in scribd.com...

Caribs, native people formerly inhabiting the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. They seem to have overrun the Lesser Antilles and to have driven out the Arawak about a century before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. The original name by which the Caribs were known, Galibi, was corrupted by the Spanish to Caníbal and is the origin of the English word cannibal. Extremely warlike and ferocious, they practiced cannibalism and took pride in scarification (ritual cutting of the skin) and fasting...

They were a warlike and savage people who are reported to have barbecued their captives and washed them down with cassava beer. In the History of Barbados, for example, it is reported that Caribs ate an entire French crew in 1596. They were incredibly accurate bowmen and used a powerful poison to paralyze their prey.

Mike, that was most certainly a bit of 19th century political satire, but it sure fit in with the topic!

Since VampiressRN introduced us to the subject of cannibal forks, here is a related article from more than 100 years ago that really shows its cultural bias... oh, those sly cannibal Fijians...

The Reading Eagle July 1, 1899 (page 3)

As cannibalism evolved to tourism, we have this report, again where the cultural lens of the times is so evident...

The Windsor Daily Star December 22, 1956 (page 14)

And from the Google News archive, we have this 1922 fictional tale by Richard Connell of an Ohio barber who fantasizes a South Seas adventure, then decides to make it real, “Mr. Potter and the South Sea Cannibals”(page 30)...

-Tom

Post #619455 by TikiTomD on Sun, Jan 1, 2012 11:47 AM