Cannibal Kings

Being offended by one of his cousins he kissed him, cut off his forearm and drank the blood from it. He then threw it on the fire and when cooked ate it in front of his cousin, who was then cut up limb by limb.

The presentation of bokola – human bodies for eating – was accompanied by a particular Fijian, or lali, drum beat. You can hear one such chilling example here*: 

Archaeological research has shown that while Fiji has been occupied for slightly more than 3000 years, cannibalism probably started around 700 years ago. Its start followed a fall in sea level of around 80 cm which caused large amounts of reef areas to die-off.  Food from these reef areas would have been providing the major part of the Fijian people’s protein.

At the same time, the first hill forts appeared as people moved inland from the coastal areas. It seems that warfare over the declining resources and cannibal practices developed from that environmental change. While no one knows why the people in Fiji took to eating each other, they became famous for it, and up to the time the practice stopped in the late 19th century Fiji was literally dripping in blood.

These were vicious and gruesome times, not only were people killed to be eaten, they were also killed for religious and ceremonial reasons.Human sacrifice was common.  

For example, when an important bure, such as a chief’s house or temple, was being built human sacrifices would usually occur at various stages of building such as the felling of the trees, the tying of the first rafters and upon completion of the building. The na keli qara ni duru ni valewere the people responsible for the digging of house postholes and ensuring that the posts were set correctly. The posts were massive and heavy. Men needed to go into the hole to hold the posts until sufficient earth had been filled and rammed to keep the posts straight.  It was impossible to leave the post until sufficiently secured and that meant that some were often buried alive.

When a new canoe’s keel was laid down people were to be sacrificed and at the time of launching it would be rolled over human bodies, to the sea. People were killed upon the raising and lowering of its mast for the first time and on each stop of its maiden voyage. If the canoe was given as a gift, it was expected the recipient would make a return voyage bringing a dead body, or bodies, laid upon the deck, at which point the deck was said to have been ‘washed’ in blood.

The arrival of missionaries started the decline of the practices of human sacrifice and cannibalism.   But its cessation took some time and was dependent upon gaining the support of the major chiefs who often saw their role as being guardians of traditional customs. No doubt revenge, maintaining authority and instilling fear amongst enemies and potential usurpers were also motives for continuing cannibal practices.

There are many examples recorded by the missionaries of cannibal practices. People to be eaten were called ‘bokola’ and were most often killed by being clubbed or by having their heads bashed against a rock used specifically for the purpose. They were then cut up, using pieces of sharp bamboo, the pieces were baked in earth ovens, or boiled or grilled. They could also be cooked whole, sometimes being put into the oven while still alive. At other times the unlucky victim could be cut up piece-by-piece while still alive before being cooked and eaten.

One of the most influential chiefs leading up to the cessation of cannibalism was Ratu Seru Cakobau from Bau in eastern Viti Levu. In one instance of warfare, he captured a town and 100 bodies were taken to Bau to be cooked. Two men were captured alive. They were made to dig the holes and cut the firewood for the earth ovens in which they were to be cooked. Then they were required to wash themselves and make cups from banana leaves. A vein was opened in each of them to fill the cups with their blood which was drunk in front of them.  They then had their arms and legs cut off and cooked and eaten in front of them, some being presented to them to eat. Fishhooks were then put through their tongues to pull them out as far as possible when they were cut off and roasted and eaten in front of them.  Still alive they were finally dispatched by being disembowelled.

A famous drua, a double canoe, the Ramarama had been built in Somosomo on Taveuni Island over a period of seven years.  Upon completion it was presented to Cakobau.  Missionary presence in Somosomo had greatly curtailed cannibalism there and when the drua was presented to Cakobau he enquired how many people had been killed in its honour.  He was told that a few had been killed upon the laying of the keel and to feed the builders over the seven years but none upon its completion and bodies had not been used as rollers when it was launched.  Plans to have people killed at each place it stopped on its maiden voyage had also been thwarted by the missionary presence.  When it arrived at Bau the heavy mast was lowered for the first time since it had been raised, it slipped killing one man and injuring two more. Cakobau blamed the accident on the lack of traditional sacrifices and not using human bodies as rollers for the drua’s launching, saying that it did not augur well for the fate of the canoe.  At that time there were already ten bodies in the ovens at Bau but Cakobau said that these were insufficient to honour his great present and ordered his men to procure more.  They set out, ambushed a canoe and eleven more bodies were added to the sacrificial feast. 

Perhaps Fiji’s most famous inveterate cannibal was Ratu Udre Udre from Rakiraki in the province of Ra, about 3 hours north by road from Denarau. He is alleged to have eaten more than 900 people over his lifetime placing a marker stone for each person; apparently a common practice for the cannibal fraternity at the time. He preferred not to share and the bodies were recooked & recooked to keep them fit for eating until he had consumed them all. You can still see his grave beside the main road near to Rakiraki town in the north of Viti Levu.

Cakobau converted to Christianity in 1854, prompting the conversion of tens of thousands of others, and hastening the decline of cannibalism. But Fiji’s legacy remains a savage and yet romantic one that has attracted interest from many people over time. The English poet Rupert Brooke visited Fiji in 1913. In a letter home he wrote

“…I have been meditating a sonnet, as I sit here, surrounded by dusky faces and gleaming eyes:

The limbs that erstwhile charmed your sight


Are now a savage’s delight;


The ear that heard your whispered vow


Is one of many entrées now;


Broiled are the arms in which you clung,


And devilled is the angelic tongue: . . .


And oh! my anguish as I see


A Black Man gnaw your favourite knee!


Of the two eyes that were your ruin,


One now observes the other stewing.


My lips (the inconstancy of man!)


Are yours no more. The legs that ran


Each dewy morn their love to wake,


Are now a steak, are now a steak!  

*Audio Recorded at Serua Island July 1957: G.K. Roth Collection, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge. George Kingsley Roth served in the British colonial administration in Fiji from 1928 until 1957, eventually rising to the position of Secretary for Fijian Affairs. He held a Master’s in Anthropology from Cambridge University, England and was instrumental in creating the Central Archives of Fiji in 1954 to ensure the colony’s history wasn’t lost.