Cannibal Forks

Cannibal forks come in all sizes. Small forks for eating the eyes and the brains, bigger ones for eating fleshy parts. Up until about 60 years ago, cannibalism was an active practice in the remote islands of Fiji.

I can't say that cannibalism is something I enjoy discussing; it chills my spine just to think of it. But due to the fact that over half of Americans are fanatics about gore (just look at the box office totals for the first week's showing of 'Seven'), I feel a short discussion on the topic might increase my Journal ratings.

Cannibalism was practiced here as early as 700 AD. It was, as one book reports, a completely normal part of life. The warrior-gods, who were obviously not too big on vegetables, required religious sacrifices to appease them. Those sacrifices (referred herein as victims) were usually enemies taken during battle. To eat your enemy was, as you would expect, the ultimate disgrace to the victim and had a lasting effect on the victim's family. Wars, resulting from power struggles, were an every day occurrence, therefore humans were served up often.

(Reader discretion is advised here).

Fijian cannibals were barbaric, but apparently not without a sense of humor. They would often get a chuckle over cutting off a victim's tongue or finger, cooking it and commenting on how delicious it was as they offered a bite to the victim.

(OK - the weak at heart can enter the room again).

I obviously have no intention of eating my enemies (after all I am a vegetarian), but I did find it fun to peruse the streets of downtown Nadi in search of an authentic fork. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) no originals were to be found.

Cannibal forks today are hand carved by friendly locals. They are made of Veti wood found here on the island, then dyed in black mud for several weeks and polished. The carvings were beautiful and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy one or two. Aside from gracing a wall someday, it would make for some excellent travel conversation. After looking through five stores whose salesmen all claimed to have the best and the cheapest forks, I selected two large ones, one for me and one for my parents, and shipped them home. A cannibal fork will fit in perfectly with my parent's display of Peruvian grave dolls. (But that's another story).

A word of advice for anyone wishing to ship items home from the Fiji Islands. Do not use UPS. Their reliability and prompt two-day air service is not worth the $F100 dollars required to ship a 1.6 kg package to the States. The post office is a much better bet. Our package rang in at a mere $F6.35. "How long will it take to get there?" I asked. The postman cheerfully informed me that "It is very fast, no more than three months." So, some time after Christmas, my cannibal forks should arrive in the States.

Bon-appetite.