Cannibalism

Cannibalism has a long history in the Fijian islands, which were previously known as the Cannibal Islands. According to the Fiji Museum, there is archaeological evidence to suggest that the practice of consuming human flesh dates back more than 2,500 years here. Excavations have uncovered various human remains, with clear evidence of cannibalism in the form of butchery marks on the bones.

The last recorded incident of cannibalism in Fiji was in the 1860s, with the death of missionary Reverend Thomas Baker.

The practice occurred for tribal and spiritual reasons.

It’s believed that Fijian chiefs ate the flesh of their enemies as a means of power, control, revenge and as the ultimate insult. It was also thought that if you consumed your enemy, you would inherit their knowledge.

Victims were often tortured and even dismembered while they were still alive. However, the process was steeped in ritual, from the abuse of the bodies to the chanting and drumming – and the use of special forks to eat the flesh.

Moreover, ancient religious beliefs often required human sacrifice at special times such as the construction of a temple, chief’s house or sacred canoes, or the installation rites of a new chief. The bodies were eaten as part of a religious ceremony, often accompanied by special chants and rituals. Bodies of the victims, both men and women, were dragged to the bure kalou (priest’s spiritual house) to the beat of the death drum. The men performed the Cibi death dance and the women the obscene Dele or Wate dance where the bodies, living or dead, were sexually abused. Living captives were often severely tortured before being killed.

The bete, or priest, offered the bodies to the war gods, and then they were cut up and prepared for the oven using a bamboo knife. The bodies were cooked in earthen ovens and then eaten inside the bure kalou by the men of the clan. Women and children would eat if there was excess flesh.

The Fijian’s considered the priests’ hands and lips sacred or consecrated and attendants normally fed these men. These helpers were not allowed in the spirit house, so the priests fed themselves during cannibal feasts using special wooden forks. These special eating instruments were kept as sacred relics in the spirit house.

Ratu Udre Udre “Most Prolific Cannibal” as declared by the Guinness Book of World Records


The legend of Ratu Udre Udre, a particularly insatiable Fijian chief from Rakiraki, continues to intrigue and nauseate. In 1849, about nine years after Udre Udre’s death, missionary Richard Lyth recorded a gruesome discovery. A long row of 872 stones was on the chief’s tomb with many spaces in between indicated that stones had been removed. Udre Udre’s son told Lyth that his father indeed ate that number of human beings. They were victims of war, and he ate them all himself and shared with no one else. He ate nothing but human flesh and kept a box of preserved flesh, so he always had a steady supply on hand. Locals believe that Udre Udre ate somewhere between 872 and 999 people in his lifetime, therefore receiving the honor of being named Guinness World Records’ Most Prolific Cannibal.