PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 7:30 PM by Luigi

Fijians find chutney in bad taste

Sometimes value adding is not as simple as it sounds. Article by Catherine Adams of the BBC.

Food scientists in the Fiji Islands say they have discovered a recipe for a vegetable dish used to accompany human bodies during cannibal feasts.

The scientists plan to market jars of cannibal chutney as a novelty gift, and argue that Fiji's flagging economy will have to rely on unique products such as this in the future.

Cannibalism was widely practised in Fiji until about a hundred years ago. But some Fijians are not happy about raking up their unsavoury past.

Recipe withheld

The co-inventor of Cannibal Chutney (CC), food scientist Richard Beyer, has concluded that Fiji is soon going to have to look beyond its traditional crops such as sugarcane.

"Our strategy is to single out products which are specific to the region and trade in those," Mr Beyer says.

Mr Beyer and an Australian colleague say they have discovered a recipe for a vegetable relish which used to accompany human meat.

He will not reveal the ingredients, but believes Cannibal Chutney, or products like it, are going to make the Fiji Islands rich.

"It is what we believe is a traditional recipe and when you think about it, it really doesn't matter what's in it. It is one of those little novelty products that you see round the world," Mr Beyer says.

"It's one of those things you buy as a novelty gift as you're leaving Fiji. It's like visitors to Fiji can go and buy a little fork which was originally designed to get the little bits of brain out of the skull," he says.

Chutney could harm tourism

But not everyone agrees with Richard Beyer's economic analysis. Trade journalist Daniel Singh thinks Fiji has plenty of resources to replace sugar, such as the hardwoods in its forests, before it has to resort to gimmicks.

"The idea of CC will not go down well because people are trying to forget the past... Tourism is an important industry here and if you associate cannibalism with that, it might affect tourism badly," Mr Singh says.

On the streets of the capital, Suva, the idea of Cannibal Chutney provoke mixed feelings among indigenous Fijians.

"Maybe the tourists would be interested to see that that was a part of Fiji's history, they might want to eat it to see what it's like, maybe it would draw them to Fiji," some said, but others were more critical.

"If I heard of cannibal chutney I wouldn't wanna eat it. We don't like the idea of Cannibal Chutney of naming our chutney that way. It spoils the Fijian race," people said.

"I think it's not really a good idea. We're almost in the year 2000 now and to talk about the past, we should forget about it. I think it is very insulting."

Missionary who became a meal

Contrary to popular myth, only one white missionary, the Reverend Thomas Baker, was ever eaten on Fiji. His shoes are in the Fiji museum.

"He was foolhardy, he was murdered and parts of his body eaten," says historical expert Paul Geraghty.

"The distribution of cuts would be similar to pork," he says.

"Cannibalism seems to have been prevalent in the earliest times. In the earliest records there are bones which appear to have been butchered which indicates it's quite old," Mr Geraghty says.

"But in every case it was a product of war. And when war ceased in the mid-19th century, then cannibalism ceased when people accepted Christianity."

Cannibal insults remain

The only trace of cannibalism today is in the language. For example, Fijians still use the common insult "bokola" which means "body for eating". Otherwise, it is never talked about.

But written records by early explorers remain, describing how the chiefs made the procedure as gruesome as possible to terrify their enemies.

"In times of bitter warfare, lower people might get little offcuts - hands and feet to chew on, but it was really the prerogative of the chiefs," Mr Geraghty says.

"They'd bring somebody back alive, if it was an opposing chief and there are accounts of items being removed from their person , like tongues, and being eaten while they watch."



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Article by Catherine Adams of the BBC. Food scientists in the Fiji Islands say they have discovered a recipe for a vegetable dish used to accompany human bodies during cannibal feasts. The scientists plan to market jars of cannibal chutney as a novelty gift, and argue that Fiji's flagging economy will have to rely on unique products such as this in the future. Cannibalism was widely practised in Fiji until about a hundred years ago. But some Fijians are not happy about raking up their unsavoury past. Recipe withheld The co-inventor of Cannibal Chutney (CC), food scientist Richard Beyer, has concluded that Fiji is soon going to have to look beyond its traditional crops such as sugarcane. "Our strategy is to single out products which are specific to the region and trade in those," Mr Beyer says. Mr Beyer and an Australian colleague say they have discovered a recipe for a vegetable relish which used to accompany human meat. He will not reveal the ingredients, but believes Cannibal Chutney, or products like it, are going to make the Fiji Islands rich. "It is what we believe is a traditional recipe and when you think about it, it really doesn't matter what's in it. It is one of those little novelty products that you see round the world," Mr Beyer says. "It's one of those things you buy as a novelty gift as you're leaving Fiji. It's like visitors to Fiji can go and buy a little fork which was originally designed to get the little bits of brain out of the skull," he says. Chutney could harm tourism But not everyone agrees with Richard Beyer's economic analysis. Trade journalist Daniel Singh thinks Fiji has plenty of resources to replace sugar, such as the hardwoods in its forests, before it has to resort to gimmicks. "The idea of CC will not go down well because people are trying to forget the past... Tourism is an important industry here and if you associate cannibalism with that, it might affect tourism badly," Mr Singh says. On the streets of the capital, Suva, the idea of Cannibal Chutney provoke mixed feelings among indigenous Fijians. "Maybe the tourists would be interested to see that that was a part of Fiji's history, they might want to eat it to see what it's like, maybe it would draw them to Fiji," some said, but others were more critical. "If I heard of cannibal chutney I wouldn't wanna eat it. We don't like the idea of Cannibal Chutney of naming our chutney that way. It spoils the Fijian race," people said. "I think it's not really a good idea. We're almost in the year 2000 now and to talk about the past, we should forget about it. I think it is very insulting." Missionary who became a meal Contrary to popular myth, only one white missionary, the Reverend Thomas Baker, was ever eaten on Fiji. His shoes are in the Fiji museum. "He was foolhardy, he was murdered and parts of his body eaten," says historical expert Paul Geraghty. "The distribution of cuts would be similar to pork," he says. "Cannibalism seems to have been prevalent in the earliest times. In the earliest records there are bones which appear to have been butchered which indicates it's quite old," Mr Geraghty says. "But in every case it was a product of war. And when war ceased in the mid-19th century, then cannibalism ceased when people accepted Christianity." Cannibal insults remain The only trace of cannibalism today is in the language. For example, Fijians still use the common insult "bokola" which means "body for eating". Otherwise, it is never talked about. But written records by early explorers remain, describing how the chiefs made the procedure as gruesome as possible to terrify their enemies. "In times of bitter warfare, lower people might get little offcuts - hands and feet to chew on, but it was really the prerogative of the chiefs," Mr Geraghty says. "They'd bring somebody back alive, if it was an opposing chief and there are accounts of items being removed from their person , like tongues, and being eaten while they watch." * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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