Fiji Villagers Apologize for Cannibalism (Hey. At least they apologized)

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=590&ncid=716&e=8&u=/ap/20031113/ap_on_re_au_an/fiji_cannibal_apology

NABUTAUTAU, Fiji - Villagers in a remote Fijian community staged an elaborate ceremony of apology Thursday for the relatives of a British missionary killed and eaten here 136 years ago.

The Rev. Thomas Baker and eight Fijian followers were killed and devoured by cannibals in 1867 in the village of Nabutautau, high in the hills of the South Pacific island of Viti Levu. Residents say their community has been cursed ever since.

In a mixture of ancient pagan and modern Christian rites, the villagers have staged a series of ceremonies hoping to erase the misfortunes they believe have kept them poor.

The rituals — which started about a month ago — culminated Thursday with the offering of cows, specially woven mats and 30 carved sperm-whale teeth known as tabua to 10 Australian descendants of Baker.

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[wtmusic]

1. Burp.

[HEyHEY]

2. "Sorry we ate your brother......wanna see him? he he , just jokin!"

[Zuni]

3. Isn't that special

I always apologize after I kill and eat someone. It is the 'civilized' thing to do. These Fijians must be godless heathen or something.

[sybylla]

5. What god are you referring to when you say "godless heathens"?

You see, this happened over 150 years ago, when the Fiji's had their native system of belief. Now the decendents, who are christian and apparently superstitious, think that they are cursed because of what their ancestors did to the missionary. They were not godless 150 years ago and they are not godless now.

Speaking as a godless heathen, of course. Never killed and eaten anyone, myself so there's no need to be frightened.

[HEyHEY]

6. You must be humourless ....zuni was jokin

;-)

[sybylla]

7. No, not humorless

just missed the </sarcasm>. Don't know Zuni well enough to know it was humor with out a signal.

:hi:

[Zuni]

11. It was so nonsensical

I did not think I needed a signal.

[BigMcLargehuge]

4. I wonder if eating missionaries is allowed on The Atkins diet?

:freak:

[histohoney]

9. Sure

Just make sure not to eat the "buns".
:9

[BurtWorm]

8. "Tabua" means carved sperm whale teeth?

I wonder if that's a coincidence or if there's some connection to tabu.

[Bossy Monkey]

10. Could be a connection

ETYMOLOGY: Tongan tabu, under prohibition.
WORD HISTORY: Among the many discoveries of Captain James Cook was a linguistic one, the term taboo. In a journal entry from 1777, Cook says this word “has a very comprehensive meaning; but, in general, signifies that a thing is forbidden…. When any thing is forbidden to be eat, or made use of, they say, that it is taboo.” Cook was in the Friendly Islands (now Tonga) at the time, so even though similar words occur in other Polynesian languages, the form taboo from Tongan tabu is the one we have borrowed. The Tongans used tabu as an adjective. Cook, besides borrowing the word into English, also made it into a noun referring to the prohibition itself and a verb meaning “to make someone or something taboo.” From its origins in Polynesia the word taboo has traveled as widely as Cook himself and is now used throughout the English-speaking world.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/49/T0004900.html

I think it's from the tiki the Brady Bunch found, personally...