The Quarterly Review, Volume 162, No. 324, April, 1886 — John Shaqi
The Quarterly Review, Volume 162, No. 324, April, 1886Various
History
The Quarterly Review, Volume 162, No. 324, April, 1886
Various
Periodicals
For the novel and stirring incidents of travel, we must turn to Mr.
Romilly's narrative of his experiences in the Western Pacific. He
transports us to a comparatively little known region, and it was his
good or ill fortune to come into contact with phases of life which must,
it is to be hoped, for ever remain unknown to most of us. Few living
men, for instance, have been present at a great feast on human flesh,
cannibalism being one of the habits of savage life which is found to
yield at the first touch of civilization. In New Ireland, however, Mr.
Romilly happened to be present at a sort of state banquet, given in
honour of a victory over the enemy. The enemy himself supplied the
materials of the repast. The details of the preparation of the horrible
food may be read in Mr. Romilly's pages by all who have a curiosity on
the subject. Some few particulars concerning a compound called 'Sak-sak'
may here be given:--
'They, [the heads of the victims] were then disposed of in
various ways, and when I asked what would be done with them,
I was told, "They will go to improve the sak-sak." The
natives on the East coast of New Ireland prepare a very
excellent composition of sago and cocoa-nut, called sak-sak.
I used to buy a supply of this every morning, as it would
not keep, for my men. Now it appeared that for the next week
or so, a third ingredient would be added to the sak-sak,
namely, brains. I need hardly say that for the next two days
of my stay I did not taste sak-sak, though my men made no
secret of doing so. The flesh in the ovens had to be cooked
for three days, or until the tough leaves in which it was
wrapped were nearly consumed. When taken out of the ovens
the method of eating it is as follows. The head of the eater
is thrown back, somewhat after the fashion of an Italian
eating macaroni. The leaf is opened at one end, and the
contents are pressed into the mouth until they are finished.
As Bill, my interpreter put it, "they cookum that fellow
three day; by-and-by cookum finish, that fellow all same
grease." For days afterwards, when everything is finished,
they abstain from washing, lest the memory of the feast
should be too fleeting.'
Mr. Romilly was informed by the natives that human flesh tastes even
better than pork. One is satisfied to take their word for it. In the New
Hebrides it appears that the people prefer to eat it dried, or 'jerked.'
At present, we are told,
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