Apologies for ancestors who ate missionary

By MALAKAI VEISAMASAMA

NUBUTAUTAU, Fiji - Villagers in Fiji's rugged mountain interior wept yesterday as they apologised to descendants of a British missionary killed and eaten by their ancestors more than 130 years ago.

The inhabitants of the tiny settlement of Nubutautau and the descendants of the Reverend Thomas Baker were taking part in a complex reconciliation ritual, which the villagers hope will lift a curse they blame for an extended run of bad luck.

Cannibals killed Baker in 1867 and ate him after a perceived slight against the then village chief, even boiling his leather boots with the local vegetable, bele, in an act which villagers say resulted in the curse.

"The tears were from our hearts deep inside because we have waited for so long for this moment," village spokesman Tomasi Baravilala told Reuters. "That's our belief, we are Christians and today we will be set free from the curse."

In the reconciliation ritual known as "ai sorotabu," 100 rare sperm whale teeth, or tabua, were given to 11 of Methodist missionary Baker's descendants, who travelled from Australia for the ceremony in the impoverished village.

Baker's bible, comb and the soles of his boots were handed back to his descendants and will be kept in the Fiji Museum in the capital, Suva.

Nubutautau villagers had unsuccessfully tried to eat the boots after Baker and eight Fijian followers were clubbed to death on a cliff in the South Pacific nation once known as The Cannibal Isles.

Cannibalism was widespread in the former British colony, with human flesh described as "long pig," until the practice was outlawed in the late 19th century. Baker's death was among the last recorded incidences of cannibalism.

Fiji, a mix of Christians and Hindus, is now a deeply religious nation of about 840,000 people. Traditional village chiefs, or ratus, still hold great influence over the predominantly Melanesian population.

"It was a very, very emotional scene last night. It just proves how genuine the hurt has been for the people of Nubutautau," Baker's great-great-great grandson Dennis Russell told Reuters after meeting villagers late Wednesday.

"Just to see where my great-great-great grandfather travelled to bring the Gospel was something else, and to see where he died was an experience I will never forget."

Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and members of Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs were among about 2000 people who attended the ceremony.

Russell and other family members joined villagers in a feast to celebrate the lifting of the curse.

Nubutautau, with a population of about 120, is in the mountainous interior of Fiji's main island Viti Levu north of Suva. It is accessible only by a logging track hacked into the side of a mountain.

Villagers believe Nubutautau has been cursed since Baker's slaying. While Viti Levu's rain-soaked interior is lushly tropical, vegetation around Nubutautau is scant and villagers still hunt for food.

The village has no electricity and few other services. Local children walk 24km to and from the nearest school each week.