Cannibalism and vanilla skin

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Fiji was previously known as the Cannibal isles. There are 332 islands in Fiji (106 inhabited) it is believed Fiji's indigenous people arrived from western Melanesia. So hungry were the sailors on arrival, that they turned on each other as food. Other theories are, that they preyed on each other for land rights and ultimate insult and domination. Fijian's today, have great pride in their history and have a wicked sense of humour, when one said to me "yum, vanilla skin, you taste like pork" I saw the playful glint in their eye but thought...thank goodness for kava!! Kava or Kava Kava drink, is rife amongst the locals and makes them into very "mellow fellows" It is an intoxicating drink with a tongue numbing effect with sedative and euphoric properties. It makes their day extremely relaxed with no anxiety and is as a sellable crop and marketed in the villages amongst themselves. Depending on length of year 3,5 or 7 years is the strength and quality of the crop. There are also different grades of Kava, dependent on location grown. Therefore, if you were a villager and want to drink and sell it for good price in the markets, there is not much incentive to do any other sort of work. The reason most Fijians use Kava daily, is because once hooked, it is cheaper than alcohol and as alcohol is not tolerated in the villages and a zero tolerance law for drink driving, with jail for one week until called to court, depending on how drunk you are and loss of licence...they drink Kava instead. Though this possesses another problem...the number one killer in Fiji, is people falling to sleep at the wheel! this is because of Kava's sedative effects. Cannibalism, ended in the 1870's when Christianity became the dominant religion but many missionaries were eaten prior to that! Today, the souvenir shops and market places are full of hard wooden flesh eating tools/weapons: pronged forks, bone and neck snappers, large canoe paddles that can also serve as clubs, axes or spades, an immense range of wooden craftsmanship with cutting edges. It's impossible to visit Fiji and come away the same. The people are warm, funny and amazing hosts...but don't get too close! 😊

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