Re: Anthropophagy
Kevin Hill (KHILL@crassus.onu.edu)
Wed, 14 Dec 1994 20:15:13 GMT
In article <1994Dec10.031937.162527@zeus.aix.calpoly.edu> myoung@farad.elee.calpoly.edu (May T. Young) writes:
>In article <60.8085.3724.0N1C2A1B@canrem.com>,
>George Anketell <george.anketell@canrem.com> wrote:
>>I'm researching a childrens' book. Its subject is *the human body*.
>>
>>Point is, that when kids realise that we are meat, their first question is *What do we taste like?*
>>
>>I don't know the answer. Any quotes, references etc would be most helpful.
>I've been told that cannibals say that human flesh tastes like pork, and that
>some cannibalistic tribes refer to their human quarry as "smart pigs". Sorry,
>No references.
While trekking through Irian Jaya (the Indonesian half of New Guinea) my
guide told me his sister had been invited to eat at an Asmat banquet where
she was fed an unidentified meat. Because the Asmats practiced
cannibalism in the recent past and were rumoured to still do so, she assumed
it was human. She said it was very greasy, did not tast like pork and made
her sick. I suppose it could have been bad pork or the guide (not an Asmat)
could have been libeling his neighbors or even telling me a fine tale to
bring home, but I believe the story. You might look at Russel Hitt's
"Cannibal Valley" (Harpers 1962), which is an account of missionaries in
West New Guinea in the 1950s. He might mention how we taste.
Kevin Hill
Prof. of Law
Ohio Northern Unviersity
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