Fijian villagers wept yesterday as they apologised to descendants of a British missionary who was eaten by their ancestors more than 130 years ago. Nubutautau's villagers and the descendants of the Rev Thomas Baker were taking part in a ritual of reconciliation designed to lift a curse that has brought the area a run of bad luck.
Cannibals killed Baker and eight locals in the interior of Fiji's main island, Viti Levu, in 1867, eating the missionary after a slight against their chief. They boiled his boots with the vegetable bele, in an act that led to the curse.
"The tears were from our hearts deep inside because we have waited for so long for this moment," Tomasi Baravilala, a spokesman, said. "Today we will be set free from the curse."
Part of Nubutautau's curse has been that while the island's interior is lushly tropical, vegetation around the village is scant.
In the "ai sorotabu" ritual, 100 sperm whale teeth, or tabua, were given to 11 of Baker's descendants, who came from Australia.
Baker was a Methodist. His bible and comb were handed back to his descendants, but will be kept in the Fiji Museum in Suva.
At the time of his death, cannibalism was widespread in the former British colony, with human flesh known as "long pig" until the practice was outlawed in the 19th century.
"It was a very, very emotional scene last night," said Dennis Russell, his great-great-great grandson. "To see where he died was an experience I'll never forget."
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