A statement by US President Joe Biden has caused outrage in Papua New Guinea. Biden told an anecdote about his uncle from the Second World War who was allegedly eaten by cannibals. At a campaign appearance in Pennsylvania, he said: “He was shot down over New Guinea, and they never found his body because there really were a lot of cannibals in that part of New Guinea.” But this story turned out to be a legend shortly afterwards.
James Marape, the head of government of the Pacific state, immediately rejected the anecdote about the uncle being eaten. In fact, Biden’s uncle Ambrose Finnegan crashed an airplane over the waters of Papua New Guinea in 1944. Since then, there has been no trace of the plane or its crew members.
A spark of truth in the cliché?
However, this diplomatic skirmish does not mean that the cliché is false and that there is no longer any cannibalism on Papua New Guinea. During my trip to Papua New Guinea in 2019, our guide Simon Tewson told me an incredible story. He was talking to someone about cannibalism in the local language and said that it must be long gone. His counterpart confirmed that he hadn’t eaten a human in over 30 years. What do YOU mean?
He told me this story on the island of Panasia, where only a few families live. Drinking water is collected there in underground caverns and fruit and vegetables are in short supply. There is not enough food for everyone every year. Not so long ago, such living conditions led to raids on neighboring islands. There was a widespread belief that by eating their dead enemies, they could gain their strength.
On the trail of the last cannibals
We were invited to travel together to the uninhabited neighboring island of Pana Vara Vara, where there are still remains of a cult site. A path covered with palm fronds led through dense jungle to a cave in which we found cooking pots and a large number of human bones.
More about Papua New Guinea:
Detailed article about encounters on Papua New Guinea. The report on the plane wreck deep in the jungle recalls the Second World War and the shooting down of the Japanese General Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbour. Bougainville: the emergence of a nation. In 2019, the population of the former German colony of Bougainville voted in favor of independence from Papua New Guinea with a majority of 98 percent.
The costs of the boat trip were not charged to the editorial team
