This Horrid Practice: The Myth and Reality of Traditional Maori Cannibalism

This Horrid Practice Uncovers An Unexplored Taboo Of New Zealand History - The Widespread Practice Of Cannibalism In Pre-european Maori Society. Until Now, Many Historians Have Tried To Avoid It And Many Maori Have Considered It A Subject Best Kept Quiet About In Public. Paul Moon Brings Together An Impressive Array Of Sources From A Variety Of Disciplines To Produce This Frequently Contentious But Always Stimulating Exploration Of How And Why Maori Ate Other Human Beings, And Why The Practice Shuddered To A Halt Just A Few Decades After The Arrival Of Europeans In New Zealand. The Book Includes A Comprehensive Survey Of Cannibalism Practices Among Traditional Maori, Carefully Assessing The Evidence And Concluding It Was Widespread. Other Chapters Look At How Explorers And Missionaries Saw The Practice; The Role Of Missionaries And Christianity In Its End; And, In The Final Chapter, Why There Has Been So Much Denial On The Subject And Why Some Academics Still Deny That It Ever Happened. Introduction -- Cannibalism As History -- Dividing Lines -- Section One. Popular Cannibalism -- Ch. 1. Footprints -- Ch. 2. 'a Modest Proposal' -- Ch. 3. 'i Restrained My Resentment' -- Ch. 4. 'frightful Tales' -- Ch. 5. 'fe Fi Fo Fum' -- Section Two. Portraits Of Maori Cannibalism -- Ch. 6. Standards Of Evidence -- Ch. 7. The Oral Legacy -- Ch. 8. The Stuff Of Legends -- Ch. 9. Cook's First Visit -- Ch. 10. A French Connection -- Ch. 11. 'a People Who Show So Much Friendship For Me' -- Ch. 12. Thoughtful Encounters -- Ch. 13. The Experiment -- Ch. 14. Cannibal Cove -- Ch. 15. The Boyd -- Ch. 16. Hidden Rites -- Ch. 17. The Curtain Closes -- Ch. 18. 'in The Hands Of Cannibals' -- Ch. 19. Revival -- Ch. 20. The Archaeological Imprint -- Ch. 21. Case Closed -- Section Three. An Anatomy Of Maori Cannibalism -- Ch. 22. The Cannibal And The Kumara -- Ch. 23. Death's 'permanent Aggression' -- Ch. 24. Ordering Cannibalism -- Ch. 25. Just An Appetite? -- Ch. 26. Rage Against The Body -- Ch. 27. In The Blood -- Ch. 28. Emotional Insensitivity Or Moral Transgression? -- Ch. 29. Ideological Cannibalism -- Ch. 30. The Autopsy -- Section Four. Abolition -- Ch. 31. Abolition Immediately -- Ch. 32. Unfinished Sublimation? -- Ch. 33. The Evolution Of Symbolic Cannibalism In Maori Society -- Ch. 34. Shame -- Ch. 35. The Hope Of Abolition -- Ch. 36. Official Participation -- Ch. 37. No New Performance -- Ch. 38. Success? -- Section Five. The Revisionist Apostasy -- Ch. 39. Who Are The Cannibals? -- Ch. 40. A Method In The Madness -- Ch. 41. Propaganda Cannibalism -- Ch. 42. The Cannibal Conspiracy -- Ch. 43. The Willingness To Disclose Cultural Traits -- Ch. 44. A South Pacific Allegory -- Ch. 45. Dual Standards Of Evidence -- Ch. 46. Personal, All Too Personal -- Conclusion. Paul Moon. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 273-295) And Index.