The Big Meat Chewing the Fat With the Cannibal Connoisseur

"Cannibal, n. A gastronome of the old school who preserves the simple tastes and adheres to the natural diet of the pre-pork period." -- Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

Cannibalism has received a lot of bad press in recent years, thanks largely to the real-world exploits of one well-publicized amateur (no longer among us), and a deliciously diabolical motion picture performance by Sir Anthony Hopkins. It's a touchy subject and one that evokes much nervous joking whenever it's dished up. After all, we Homo sapiens climbed long and hard to reach the top of the food chain and the thought of eating, or being eaten by, a member of our own species is still a little unappetizing, at least for those of us who don't work in politics or the movie business. What we didn't learn from Dahmer and Lecter, however, is that there is considerable difference between the actions of a criminal madman and the rituals of a highly structured tribal society.

Hungry to clarify the distinctions for myself, I recently read Michael Krieger's fine book, Conversations with the Cannibals: The End of the Old South Pacific (Ecco Press,1994). A few years back, Mr. Krieger, a writer by profession and a vagabond by nature, became curious about cannibals and cannibalistic societies and decided to go find some. He succeeded in discovering several talkative cannibal retirees, one of whom even divulged a favorite recipe (beat to death, beat more to tenderize, baste generously with mashed yams, cook on a spit until done), not to mention visiting a tribe whose quaint name translates as "I Will Kill You."

I was curious about Mr. Krieger, and the other day I tracked him down by telephone at his island home in northern Washington.

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