This Horrid Practice

by Paul Moon

'Though stronger evidence of this horrid practice prevailing among the inhabitants of this coast will scarcely be required, we have still stronger to give.' - Captain James CookThis 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.This Horrid Practice promises to be one of the leading works of New Zealand history published in 2008. It is a highly original work that every New Zealand history enthusiast will want to own and read.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Anthropology

303 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2008

About the author

Dr Paul Moon is Professor of History at Auckland University of Technology. Among his twenty-five published books are A Savage Country: The untold story of New Zealand in the 1820s; This Horrid Practice: The myth and reality of traditional Maori cannibalism; A History of New Zealand in the Twentieth Century; biographies of Governors Hobson, FitzRoy and the Ngāpuhi chief Hone Heke; and Encounters: The creation of New Zealand, which was shortlisted for the 2014 Australasian Ernest Scott Prize in History.

Reviews

[F.E. Beyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no review of this here? Amazing. If I wasn't from New Zealand this would be a very interesting book to review - as I am though it feels like a potential minefield. I will write a full review in time.

I can just about sum up my feelings without talking about the issue of cannibalism at all.

The legend goes that the Maori god Maui went fishing and the North Island of New Zealand is the fish he caught.

"After the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand, the story underwent several modifications, and was elaborated on to the extent that some current versions of it make reference to the topographical appearance of various parts of the country (the North Island looking like a fish, the Hauraki Gulf a fish’s mouth, the tip of the Hawke’s Bay a fish hook, the South Island a canoe, Stewart Island an anchor, and so forth). The only way in which these additional features could have crept into the original myth was with the benefit of charts, which were introduced into New Zealand by Europeans from the late eighteenth century. So it is to some degree with the rendering of Maori cannibalism. The original reasons for its occurrence and the nature of its practice have quite possibly been laminated with additional layers of interpretation applied by both Maori and European."

My Feelings about this: A very interesting idea. I certainly won't talk about it at work.

[John Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, informative and thought provoking

[Lasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I liked about the book:

It was pretty easy to get through the book for me despite having had no significant prior knowledge of Maori culture or Maori cannibalism.

I was impressed by the manner in which Moon not only presented the primary evidence for the existence and systemic nature of Maori cannibalism throughout history, but also explained to the readers his methodology of analysing and making sense of the evidence.

Moon convincingly dismantles the core arguments behind William Arens' and Gananath Obeyesekere's revisionist works on Polynesian cannibalism that claim that cannibal activity was merely a figment of Europeans' imagination or even caused by Europeans. Sure, we'd all feel better if cannibalism really had been nothing more than an invention, but historians and anthropologists have a duty to uncover the truth, not to make up convenient excuses.

What I did not like about the book:

When Moon talks about the reasons as to why "Maori cannibalism evolv[ed] into an activity which had some of the trappings of a sacred ritual appended to it", one of the reasons cited is a theory that appears to be of questionable quality that goes back to Sigmund Freud. However, only two paragraphs of the book were dedicated to it, so this is not a serious drawback at all.

Overall, I'd strongly recommend anyone check this book out. It's a quick read and still manages to be very informative.

[Marcin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating read. What I learned about Māori cannibalism itself could be summarised in a short article, but what I, as a non-historian, more familiar with the natural sciences, found most interesting about this book, was the careful examination of sources showcasing the historian’s methodology. The flip side of this approach is that I found some fragments to be long-winded and repetitive.

The chapters about revisionist denial of cannibalism might explain those over-extensive segments, as it seems there are meant to be a comprehensive rebuttal of the dismissal of evidence. I found the slightly snarky tone with which the author refutes the revisionists to be quite entertaining.

In other fragments, however, I can’t help but feel that the author’s sentiments seep through his academic persona, especially in the chapters looking at morality, which inexplicably refer to Freud and psychoanalysis instead of some more scientifically sound psychology.

All in all I would recommend this book anyone interested in New Zealand history.

[Grant Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an easy book to read, as the content is challenging in many ways, but the analysis and argument presented is coherent and thorough, the compilation of the historical reports is comprehensive and convincing. The placement of the evidence within the possible range of explanatory frameworks of hunger, rage and ritual is well done, and the demolition of Arens and Obeysekere’s Revisionist fairytales is complete and well delivered. A significant piece of writing on NZ history.

[Dave Bremer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent coverage of a controversial practice. It’s amazing that something so engrained across the whole country was largely eradicated within a generation