The cannibals bought by Barnum
PICTURED in a traditional native ensemble, the three men and a woman looked out with a faraway gaze. Printed below their picture were the words "Fiji Cannibals - Imported by P.T Barnum for his Great Show."
Their costumes were elaborately made to give off an exotic look. Something that Americans at the time had not seen before.
Two warrior men, a dwarf and a woman of iTaukei descent were in a strange country, far from their homeland and familiar surroundings. Their pitiful sight made more pronounced by the sad look of the woman.
They were brought all the way from Fiji in the 1870s by the American showman, Phineas Barnum, who had a knack for creating outrageous hoaxes.
The Fijians hailed from Lovoni and had been sold off from Levuka by the Vunivalu of Bau and paramount chief, Ratu Seru Cakobau, in the 1870s to the Barnum & Bailey circus.
In 1870 and 1871 Cakobau had tried to quell the ferocious Lovoni highlanders, who regularly sacked the settlement of Levuka and did not accept Cakobau's rule over Fiji.
With help from the missionaries, and through trickery, he managed to conquer them.
Cakobau humiliated his captives by selling them as slaves for £3 a head. The money he earned from the sale of the highlanders helped him form his government.
Villagers were dispersed as far as Kavala (in the Kadavu Group), Yavusania (near Nadi on Viti Levu), Lovoni-Ono (in the Lau Group), Wailevu (on Vanua Levu) and to the Americas.
Barnum wrote in his book, which was sold at the circus of how he came across the group.
"I have tried in vain for years to secure specimens of these man eaters. At last the opportunity came," he wrote.
"Three of these cannibals having fallen into the hands of their Royal enemy, who was about to execute and perhaps to eat them, the missionaries and my agents prevailed upon the copper-colored king to accept a large sum in gold on condition of his majesty granting them a reprieve and leave of absence to America for three years, my agent also leaving a large sum with the American consul to be forfeited, if they were not returned within the time stipulated.
"Accompanying them is a half-civilized Cannibal woman, converted and educated by the Methodist missionaries. She reads fluently and very pleasantly from the Bible printed in the Fijian language and she already exerts a powerful influence over these savages. They take a lively interest in hearing her read the history of our Saviour. They earnestly declare their convictions that eating human flesh is wrong and faithfully promise never again to attempt it. They are intelligent and docile. Their characteristic war dances and rude marches, as well as their representations of cannibal manners and customs are peculiarly interesting and instructive.
It is perhaps needless to add that the bonds for their return will be forfeited. They are already learning to speak and read our language and I hope soon to put them in the way of being converted to Christianity, even if by so doing the title of "Missionary" be added to the many already given me by the public."
The Fijians were called: Ki na Bose Yaco, Ko Ratu Masi Moa, Ra Bian, the dwarf and Otavah.
Barnum, who founded the circus that later became Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, thrived on hoaxes and wild tales of human oddities and strange creatures.
So his description of the Fijian Cannibals would have been laced with much exaggeration to attract attention.
The creatures he showcased included the human skeleton, the 161-year-old woman, Jo-JoThe dog-faced boy, Lionel the lion faced man, Siamese twins and the Feejee Mermaid which had the withered body of a monkey and the dried tail of a fish sewn together and marketed as an exotic creature.
As to whatever became of the four Fijians is not clear, but a paper trail revealed the sad demise of Ra Bian the dwarf.
According to files at the York County History Centre Library and Archives and an online copy of James Shettell's "Circus Scrap Book," here's what happened with one of the Fiji cannibals:
"The day was pleasantly cool and agreeable," the newspaper reported, "and thousands of people from the rural districts poured into town at early hour. The huge canvas, under which the attractive sights were to be seen, covered a large portion of the (Civil War) hospital grounds and immediately after the hour of opening, dense masses of human beings thronged in its direction and soon filled every available space and avenue leading to and from the different places of exhibition."
But their expectations were met with disappointment.
The York Daily reported: "Barnum's Museum, Menagerie and Hippodrome met with quite a loss yesterday in the death of the notorious cannibal dwarf, which occurred at the Pennsylvania hotel. The little Fiji exhibited symptoms of indisposition several days ago."
The report goes on: "The miniature being was dying … he rose up in bed, muttered 'Fiji' in a whisper and fell back dead."
His burial place was reportedly located along College Avenue, across from Penn Park.
The article revealed he was buried there for 25 years.
"The numerous bodies from Potter's field were exhumed in April 1897 so the land could be developed. (It eventually became the site of a new York high school, later being renamed Hannah Penn Junior High when a newer York High (William Penn Senior High School) was constructed. Today, the site is the parking lot and playground for St. Patrick's Catholic Church and school.)"
But there's more to the story.
A newspaper report revealed the Fijian's body was uncovered on April 8, 1897, but it was decided not to exhume it, but to wait and move it the next day along with the other bodies to another final resting place on Ocean Avenue in North York.
Things get a bit murky at this point. One report says when work was to resume on April 9, it was discovered the body was missing.
So, if you have seen the movie "The Greatest Showman (Starring Hugh Jackman)," which was based on Phineas Barnum, spare a kind thought to the unfortunate Fijians who died away from their homeland in another country.