“CANNIBAL” ORGY

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 December 1929, Page 8

“CANNIBAL” ORGY

“COLD MISSIONARY BROTH.” A “cannibal orgie” at Cannes was the most original fete of the last summer season of the Riviera. Some 400 people turned up painted and in cannibal costume, in some capes very little of it, and there were all kinds of curious headgear. The majority of the participants were British and Americans. The guests enjoyed dinner squatting on the ground, and .grabbed their victuals, with their hands, dispensing with knives, forks and spoons. Clothing was scanty, consisting in some cases of straw skirts. Two women carired black babies on their backs.

The decorations were in keeping with the theme of the gala. Cockatoos and parrots shrieked out in a babel of confusion; monkeys jumped down from branches to grab the food of guests; and boa constrictors and serpents added to the verisimilitude of a jungle scene.' There were straw and mud huts, and a shackled miissonary gazed anxiously at those who proposed to make him part of the bill of fare. The noise of war-tom-toms broke out from time to time as an accompaniment to dances, some of which were truly exotic. The fete began at 9 p. m.and ended at seven next morning. During the night an Englishman who had been most successful at poker, was, with great ceremony, proclaimed King of the Polynesians. A sensational episode was the “sacrifice” by Indians of a beautiful girl who was carried to an altar.

The menu was sufficient to tempt the appetite of the most exacting inhabitant of the South Sea Islands. The hors d’oeuvre was ‘*a slice of the thigh of an emotional nymph!” (actually a melon), followed by a “cold missionary broth,” then “marine fish” (lobster). An amusing item was “boiled gigolo a la mode Bamako,” with cherry sauce and green salad, accompanied by orange slices; likewise peas with slices of bacon, described as having been removed from explorers without their permission. The banquet finished up with “frozen pate of a new-born babe,” served with fruit and ice cream. The gala-was organised for charity.