Cannibals

*This article has been marked by* The Jungle Cruise Wiki *as containing offensive or otherwise sensitive subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.*

## Cannibals

A racist sign referring to cannibalism in Trader Sam's

## Background information

### Attractions

Jungle Cruise (attraction)
Trader Sam's
Adventure Trading Company
Skipper Canteen

## Group information

### Members

Trader Sam
Chief Nah-mee
Trader Sam's family
Jonas Brisbane

**Cannibalism** or **anthropophagy** is the act of a human being consuming the body-parts of another human being. They have frequently been used in the *Jungle Cruise*, often for racist stereotyping.

## Description

Cannibalism refers to an organism consuming a member of the same species. In history there have been multiple instances of cannibalism derived from spiritualism/religious practice, desperation due to a lack of food sources, xenophobia in seeing other peoples as inhuman, and mental-illness. In history, many European cultures perpetuated myths, exaggerations and fabrications of Indigenous peoples committing cannibalism as a form of propaganda.

## History

Relevant to the Jungle Cruise's portrayals of cannibalism and colonialism, instances of cannibalism throughout history include:

### Accusations

Due to cannibalism often being used as European colonial propaganda, there are several claims of cannibalism which are unreliable.

#### Caribbean

Following his arrest by the *Crown of Castile* for atrocities in the Caribbean, colonist Cristobal Colon (better known as Christopher Columbus) made claims of observing the Carib Kalinagos committing cannibalism. Due to Colon's own mass murders and spread of disease in the region, these claims were unable to be properly checked. There is some evidence that they might have ritualistically eaten roasted parts of captured enemies.

#### Māori (New Zealand)

There are many (questionable) European claims of Māori peoples having killed and eaten would-be colonists during the colonial period.

### African cultures

Certain assorted tribes in Central Africa and West Africa had a practice of eating killed rivals as a group as to not let the remains go to waste. Many more tribes which did not perform cannibalistic acts were subject to myths of performing cannibalism from European colonists.

### British Empire

During the victorian era, British explorers and aristocrats were known to cannibalize the remains of Egyptian mummies. Common forms of this involved using mummified body-parts to make tea or eating the remains like hard-tack. The British did this out of exoticism and sometimes a belief that it would cure their ailments.

Ironically, Britain was one of the colonial powers which actively spread racism-field myths about Indigenous peoples being cannibals. Many early British cultures also ritualistically ate human flesh including the knights of the crusade who were purported to cannibalize Muslim soldiers slain in battle. There were also instances of white slave-traffickers killing enslaved black-people for food with instances as late as the 19th century.

### Individuals

Several real-world serial-killers have been cannibalistic out of any combination of mental-illness, spiritual beliefs that it made them stronger, perverse attraction, and/or using it to dispose of evidence. Most if not all notably cannibalistic murderers have been white people, usually being composed of cisgender men.

## Jungle Cruise appearances

### Disney Parks

Cannibalism in the Jungle Cruise is most frequently used for racist depictions of the Jivaro peoples of Amazon rainforest nor is any tribe known to have done so. However, the Jivaroan peoples have no history of cannibalism. Instead, Disney affiliates the Jivaro peoples as cannibals due to the Spanish colonial myth of them being savage barbarians, propaganda born from Spanish ineptitude at conquering Jivaro territory. Most notably of these stereotyped characters are Trader Sam, his cousin Chief Nah-mee, and their family.

#### Adventure Trading Company

In the Daily Gnus newspaper is a community-posting advertising cooking-classes with Trader Sam. This ad asks for clients to, "Bring a friend", referencing how Sam was a cannibal at the time.

#### Horrors of the Amazon

In this show, Skipper Jonas Brisbane cannibalized the corpse of an Amazon witch-doctor by drinking blood from his corpse to try and steal his powers during a show to impress the *Society of Explorers and Adventurers*. Brisbane is subsequently spirited away by the undead witch-doctor as punishment for his crimes in the Amazon.

#### Jungle Cruise

* In the *Amazon River Base* is a missing persons board with the names of those missing seemingly referencing their fates. Missing persons possibly implied to be cannibalized include: C.M. Cooken, B.N. Eaton and Emma Boylen.
* The skipper throw-away joke about the Umbala Tribe, "*Would you folks please remove your watches and jewelry? The natives have been complaining of indigestion*" seemingly implied the Umbala to practice cannibalism though the canonicity of this is unknown.
* A multitude of jokes about Trader Sam and Chief Nah-mee being cannibals were used at Trader Sam's Outpost. Several of these variations included the skipper admitting to also being a cannibal and/or mentions of the cousins eating family-members.

* Upon returning to civilization, a sponsor which skippers might name was, "The Cannibal Cafe: always thinking of new and exciting ways to serve you!".

#### Skipper Canteen

There is a book in the library of the canteen titled, "Friends for Dinner" by Trader Sam. Another book is, " *Scheduling your expedition in 1 simple step*" by Franklyn, an apparent allusion to the lost expedition of the British Sir John Franklin. It is believed that the sailors of this lost expedition cannibalized one another for food though despite the evidence certain British officials (including Charles Dickens) blamed the local Inuit peoples. On the bulletin-board in the Mess Hall, there is a sheet of paper promoting an annual Holiday party for JNC employees. On the topic of a potluck, the paper reads, "\*Bring food for a pot luck\* (except Trader Sam)", referencing Sam's cannibalistic tendencies.

#### Trader Sam's

Due to being based around the heavily racist character of Trader Sam, these bars made frequent allusions to cannibalism.

* In the menus were a message reading, "Many of Sam's cannibal friends are into wine. Literally."

##### Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

* Rule number 2 of the bar is, "*Cannibals not serve people!".*
* There is a picture of Trader Sam and Jack Sparrow on Isle de Pelegestos, surrounded by the cannibalistic Pelegestos tribe.
* A photograph in the bar depicted Sam and his family eating, "Cousin Stu" as a stew. There were other photographs implying Sam and his family to be partaking in the hunting and consumption of human flesh.
* A sign read, "*Please remove jewellery/watches locals are claiming about indigestion*" repurposing the Umbala joke from the Jungle Cruise in reference to the Polynesian tribe from the Enchanted Tiki Village around Sam's bar.

##### Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

In the cabinet was the 1959 book "Eating people is wrong" by English author Malcolm Bradbury.

### Film

#### 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

In this film, the crew of the *Nautilus* encounters a tribe of cannibals off the coast of New Guinea.

#### Jungle Cruise

Cannibals do not actually appear in this film, instead Frank Wolff perpetuates myths about the Puka Michuna being cannibalistic. The Puka Michuna's depictions is inspired by the vilified depiction of the Umbala and Jivaroan peoples in the ride.

#### Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

In this film, Jack Sparrow and the crew of the Black Pearl are nearly eaten by the Pelegestos tribe of Isla de Pelegestos.

### Other connections

#### Mystic Manor

Lord Henry Mystic is based on the trend of British explorers affiliated with cannibalizing mummies. This might be referenced in the book, "*Tales from the Haunted Mansion Volume III: Grim Grinning Ghosts*" where the British Colonel Bartholomew Tusk exploits tea-leaves from the tomb of the mummy Prince Amenmose and rationalizes it by saying if he didn't, someone like Lord Henry Mystic would. Lord Henry Mystic and Albert are also shown grave-robbing a mummy's tomb in Mystic Manor.

## Trivia

* The fatal neurological disease *Kuru* can be caused by acts of cannibalism.

## See also

* *List of Racist Elements in the Jungle Cruise*

## References

1. ↑ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/europes-hypocritical-history-of-cannibalism-42642371/
2. ↑ https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2015/12/16/full-review-the-new-jungle-navigation-co-ltd-skipper-canteen-in-disney-worlds-adventureland/
3. ↑ https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2015/04/12/review-trader-sams-grog-grotto-and-tiki-terrace-at-disney-worlds-polynesian-village-resort/
4. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BwAyzx4AiN2/