S1-E35: New Zealand: Among Cannibals

Podcast 27 August 2025

The crew of the HMS Resolution stumbles upon undeniable evidence of Māori cannibalism. On the beach, they find human remains—entrails, a crushed skull, and a heart still displayed in a canoe. Mr. Pickersgill trades a nail for the severed head of a young boy and displays it on deck. When visiting Māori ask for a piece to be roasted and eat it in front of the crew, fascination and horror collide.

Maheine watches in awe as snowflakes fall around him—his first encounter with “white rain,” a marvel unknown in his tropical homeland. – Click on the image to listen to this episode on YouTube.

While some officers joke or stand in disgust, Georg Forster turns to deeper questions of morality, culture, and the contradictions of so-called civilization. The most human reaction, however, comes from Maheine, the young man from Tahiti. Overwhelmed with grief for the slain child’s parents, he flees into the cabin in tears.

As the ship sets sail into the icy waters of the Southern Ocean, Maheine marvels at snowfall and floating ice—phenomena completely foreign to him. He names the snow “white rain” and adds another stick to his memory bundle, recording the voyage in his own way. The journey continues—toward cold, darkness, and the limits of human understanding.