The disturbing theory of a Rockefeller’s death while living with a tribe of cannibals

Undoubtedly the dynasty rockfeller it holds many secrets and curiosities to be one of the richest and most powerful families of all time. The story of Michael Rockefellergreat-grandson of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, he is mysterious and creepy.

In 1961, Michael was 23 when he mysteriously disappeared. His case was national news since he was the son of the governor of the state of New YorkNelson Rockefeller. And as the bearer of that surname, he was part of one of the most powerful dynasties in the United States.

The young Rockefeller turned to anthropology and began to study the life of exotic tribes. Michael was interested in ethnicity Asmat from papua guinea, a Dutch colony, and decided to experience it for himself. He’s been there, having spent time sharing with the tribe, that nothing more was heard of him.

The official version said that the young man drowned in a river. But there are more chilling hypotheses. One of them points out that he was attacked by sharks. But the most disturbing theory is the one that Michael assures, according to the newspaper abc, it was killed and then eaten in a cannibalistic ritual by the Asmat tribe.

Meant to be

Michael was born on May 18, 1938 in New York, United States of America. He was a member of the fourth generation of Rockefellers. Since he was a child he already distinguished himself for his great aptitude for study. The young man had always shown a deep attraction to nature. His life began to turn to anthropologysubject he loved at school.

Michael at the age of 21 graduated praise (top doctoral thesis qualification and awards) from Harvard University. After graduation she traveled all over the world. The young man thought that a good way to make his father happy would be to provide his museum with unique pieces.

Michael loved nature and the unknown. One of his main targets was a tribe living in Papua Guinea, the Asmats. The young man was obsessed with these people and wanted to go and see everything about them.

The Asmats

This is how Michael, together with 2 companions, hit the road and in October 1961 they visited the Asmats. According to the reconstruction of his adventure carried out by the American media New York Post, visited 13 villages of this tribe in three weeks.

Rockefeller learned much about the customs and rituals of this group of hunters and gatherers who had inhabited the area since the arrival of his ancestors some 40,000 years ago. They knew no steel, no paper, no roads or highways.

The young Rockefeller managed to obtain many handicrafts for his father’s museum in exchange for the pieces they gave him, he gave the settlers steel and tobacco, a product of which the natives had become addicted.

The moment of his death

In November 1961, Michael boarded a precarious boat with a fellow Dutchman named René Wassing and two local guides heading to Atsj village. To achieve their goal, the option was to cross the inland rivers and swamps, or exit into the ocean and reach their destination across the Arafura Sea. The latter was the option they chose, but the problem arose as their boat approached the mouth of the Eilanden River.

Rainy weather and rough waves caused the boat’s engine to stop working. The precarious ship was left adrift and half sunk. The two guides immediately dived into the water to go and get help. But the hours passed and there was no news of the rescuers.

The morning came and tired of waiting, Michael jumped into the water with two makeshift floats go for help himself. Wassing wanted to convince him to stay a little longer, and that it wasn’t necessary, but the Rockefeller heir felt confident and jumped into the water.

Hours later, native guides returned and Wassing was rescued, but Nothing more was known about Michael. As reported by the newspaper abc In a chronicle of that time, “Wassing, an ethologist at Leiden University, told those who picked it up that Rockefeller had abandoned the ship in which they had been adrift that morning and that Michael was never heard from again.” .

On November 24, the Dutch Interior Minister stated that he The New York Times: “There is no longer any hope of finding Michael Rockefeller alive.” There was no remedy, the fate of the young explorer was sealed. Two weeks later, to their regret, the Dutch government called off the search.

One of the most popular versions is that Michael drowned. However, in 1971 the newspaper abc published that the Rockefeller heir had actually been eaten by local cannibals.

Has the Asmat eaten it?

To give substance to these theories on anthropophagy suffered by the young heir, in his book, was the American journalist specializing in the tribes of Papua Guinea, Carl Hoffman, Savage Harvest, a Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism and Michael Rockefeller’s Tragic Search for Primitive Art (Wild Harvest; a story of cannibals, colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller’s tragic pursuit of primitive art).

In the book, published in 2014, Hoffman recounts, based on the testimonies of religious and people who lived with the Asmats at the time of Michael’s disappearance, what could have happened to Nelson Rockefeller’s youngest son.

Michael, on his journey, would have reached the coasts where these tribes lived at the wrong time. According to Hoffman’s book, Nelson Rockefeller’s son arrived on November 19, 1961.

The Asmat had allegedly had a battle with the Dutch, in which four chieftains were killed. And they assume they have exacted their revenge on Michael, a white man. The hypothesis that the young man was a victim of cannibalism born of various confessions of some members of the tribe Tobias Schneeabum, an anthropologist who had lived with these people. The truth is that more than 50 years have passed and the mystery of Michael Rockefeller is still as alive as ever.