2007-07-12

Today was a very special one. We had the privilege of witnessing a village funeral. Relatives and friends have been arriving all week, and the other day we saw a sevusevu ceremony between the villagers. Sevusevu is an important custom which requires the giving of kava root and the acceptance of it by the chief. In accepting the kava the chief assumes your care while you are in the village. When the other villagers arrived they had woven mats, taro roots and a pig trussed up and hung (alive) from a pole. They set all these down in front of the chief and presented the kava. There was a little ceremony and then they all scattered throughout the village to stay with different friends and relatives. There were a number of these ceremonies as members from many villages attended.
Today we went ashore a little ways from the village, as the tide would not allow the dinghies to get close. We had to walk on a path through the woods and over a stream to get to the village. It started pouring rain, but it was much too hot to wear rain gear, so we all got pretty wet and muddy by the time we arrived. We also found it much easier to navigate the slippery mud with bare feet, so we went "island". The villagers took good care of us, giving us dry clothes to wear. The funeral was about to get underway and there was much keening by the women as the casket was walked to the church. The church (Methodist) is quite small, so only close family could squeeze inside, and the rest of us waited outside. There were many more out than in. We wandered around and observed the cooking preparations. The men had gone out last night fishing and came back with quite a few fish and a few turtles. Turtles are a protected species, but they are allowed to catch a few for an important occasion such as this. They also slaughtered the pigs and a cow and the men were cutting up the meat and cooking over an open fire in huge pots, and also racks for some of the meat. The women had been preparing the taro for the last couple days (similar to potato), and there were also some greens and fresh cucumbers. A lot of the food is prepared with coconut milk and oil. A very delicious feast. Long table cloths were laid on the floor in the community hall and we sat on the floor and ate with fingers. As white folks we had to eat first. As soon as you were done you needed to leave so the next lot could come in and get fed. They probably had a couple hundred people to feed.
More on the funeral: after the church service some young men carried the casket to the gravesite. This was a little ways from the village; down one steep hill, over a bit, and up another steep hill. They had cut out steps in the side of the hill, but it had been raining all morning and it was all mud. We had a difficult time negotiating the path without sliding down the hill. How those young men managed it with a casket I'll never know. All the villagers watched while the casket was covered with dirt, then they placed woven blankets on top and covered it with tapa cloth (bark that is pounded flat and decorated with patterns) and flowers. There were a lot of Fijians taking pictures, so we knew it was okay to take some ourselves.
Once back in the village some of the women were singing and dancing, with much laughter and obvious jokes. Most of the conversation was in Fijian, so we didn't understand much that was said. Many of the adults speak some English, but often not very well, so conversation can be difficult. Schooling is in English, but the little ones only speak Fijian. I found a baby to cuddle, so was happy for awhile!
Ted and Jim made the trek back to get the dinghies and bring them to the village, as the tide was now in. We arrived home tired but happy. Karen
PS.....We feasted on fish and veggies, not the meat. Even if we weren't inclined to vegetarianism, watching the preparation of the pigs, turtles and cow would put most palangis (white people) off. Sanitation is pretty low on the priority list. I guess the fire takes care of it, but we're culturally a bit squeamish. Ted