Village Life

Our village cultural festival was just great with several impressive dances, drumming, singing, eating and demonstrations. We took videos. We don't know if the dances are still practiced right now, but the costumes look like they've been used for years and the very old to the very young know the dances well so they must be part of culture these days. They still use the tamtam or slit log drums for communication. They demonstrated sand drawing, a very graceful and intricate design done with one finger unlifted from beginning to end. The chief and elder person gave speeches and prayers. Cocoa bean harvesting and fermentation were explained with examples. Sure enough the green veggie that we boil and eat is the immature cocoa pod. The children demonstrated their clapping/singing games, London Bridges and knock over the tower of coconut shells games. Older ones jump rope with a vine and adults do "Cats Cradle" tricks with a loop of thin vine. We saw 2 hilarious skits about fishing and the arrival of the white man. We had fruit and veggie snacks with drinking coconuts, and later lunch with laplap, pig, fish, snails? chicken, nuts, taro, papaya, pamplemousse, delicious rolls like spring rolls but with leaves and laplap, kumala, and a variety of cucumbers. Then in the afternoon, they served a snack of fruits and veggies again. No one is going hungry, for sure. We learned how to build 2 kinds of chicken traps and a house. We took pictures for Colby as we think it is going to be his year to make a shelter at school. They explained kava harvesting and preparation and extracting coconut meat for copra. They picked up a child using a stack of large leaves. The local band played several times - several guitars, a ukulele and their equivalent of a wash tub bass. Every band we have seen in Vanuatu uses the same complement of instruments, plays the same music and they all sound the same.

One thing we found very enjoyable was the local niVans joining us as observers. They thoroughly enjoyed the singing, dancing, drumming and demonstrations and showed their appreciation with clapping, oohing and aahing. They laughed at all the jokes and funny skits. The only unpleasantness came from the modern megaphone which a few leaders used for some announcements - nerve jangling.

Because Barry's cold is much worse than when I had it, he is more tired and coughs much more than I did. Because he sits or lays down to rest, the older ladies in the village have taken him under their wings and yesterday they brought him a beautiful mat, spread it out in for him and insisted he lay down and take a nap. They brought him 2 pillows and when he only used one they sent me over to make him use both pillows. It was too funny! We get lots of special privileges because we are the oldest ones. The only thing we have against us is that we don't drink kava or beer. This is really culturally incorrect but both those things taste too yucky to us.

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