Tribewanted: Vorovoro

What haven’t I told you? The island is a busy place. Activities everywhere. The Fijian workers are back from holiday and there is a frenzy of activity. Tribe members helped clear the overgrowth in the gardens. Wielding machetes and hacking the pathways. A chainsaw appeared and trees were downed. While I wasn’t looking someone took the small cabbage plants in the nursery garden I was tending and transplanted them to the larger garden. I’m keeping careful watch on my carrots which are just little sprouts that they too don’t disappear.

Save gave us a Fijian language lesson, “Vuli Vosa Vakaviti”. He is a patient teacher. We partnered up to learn a greeting. Saying hello to each other, “Bula sia”, then “O cei no yacamu” what is your name ? “Na yacaqu o ”, “Vakacava o iko?” My name is _, what about you? “O yau o _”, I am _. Then we worked on single words for greeting and items that other tribe members wanted to know.

Later in the day we learned the seated meke from Te which we were practicing here. We learned 5 different sequences. We would be performing these each time we attend a village function. In addition, the men learned a men’s seated meke and the ladies learned a standing meke. Each has its own story. One story was that we have a spear to hunt for fish, we look then spear the fish and bring it in. The ladies meke is about a girl and her family enjoying the day in a boat then her family is captured for slaves, they are tied up and she waves goodbye to them.

As you are seated for meke it is the job of the onlookers to distract you from what you are doing and as you make mistakes there is great laughter from the crowd.

Kate and Lucy wanted to leave there little legacy on the island when they left . So they got Pupu to help them build a bench and put a couple of nails in the rock to hold your towels as you stand under the waterfall. You can put your things on the bench. There was a great ceremony and everyone went to the beach for the opening of the bench. A blessing was said that the waterfall would continue and everyone could enjoy it. Pupu macheted the grass tied entrance and everyone enjoyed the ceremony. Since it is still a month of celebration, it was suggested you put down your cameras as you were likely to be tossed into the sea. The best part was a clear cool water rinse at the waterfall before returning to the village. Music and laughter abounded at the event, made larger then the small bench that started it all. “It was a bit over the top”, I overheard, but great fun. That’s what it’s like here on Vorovoro.

The chicken pen has begun construction at the Tui Mali’s village. It has replaced a former one that was damaged. It was made bigger and had to have two coconut trees taken down, apparently fallen coconuts made holes in the fish net covering and allowed the chickens to escape. When completed we will have a chicken roundup. Especially the one that crows at 4:00am. Pupu said that the reason he crows when the tide comes in is because one time a chicken was walking along the beach and a clam grabbed his leg and he called out for help. Let’s hope that it a very sturdy pen, because some of the chickens are quite large.

The pigs are doing well and should have a litter soon. Pupu told Paul that they are born three months, three weeks, three days, and three hours after they are conceived. Paul has been taking care of them during his stay on the island. Too bad he wont be here when they arrive.

Kathi has taken upon herself to organize, “Vorovoro the Game” for all the tribe members. With the concept of Gladiator, and Survivor in mind she created a series of team events. Everyone had to draw in a bag a colored bottle cap indicating a team. Each team was given clues for the first event, we had to gather string, a mascot, pencil, paper and report back to the big Bure. The first task was to gather coconuts (this would help us later when we would be making coconut oil bug repellent.Teams got points by # of coconuts. Our teams were split again and half had to go to the top of peak I and signal a series of letters. The team at the base had to find the signal codes in a book and get them from the sender. When the letters were complete the team was to unscramble the letters to form the location of the next clue. Madcap mayhem ensued as the rush to find the next. The next challenge was on the pontoon. Lots of pushing and shoving. Teams then had to compete in Tug of war, more pulling and shoving.The last event was a play created by the team members that had to include a story or singing. (Who would know someone had a sparkly dress and blue tights and veil to be a magic fish.) In the end team Otter won, Adam, Cedric, Penny and Sharon (me). We were crowned the winners and given beer and chocolate which was shared all around. Everyone enjoyed themselves, aside from the bumps and bruises.

We did our first presentation of our meke in Nakawaga. We met the village at the beach in our sulu and went to their recreation center. We had grog then I presented a magic show. We excuses ourselves and dressed for meke and performed for the village. First the men then the groups together. A lovely member of the village gave me a necklace and pin woven like a little hat and a beautiful woven fan. I was very touched. We stayed for chatting, singing and dancing. Then again everyone was treated to a bath in the sea. Luckily the magic stayed dry along with the cameras.

Tonight a going away ceremony for some long term guests and some new arrivals.