Tribewanted: Vorovoro

By Emily and Tom Bathurst

Wednesday was feast day on Vorovoro. A chance to be together as an island, with tribe members and Team Fiji all eating together. Also a great introduction to Vorovoro for the 6 new arrivals. With a total of 50 odd dinner guests it was all hands on deck for preparation. Those of us who enjoy working with knives (and obviously food!) were in for a treat. A team of less than expert choppers were guided by Emali and Va, as we were taught the correct way to cut veg ‘chop suey’ style. We sat outside the kitchen on a massive tarpaulin, chopping away, listening to Fijian music. Of course, where music goes, dancing follows, so there was some impromptu boogie-ing Fiji style. Particularly worthy of note were the somewhat bizarre moves cracked out by Tom and Charlie.

Once all the preparation was done, attention turned to preparing the Grand Bure for the night ahead. Hand woven grog mats were laid with a colourful blue ‘tablecloth’ running from one corner to another. The final touch was a kerosene lamp, lending a warm glow to the proceedings.

All the food was laid out along the runner, an amazing spread. On the menu was eggplant (aubergine for us Brits) curry, chop suey, battered eggplant, spinach, rawcort fish, chicken curry with potato, piri piri chicken, cassava (tapioca), dalo (like potato), and dalo leaves (a fantastic dish with coconut milk, onions and chilli cooked in a leaf parcel) and of course the best watermelon and pineapple I’ve ever tasted! All the dishes were cooked in a ‘lavu’, a fire pit with rocks, which food is buried in till ready. Once everyone was seated in the Grand Bure Chief Tom presented some kava to Team Fiji to thank them for all their hard work on the new Bure, then it was all hands in! For some people literally, as the cutlery supply on the island struggled to cope with the large numbers. This made the experience all the more ‘Fijian’ as traditionally fingers are the cutlery of choice.

Following decimation of the food, and the mammoth washing up duties, it was time for a grog session, complete with musical accompaniment from the Fijians, singing traditional songs. A particular favourite was a song called Vunitagi, which was repeated no less than 7 times, amidst calls of ‘dua tale’ (which means encore, or again, again, again!) Sustainability manager Ben, also displayed his talent on the ukulele with a rendition of a self penned song called ‘Superhero’ (lyrics on request-trust us, it’s a good one!)

All grogged out (but not lamb-chopped!) we retreated to the fire to while away the rest of the evening under the stars, at least until the heavens opened, and we were driven to bed.

The evening was a great success, and fantastic chance for tribe members to socialise with Team Fiji, and to soak in some of the knowledge from the elder Fijian members. Certainly, it should have pleased the ancestors, at least certain boil-afflicted people (ahem, Jason, Chief Tom) will be hoping so! Overall, it was an incredible evening, a real island team effort, and one that we hope can be repeated in the future. Dua Tale!