It is little Saia's birthday. He is one. And within the extended family we have four Peace Corps trainees who are about to leave their home stay families and go to Va'vau for more training. In Tonga this means it is time for a feast.
Fae (my host dad) gets me up at 6am Sunday morning. My roommate is a vegetarian and will sleep until 10.
At his dad's (also Saia) there is a small caged area. Saia throws in some niu (coconut) and opens a trap door. Three good sized black piglets run in and the door is lowered behind them.
Fae sharpens the knife. Satisfied, he asks me to hold it as he climbs over the fence.
The three little pigs are terrified. They must know what is up, because they are screaming for their lives. Saia instructs Fae to select the boy pig in the middle.
Fae deftly grabs its snout and hind legs. He is quickly over the fence and holding the pig on the ground. I give Saia the knife. Saia feels the pig's sternum like an EMS about to do CPR. In plunges the blade - into the heart.
The pigs gives up three of four slow breaths. Blood gushes onto the grass with each. The pig will continue to kick for a few minutes, but there is no doubt it is dead.
The dogs are going nuts. They just want to smell the blood and enjoy the event. A little boy beats the dogs with a stick until they yelp.
A fire has been burning nearby. It heats a large pot of water.
Fae dips the pig in the water for a few seconds, then rips aways fistful of black hair. In five minutes we have a glistening white carcass. The skin stays on - it is "the best part". The whiskers and eyebrows are shaved with a disposable razor.
The innards are carefully removed. The liver, heart and lungs will be preserved but the rest disappears into the dogs.
We have two umus today, plus the pig roasted over a separate fire, plus a bunch or fried fish, fried chicken and all kinds of other stuff. Sooooo much food!
I have some pictures, but uploading is a challenge here. I'll try to upload some in the future.
Please comment!
Fae (my host dad) gets me up at 6am Sunday morning. My roommate is a vegetarian and will sleep until 10.
At his dad's (also Saia) there is a small caged area. Saia throws in some niu (coconut) and opens a trap door. Three good sized black piglets run in and the door is lowered behind them.
Fae sharpens the knife. Satisfied, he asks me to hold it as he climbs over the fence.
The three little pigs are terrified. They must know what is up, because they are screaming for their lives. Saia instructs Fae to select the boy pig in the middle.
Fae deftly grabs its snout and hind legs. He is quickly over the fence and holding the pig on the ground. I give Saia the knife. Saia feels the pig's sternum like an EMS about to do CPR. In plunges the blade - into the heart.
The pigs gives up three of four slow breaths. Blood gushes onto the grass with each. The pig will continue to kick for a few minutes, but there is no doubt it is dead.
The dogs are going nuts. They just want to smell the blood and enjoy the event. A little boy beats the dogs with a stick until they yelp.
A fire has been burning nearby. It heats a large pot of water.
Fae dips the pig in the water for a few seconds, then rips aways fistful of black hair. In five minutes we have a glistening white carcass. The skin stays on - it is "the best part". The whiskers and eyebrows are shaved with a disposable razor.
The innards are carefully removed. The liver, heart and lungs will be preserved but the rest disappears into the dogs.
We have two umus today, plus the pig roasted over a separate fire, plus a bunch or fried fish, fried chicken and all kinds of other stuff. Sooooo much food!
I have some pictures, but uploading is a challenge here. I'll try to upload some in the future.
Please comment!
1 comment:
Cool!
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