Sunday, August 8th: More Staka Kaikai

One thing that I’ve noticed here in the Solomon Islands is that when a community comes together to celebrate, there is always lots of food! This morning’s mass was a special celebration of Brother Malkalm and Bernard’s deaconate ordination and this occasion called for an elaborate show of Solomon Island culture. The opening procession was lead by a male pan pipe group dressed in traditional grass skirts and draped in shell money, ushering in Bishop Chris and the 20 priests that have been meeting with him this week. Malkalm and Bernard were escorted in by their parents, who were also in traditional Solomon Island style dress, followed by some members of the youth group in Auki who performed tribal dances up to the alter. The whole ceremony was a fantastic show of community support and beautiful Solomon Island tradition! Following mass, the entire parish gathered outside to share a huge feast that the families of the parish had prepared (and another family welcomed everyone back for dinner again! Ooof, my stomach!)

I’ve learned that while people here eat light, simple meals throughout the week, using things they grow themselves in the garden, they pull out all the stops for celebrations like this! Families are responsible for all contributing their fair share and there is often an unwritten account kept of who donates what, as they can get quite expensive. Mothers and daughters of the families will spend days preparing for feasts like the ones today to provide enough food for the guests as it’s considered unsuccessful if there isn’t enough food to send home with guests at the end.

The tradition of serving the food is another whole story! After the head of the house or the guest of honor blesses the food, he will often end with “Attack!” and it’s a rush for the women and children to the serving line first. Since there is no such thing as seconds, the strategy, from what I’ve gathered, is to pile as much food as you can in whatever bowl or plate you brought along (and I’ve seen some pretty creative platters using container lids and buckets). Community meals are taken very seriously here and give a sense of unity to the people sharing it and I feel blessed to be able to participate in a number of these celebrations since arriving here.