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The village was not a custom village, but rather one that had the good sense to capitalize on tourism. After the dance the warriors changed back into the common apparel of the islands: baggy basketball or soccer shorts and faded T-shirts with American logos, usually Adidas or Nike, and sometimes the Chicago Bulls or the Dallas Cowboys. Clothes that are donated charities in the US are sold in poor countries. Also, yachties trade clothes for fruits and vegetables, a practice that benefits the Ni Vanuatans. Logos of worldwide corporations seem to show up everywhere.

Note Nike logo on back of kids’ dugout canoe

As we signed the village guest book, the chief invited us to a wedding the next day, three villages down. About a half hour walk, he said. Locals don’t wear watches and their estimates of time and distance lack the precision that Westerners worship. After a long hike, about an hour and a half, we attended a Presbyterian wedding. Presbyterian services, in my experience, always lasted long enough to produce a certain amount of discomfort. This pastor proved to be no exception and piped on quite a good long time.

The service, the hymns, and the prayers were in Bislama. Occasionally the pastor spoke in English, we think for our benefit.  We all concluded that since he had filled the church for this ceremony he decided to take his best shot at saving some souls. We came to admire the Bigfala by the time he concluded.

Outside, when we might have thrown rice, people threw talcum powder, first all over the groom then on the bride, and then some on each guest. It was “Just for fun” according to the women who had the powder.

The Church

The wedding party; the groom with talcum powder in his hair

While we waited for the service we were served lap lap. This version was made from cassava or manioc root, grated with coconut milk. Small pieces of beef are added. It is then wrapped and cooked in leaves like banana leaves. It was quite rich but also tasty.

Kids encircled us, particularly Ann. She entertained them and they sang to her. At one point Ann recognized a song a child was singing from the opera Hansel & Gretel by E. Humperdink. When she started singing along and taught the girl some of the words and a dance step, an adult asked about the history of the song. Ann explained that it was from a German opera based on Grimm fairy tale. She explained the story that the children were lost in the woods and the witch captured them and put them into the oven to turn them into gingerbread. She felt odd explaining the tale to a group of people whose relatives practiced cannibalism less than a generation ago.

Lap lap looks like pizza

The girls clung to Ann

            As we left the village, kids again ran with us, grabbed our hands, and started singing songs. After they sang, they invited us to sing to them, which we did. Shortly thereafter they stopped walking with us!

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