The Police Station

---

so i posted these out of order...blonde moment? anyways, here's another blog from sher. should have been the first you read. however if you have been dutifully reading the blogs, you shouldn't have any trouble fitting in the august 7 post where it rightfully belongs. later- b

20 July 2009

A first: Blogging from Maewo has upgraded from snail mail letters sent to my sister for typing: tedious for her, plus I'm running out of ideas for decorating the borders of the pages to keep her entertained, PLUS photo-less. This new era has me typing and burning CD's from our laptop, complete with pictures and hopefully simpler for her to "copy and paste" them right to the web page.

Onwards, then. I'll pick up with life after the New Zealand/Vanuatu vacation with the family; that was supposed to be covered by B. But I will say that it was a welcomed visit and I'm already counting down for when I'll get to see them again. After dropping our visitors off at the airport on Ambae, Justin and I were headed right back to Maewo. We have learned to strategically maximize our time on Ambae and picked up some beef (meat! so exciting!) as well as sugar and bread. These items may seem basic, but they are treats to us. I laugh that the "whites" that my mom refers to as being her cheap staples in college are considered flashy here. Families who have money to buy bread, rice, and instant noodles have money to spend beyond the typical school fees and soap necessities. Since Ambae usually has meat and bread available daily, we cashed in on our chance.

The boat ride back to Maewo was significantly calmer than the trip over, which left us soaking wet. We ran into a student who was going to school on Ambae but needed to visit his brother at Gambule School on Maewo to see if he could help him pay for school fees. So, we picked him up and also headed to another village on around the coast to check if another guy needed a ride. They guys tried to hook fish on the trip back as well. The waves that had crashed into the boat on the way over helped us on the way back and we walked onto shore of Maewo dry and hot. Good thing I now know to pack a rain coat and big hat and sunscreen for boat trips, no matter what the water may seem to be like.

Back at the house, we OD'd on meat and went to sleep. Playing hostess/interpreter/cultural bridge builder has its price, so we took the rest of the day, actually the rest of the week, to sleep and get the house swept and back to its normal state. Lots of laundry too. We had Friday to look forward to, as they would be opening the first police station on Maewo.

Vanuatu has a growing police force that is just now reaching some of the outer islands. Time will tell if the community goes to the police with qualms or turns to the more traditional chiefly system to resolve problems. I am rather curious to see how conflicts that were once resolved by saying sorry with mats or pigs and kava will now be taken care of by the police. Since the police officers are not native to Maewo (which is probably necessary, because otherwise familiar ties would further complicate matters), I imagine they'll have their work cut out for them to integrate and win trust as well as introduce the police concept to the community.

All that aside, I enjoyed the festivities prepared to welcome to new branch of the police force to Maewo. Although the "Publik Notis" read that the ceremony would start at 9 am, we knew better. We stayed at our house until we heard the plane, which was carrying the new policemen in it, land and then take off, and then we got around to heading towards the ceremony. Knowing the truck had a good hour drive from the airport, we were in no big rush. In fact, we walked into the host village just as the trucks pulled up to drop the new officers off. Perfect timing.

The opening ceremony was painfully long. Lots of speeches by the police force and the community, the traditional giving of laplap and mats, and a custom dance with the custom chiefs dancing with the police men. Ceremonially speaking, the custom side of Maewo is doing its' best to accept the police presence. After the super long ceremony (it's the speeches that go on forever, Ni-Vanuatu love to "toktok"), a big meal was set out for the honored guests to feast under a large tent. Up until this day, Justin and I have always been considered one of these such honored guests and invited to dine with the best. But this day, I was paid one of the best compliments ever by simply being considered one of the locals and expected to get my food as they do.

Instead of filling a plate with food set out on folding tables and shaded by a tent, I scrounged around with Rangwaliga (my host mother-in-law) to find a few leaves suitable for holding food. In honor of the occasion, a cow was butchered. Supposedly, the plan was for everyone to bring their own "haf kakae" or partial meal, like laplap, cooked taro, or simboro to go with the meat. But few got that memo. Not to fear, my island Rangwaliga is a strong headed women who gets what she wants. Holding my leaves, I followed her past the high class tent to the local kitchen; a smoky, bamboo walled shelter. We peeped in every door and window until she seemed to find the method to the madness and we walked inside. There were people everywhere, holding their empty leaves and poking in saucepans looking for food. Rangwaliga had some connection with an "olfala" woman sitting on the floor portioning out laplap, so she scored our "haf kakae" that way. Then, she handed our leaves to a different youngfala boy and he ducked into the crowd, returning minutes later with our meal now complete with meat. The whole experience felt just like going through the courtesy booths after a road race with my freebie-diva aunt, trying to maximize on all the goodies without wanting to appear too greedy. All this for my lunch. Probably the best laplap I have eaten to date.

While we sat around on the lawn eating and looking at the freshly painted police station, a string band played for entertainment. Afterwards, we were treated to custom dances from a few of the villages on Maewo. Even as I have seen them before, a few new things caught my eye. For the first time, there were two custom chiefs joining in the dance. The highest step in the rank taking ceremony on Maewo is rarely reached. I think only five men alive from Maewo have reached it, probably due to the large amount of resources like pigs, kava, and taro, required to reach it. Another significant part is that the men spend 40 days in solitude in a nakamol. The men who have reached it are, out of respect, referred to as "Rasa." When dancing, they are adorned with unique headdresses. On this day, one was made of long feathers and another akin to a sarcastic looking king's crown. Another new something was getting to watch the men of Asanvari, the village on the southern tip of Maewo, dance. Since the people of this village are originally from Pentecost, their song a dance is a bit different. Also, their custom mats are traditionally dyed red instead of left the natural tan color of the Maewo custom mats.

I am still enchanted by the custom dances and indulge myself in taking tons of pictures and short videos. At one point, I caught a clip of a guy dancing right out of his costume! His leaves and mat slowly unraveled as the crowd erupted into hoots and giggles (he did have underwear on underneath). Such a trooper though, he hung in there until the end of the dancing. Such a great reminder that all things traditional need not be stoic and stagnant.
After the dancing, the crowd slowly dissolved to go their separate ways. Random bits of red, yellow, and green nasasa leaves dotted the packed grass where the dances had been. A nice, biodegradable carnage to leave behind, no need for clean up.

Another fun photo shoot came the next evening. My mom asked me down to the beach where she and the other women of the family where working leaf natangura for a new roof on one aunt's house. She extended the invitation and went along ahead of me. As I came up the beach about an hour later, I was greeted by three of the coolest kids I know, running up the beach and shouting my name. Surely, this is a piece of how heaven/nirvana/sublimity feels. Two of them had fashioned boats from sticks and were pulling them through a small fresh water pool. Then, they progressed to making a lean to shelter with dry palm leaves and other brush. As they played, the women looked on and worked on the new roof. The leaves are picked green, the strong "bone" of them removed, and then folded in half and layered to be sewn with a natural rope. The natangura roofing is impressively durable and waterproof, just needs replacing every 5-7 years or so. Such a peaceful yet productive scene. Family work parties like this are so familiar to me. In my home culture, shucking sweet corn or pitting cherries would translate here to scratching coconuts and working a new roof. Only the circumstances change.

---

Photos

Scenic Route
Taking the scenic route home from Ambae does have its perks. Here is a rather photogenic looking scene we got to check out while checking for another potential passenger.

Police Station Opening
Everyone headed to the village of Kerepei for the opening ceremonies of the police station.

Rasa
One of Maewo's few Rasa's, escorting one of the new policemen around a huddle of men singing and dancing custom. Notice the unique feathers on his head, distinguishing him from the rest of the guys.

Singing in the Rain
I loved that these guys danced with the Vanuatu flag! The guys are holding taboo sticks, like the ones used in pig killing ceremonies.

Asanvari Group
Unique because of their red mats. You can see the "tam tam" or slit drum made of green bamboo used to keep the beat for custom dances.

Boe & Trisha
Hanging out on the beach.

Natangura Roof Work Group
Here the ladies of the family look on while the kiddos and I romp around on the beach.

Mami Mariah
Check out how she is popping the "bone" of the leaf out of the middle so she can fold it in half to be sewn for the roof.

My host mami
Using her teeth to tear strips from a young burrow branch. The strips are very flexible and used as rope.