Must have been my lucky day since I just sort of became Chief of the Pulangis again. Let’s take it back to yesterday to see how this came about.

While we were having lunch yesterday after the school project Tau the headmistress asked us if we might be interested in coming in the next day (today) to participate in a church fund raising event. It’s an annual event where all four of the villages (they consider the fourth village the island just north of here) make their annual contribution to the church. We said, “Of course”, and were then asked if we might inform the other cruisers. OK…we’re glad to make a radio call and announce the event.

So…we got back to Charisma and put out a call to the anchorage about an event to be held tomorrow, food, entertainment and a request for a donation to the church. A couple folks responded that they would likely come and we considered our job done.

Fast forward to this morning when we went in to the mystery event. We didn’t know what to expect nor did we know if any other the other cruisers would actually show up since it was a cloudy, rainy (the most rain we have seen in weeks) morning and all the other boats were on the other side of the lagoon – at least a 20 minute or more dinghy ride away. But, it turns out six boats made it in. We were all invited into the chief’s hut for a discussion of what to expect. Somewhere along the way I became our group’s spokesperson and then chief, since we were the guests of honor we needed a representative who would “speak” for the group. It turned out (and other cruisers will know what an honor this was) the chief of the Fulunga village started the event by doing a sevusevu for us! Quite an honor. He talks -in Fijian – and we get a summary translation and then it’s our turn to respond. I said something about how honored we were and how much we loved the island since they not only treat us as friends, but embrace us as family. Other cruisers reiterated these feelings and the chief was pleased. This went down pretty well and soon they broke out the kava as is normal for such a ceremony. Well…what I found out at this point is that the “visiting chief” – that would be ME, is responsible for the pace of the kava consumption. Once the kava bowl has gone around the room once, no-one can drink again until the visiting chief says. There’s a word that phonetically translates as, “Taki”, that the visiting chief uses when it’s time for another round of kava. (Like buying another round at the bar but not on your dime….nice!)

Kava is very important in Fiji, very popular, and eagerly consumed and I didn’t want to disappoint those present so as soon as the first round was complete I shouted “Taki”. There was great relief in the room, many smiles and the kava pouring continued and the bowl was passed. I carefully watched as each person had his or her bowl and as soon as it went around the room, I again shouted “Taki” much to the delight of the room. At that point – and this may be the highlight of my week, if not month- one of the men slightly intoxicated by the early rounds of kava leaned over to Ann, and very properly announced – “Chief Bob is the best chief ever!”

Taki!

So there you have it! Chief Bob. Yessssss!

OK, that lasted a minute. Ann quickly leaned over and said, “Don’t let it go to your head, buster!”

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

The kava celebration was halted when the “entertainment” came in. Local women dressed in red sulus and white shirts with beautifully woven necklaces of fragrant flowers. There is nothing like the song and dance of happy people. It was lovely and included an invitation to Ann to learn the hand motions and join the dance. And we both walked away wearing one of the lovely flower leis. Very special.

The Meke (Fijian "dance"). All done with the hands.

Closeup of the Meke.

And as if to just extend the excitement of the day, I can say that lunch was as much an adventure as being chief of the Pulangis. We ate (again, cruisers will have the best appreciation for this) boiled sea cucumber in coconut milk. Akin to banana slugs, the sea cucumber until now has mostly been something that we attempt to avoid stepping on when we wade onto the reef. It’s kind of squishy, no, actually really squishy. Definitely something I never anticipated eating. I think it rates right there alongside raw sea urchin. So glad we had eaten the ones on our plates before another more discerning cruiser questioned what they were eating. We figure try everything once, and if it is really yummy get its name!

So another day in paradise. For some reason we weren’t very hungry at dinner so just had some roasted potatoes and pumpkin and soon to bed. See you tomorrow!