butchering — Murray Lloyd Photography

Ranon celebrates

I wasn't enthusiastic about attending a circumcision ceremony having walked 24 km to view a volcano the previous day. Three hours later I had no regrets. Torpedo like yams paraded past me as if in a military setting. A bullock was butchered in front of the crowd and a 12 yr old boy killed three pigs . All to celebrate the circumcision of three boys.

Captain Cook's legacy

The name Ambrym means yam, bestowed on the island by Captain Cook and prominent in the ceremony they were. However pigs provided the main event.

Pigs and kustom

Pigs are the principal objects of wealth in Vanuatu. They are accumulated, traded, loaned, and paid out to resolve disputes. Pigs are central to kustom and are pampered, revered, and sacrificed. Killing a set number of pigs gives a man high status. When the pigs are killed, the killer assumes their spirits, gaining power and prestige among his village.

Circumcisions are a one time thing and the ceremony reflected this. The Ranon community gathered as if partaking in a wedding or a funeral.

Located in Hastings, the Organic Farm Butchery processes and distributes beef and lamb from Ti Kouka an organic farm near Waimarama (they also have some pigs). After photographing at the farm last year I thought it would would good to see another side of the operation. The mainstream media have published large quantities of material about farmers markets, local produce and consumers wanting to know where their food comes from.

However thinking more about images of beef carcasses and slabs of meat I wonder if the public is ready for an even closer viewpoint. While I was photographing, numerous boxes of organic meat went out the door. Nothing was wasted as the bones seen in the trolley were destined for the beef stock at a gourmet food supplier.

Foodie event in Ambrym

Hawkes Bay Organic Butcher | Murray Lloyd Photography