Foodie event in Ambrym

 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.

Boutique dairy milking in NZ | Murray Lloyd Photography

My image of life as a dairy cow reached new highs when I first sighted this delightful milking shed bathed in the early morning light. Owned by an American couple who left the US when George Bush was elected in 2000, the milking operation near Dunedin numbers between 16 and 20 cows.

With a backdrop of faded washing hanging from the roof of the milking shed, a yodel-like call brought the cows running. Once inside the milking shed each cow knew exactly which bay to head for. One cow, who left the property for two years, still remembers which bay was originally hers.

The cows are milked using a bucket system. Before the milk is taken from the cow each one receives individual grooming (to remove muddy patches) and the udders are hand washed with a cleansing solution.

The milk – straight from the cow - has less than 10% of the maximum allowed limit of bacteria found in milk (pasteurised and homogenised) sitting in your supermarket fridges.

With National Radio broadcasting, and a breakfast of local Harraway oats mixed and sweetly scented lucerne the cows looked very contented. As did the customers who could take away milk, cream, ghee, cottage cheese, quark or even a mango flavoured lassi.