Failotu

December 17, 2012

Another aspect of the Tongan funeral is called the failotu. The failotu is a three-day event that happens after the burial of the desist. The church congregation that the person belonged to meets at a house to sing hymns and say prayers. I have been going to these prayer sessions and it is really neat to watch the people gather (wearing the traditional funeral garb) and support each other. Even though there is some crying, there is also a lot of laughter and smiles. It is really powerful to sit among the group as everyone says their prayers out loud at the same time and then they slowly start to sing while some people are finishing up their prayers- it is crazy, I got chills.

Today was the last day, and on the last day of the failotu there is a feast of sorts they gave out bags of chicken and pork. I even got to watch as they got the pig out of the pickup and then started to chop it up with the machete! A large pig took maybe 15 or 20 minutes to chop into 5 – 10 oz pieces. I was happy for the food because I left my wallet in town and don’t have any meat at my place so now I am chillin’ for the week, which is nice except I feel strange because I didn’t know the person who past.