Tongan Take-aways : Kaitunu- Tongans at The beach

December 27, 2012

Today was the day of the Wesleyan Kaitunu. A kaitunu is a picnic on the beach normally it consist of a roast pig as well. We loaded up in a couple of trucks and a big van and all went out to a beach near by called Keitahi. Tongans love the beach! They are actually like fish and I am sure if they had the opportunity they would definitely live in the water. We spent all day at the beach from around 9 to about 4ish ( I have stop carrying any time telling device so I have no idea the exact times of anything) and the Tongans spent pretty much the whole time in the water. The men had set up a kava circle of course amoung the trees but I had a bit of a stomachache so I chose not to partake. Most of the older women sat back and ate until about midday after the big meal. We all ate basically bbq chicken and hotdogs and water ever food people brought ie chips, cookies, horse meat (that I finally got to try! It tasted like beef but also distinctly different), and fruit for the big lunch type meal. When this was done a lot of the women started entering the water. The funny thing about Tongans at the beach is the go into the water fully clothed, I am not just saying with a shirt on but I am talking jeans, shoes, hat, jacket, actually fully clothed. It is pretty hilarious watching someone run full on into the water wearing all their clothes. It is really great because after a while women will drag other older women into the water, there is some resistance at first but then the women being dragged kind of submits. Some of the women don’t have to be dragged in though, some like it so much that they were jumping off the rock and splashing around with all the kids. The men would take breaks from kava and join in too, some had a sharp piece of rod iron and they were spear fishing! It was a pretty awesome day even though I took a few naps on the beach and got sunburned

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