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Thursday 25 September 2014

Food in my culture

Tongan Birthdays

In the Islands of Tonga there are many things that are important, one of them is celebrating your 21st birthday. One of my favourite things that happens to celebrate, is the FOOD! When my Mum cooks it, it is yum! There are different kinds of foods at a birthday and especially a Tongan birthdays but I love my Mum’s cooking.

In Tonga there are specific types of food and my top favourite is Lu Bulumasima and Otai Meleni. In English it means Taro leaves with povi masima and Otai with Watermelon. It is a lovely meal, I love it, Sometimes we have that on Sunday but we mostly have that on 21st birthdays. For the birthday there is usually about 5-10 tables because it will be packed.  That is why we Tongans book big venues for birthday or weddings.

Our food is cooked from about 2:00 o’clock in the morning and is probably done by 10:00 o’clock. Then we set up the tables with the food and fill them up. When it comes to the front table, that is where the birthday girl or boy sits, and that is the most important table. They put the most effort into decorating that table. By 1:00 o’clock it is done then the woman go back and get ready and the men stay at the venue at look after the food and wait for the people to arrive.

When the birthday is finished the mother or aunts of the birthday person come and clean the tables and packs some food for your family to take home as a gift to say “thank you for coming”. Most people after the birthday go back to the parents of the birthday person’s house and have a few drinks and then go back home to eat the food that they packed.

In Tonga there are heaps of celebrations and one of them is 21st birthday. At the birthday it is very exciting and very interesting.  This is how we celebrate in my culture.

Tatiana

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