The Tamaaraa (Tahitian)

The tamaaraa comes of course after the ahimaa. It is the meal at which one eats what has been cooked in the ahimaa, together with the traditional raw fish, raw and cooked freshwater shrimps, raw and cooked crayfish, the maoa [turbot] and the pahua taioro [clam marinated in juice of grated coconuts, seawater and shrimps], the maoa or pahua with rea [ginger], the miti [salt] hue [calabash], the miti haari [coconut or coconut milk], the popoi [manioca or breadfruit paste], and of course the famous fafaru [fish marinated in seawater], the smell of which is always a little shocking to an outsider. The usual drinks are beer, punch, red wine and water. Both for the preparations of the ahimaa and for serving the tamaaraa, the Tahitians use traditional bowls, the umete made of wood. Some are beautifully decorated and are used to prepare the poe [starch and stewed fruit preserve], the marinated raw fish, etc... Other kitchen utensils are; the penu or pestle, made in stone or coral; the hue or calabash, used to keep the mite hue or fafaru; the ana or coconut scraper++though nowadays metal-pointed scrapers have replaced the traditional coral instrument, now only found in old-fashioned households. The tamaaraa is not just a meal. It has all the characteristics of a feast in the country and no effort is spared to make the table and the surroundings as colorful as possible, with plants, fruits and flowers. Each guest is received with great attention and is crowned with flowers; the tiare tahiti, the tipanie, the fara [pandanus]. On the ground or on a table covered with banana leaves (green niau [coconut palms]) the crockery is laid out; umete, hue, bamboo cups, green coconuts and split emptied coconut shells. Tradition demands that the maa [food] tahiti be eaten with the fingers and therefore no cutlery is laid out. A tamaaraa is always a happy occasion. The family meets, friends come together, and everyone is gay. There is music of course, because in Polynesia a meal starts and ends with singing. A small orchestra is improvised (all Tahitians are amateur musicians) with guitars, ukelele and bass. (This bass is a unique instrument; it is built with a 20 litre oil-drum, a broomstick an a string tying one to the other, and the sounds are obtained by plucking the string.) Punch, beer and red wine contribute to the gaiety. From "Tahitian Cooking", Michel Swartvagher and Michel Folco. le editions du pacifique, Papeete-Tahiti, 1980. ISBN 2-85700-062-6. Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; September 13 1992. File ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/cberg2.zip