By now you must all be wondering what the Niueans eat on this isolated Pacific island. Let’s take a break from our island tour and find out…
On Friday 23 June 2023 it poured with rain on Niue – with some breaks but terrible for touring. Lucky for me Friday is the day that the Matavai Resort host a traditional Umu Buffet with a live traditional band and dancing each and every week. The word “Umu” means “oven” and the “Umu Pit” is a big pit in the ground filled with hot stones to cook the local meats and plants by layering them in leaves. The Matavai Resort has made several improvements. Instead of a hole in the ground they have built a big rectangular box above ground made of cement lined with corrugated iron – it look like a big bath and sits under shelter. When I made my booking for the buffet the resort invited me to come over at 10am and see the local men light the fire and prepare the Umu “bath”. At 2pm the food would go in and at 5pm the food would be removed. The buffet starts at 630pm. Perfect for a wet weather day. Jake and Simi were both born and raised in Niue and talked me through the whole process. Simi has a hardwood forest and this was used to light a huge hot fire and heat up not rocks but metal parts from old cars and tractors. Once the wood is thoroughly alight with flame, the metal parts go in. I was back at 2pm to see all the food wrapped in foil go into the bath in three layers of food, metal, food, metal. The metal is now preferred to stone since the stones on the island are starting to disintegrate when they hot – metal does not. The Umu is then covered with fresh coconut palms (green) followed by last use palms (brown) with old blankets and cardboard sheets last weighed down by iron tongs just in case. These final layers will trap the heat and the whole Umu is now warm enough to sleep on !!!
Here is a list of all the local traditional Niuean dishes that went into the Umu and I ate later on:
Taro, Yams, Cassava, Povi Masima (Diced Corned Beef Brisket mixed with local spinach), Takihi (Pawpaw, Taro and Coconut Cream), Fai Kai Ika (Tuna, Coconut Cream and Ferns), Chicken with local spinach, roast lamb. Outside the Umu was a suckling pig on the spit !!!
I returned at 5pm and the Kiwi Resort Chef, Kyle, invited me into the kitchen to see the food unwrapped, removed and described to me. The Umu is typical of Polynesian peoples – Tonga, Samoa and Solomons all have their own versions as do the Maori’s with their “Hangi”. I stayed on after the food was unwrapped until the buffet started at 630pm. A live foursome band played from 6pm to 730pm and the dancing went from 730pm to 830pm. About 80 people attended, mainly resort guests, the local footy team and a bunch of contractors working on patching up the local roads. The dancing involved three females and four males in grass skirts. Lots of arm waving and waist shaking as is the custom. The guys which included two around 10yrs old performed the Takalo which is the traditional Niue war dance by an individual warrior or group of warriors prior to engaging the enemy in warfare between warriors using traditional war clubs. Nowadays, the Takalo is often performed prior to a rugby game or winning a game of sport just like the Hakka in New Zealand. The local band was good too with one female and three males. They performed mainly folk songs. The food was simply delicious. My favourite was the corn beef brisket with local spinach but the spit pig was also smoky and soft. Only one beer and one wine for me given the 10min drive home in pitch black. It was a great way to spend a rainy day and enjoy the local culture.
The next day was sunny and beautiful and was lucky enough to stumble on an early morning march of the Girls and Boys Brigade – a type of religious scouts amongst Polynesians. I watched them march and attended the first part of their commemorative church service.
The following images are bound to make you hungry…
MY PLATE !!! YUM !!!
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