Ever been to a Mumu??

I just got back from a Mumu...this is a large gathering where several families/villages get together and cook a whole lot of food! They steam-cook meat and vegetables in the ground for a few hours and when all is said and done, a lot of people have plenty to eat. This particular Mumu involved 2 whole cows, 3 whole pigs, hundreds of large sweet potatos, greens, bananas, more. When it's all cooked, the food is layed out on large banana leaves and distributed between all the families. However, an event this large is never without significance.

The occasion for this Mumu was a "coming-of-age" ceremony for a teenage girl. Once it is her time to become a woman, they have a ceremony, and they decide on what her brideprice will be. Marriage has a much deeper impact on the whole extended family in PNG culture than it does in our Western culture.