Sunday, February 8, 2009

Hangi












What is a Maori celebration without the hangi?

Basically a hangi is cooking food in a deep pit heated by hot rocks. These days the food is wrapped in aluminium foil. In the old days, in leaves. The food like chicken, pork, lamb, kumara, pumpkin are layered in the pit, and cover with sacks. This is cooked for hours and hours.

I brought back a pack of Hangi food, and before I could tell the kids, wait til I have taken a pix, they had dug into it. In it was pork, chicken, stuffing, kumara and pumpkin. So very sorry I can't show it to you.

Ngarimu also mentioned that for a celebration, there must be water melon and raw fish. They served water melons slices and also in halves piled high with ice cream as water melon sundae.

I was fortunate about thirty years ago, I went to "assist", actually I watched because woman is not allowed to dig the pit. A hangi chef prepared a hangi. The Navigators of Auckland University has a celebration. He also showed me to make raw fish the Maori way. That was one experience not many people have. I have also written about this in my book, Mail Order bride and Short Story Nadine. In my post in November on Maori Hangi, I had a photo with a Hangi chef. I claimed him to be my boyfriend.

***In this post, I have another Hangi Chef, who was very obliging when I asked if I could take his photo. I didn't have anyone around me to take a photo of me slithering to him. LOL Maoris are very warm people.***
The Kiwis are also celebrating the New Zealand day with lots of hangis allover the Gold coast :Charles
I have become a Maori, I told my family. I ate with them, slept with them in a Marae. They consider me Whanau/family. Now I am one of them.I guess it like Henry going to the jungles to sleep with the Punans and becoming a Punan, going to long houses of the Kayans and Ibans and adopted by them to be their son.Henry is an anthropolist in Borneo.
You get your face tattooed? Joseph.
I told the water engineer. When I find a rich handsome Maori man who wants to marry me, then I tattoo my face.
WH is pronounced F in Maori.

2 comments:

Golden West said...

Yes, the bananas are edible, but best for baking in breads or cakes, as they aren't as sweet as those grown in more tropical climes, like Central America.

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