Brad's PNG Blog

PNG stands for Papua New Guinea.*
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Mumu

August 31, 2016

Most Sunday mornings, I attend a church in the nearby village of K'uina. One of the other missionary families who goes there recently returned to the U.S. for additional schooling, so the Papua New Guineans that live in K'uina organized a mumu to honor them and say goodbye. A mumu is a traditional method of cooking large quantities of food for celebrations in PNG. It involves digging a pit, filling it with hot coals or rocks, adding food, then burying the whole lot for hours so it can cook.

We didn't get to see the preparation (they woke up before dawn to get it all set up!), but we got to see them dig it all out again.

Beginning the excavation process after several hours of cooking

Beginning the excavation process after several hours of cooking

The plastic covering beneath the dirt

The plastic covering beneath the dirt

After the plastic, blue cloth

After the plastic, blue cloth

Banana leaves (we

Banana leaves (we've almost reached the food!)

Food! The kumu (greens) goes on top

Food! The kumu (greens) goes on top

Beneath are carrots, sausages, cabbage, kakaruk (chicken). The contents of the mumu varies based on what is available in the gardens at the time.

Beneath are carrots, sausages, cabbage, kakaruk (chicken). The contents of the mumu varies based on what is available in the gardens at the time.

And now, the kaukau (sweet potatoes), one of the main staple foods of PNG

And now, the kaukau (sweet potatoes), one of the main staple foods of PNG

Ready to serve

Ready to serve