Tufi - conch shells to drums

Despite this being the rainy season, we have not encountered any rain except for one night where there was an impressive thunderstorm after dinner. Today is again warm and clear. An early start which begins with a cultural event called a sing-sing. All the performances we have seen so far have all been different, the costumes are different as are the dances performed and so the music and singing. On this island we are greeted by a man in a very impressive costume with large feathers. We walk to the place where the performance will take place and there are two very fierce looking men brandishing spears, probably made from bamboo, threatening us, very convincing. We are not given a lot of information about the songs that will be sung or the dances that will be performed except that these are written by the local people and some have been handed down from generation to generation.

The performances involve both men and women dancing together which is a little different from the other places where we've seen the men dance then the women. The men have drums which are hollowed out wood of some kind and over one end a piece of lizard skin is attached. The drums are quite long and have a distinctive sound to them. As with many of the performers we have seen before, the women are bare-breasted but have elaborate necklaces and decorations both in the front and on their backs. I can't help but think this must be uncomfortable with the movement up and down with the shell necklaces bouncing on their skin as they dance. The headwear is very decorative consisting of feathers and shells. As with the other other places, we have visited community members and children in particular come down to watch. There doesn't seem to be very much to this island, there are no mobile phones and no network. Any power they have comes from the sun.

These islands do not produce much more than fruit and vegetables, wood, carvings and the local Tapa woven fabric for the tourists. We have been told that this is a traditional craft, both men and women wear pieces of Tapa which we see during the dancing. It's quite a process to make. It is made from the bark of the paper mulberry tree which is stripped off, the cloth is created and then painted. The designs are unique to the woman making it. When the dancing is finished there is a small market and we buy a small piece of Tapa and a fairy large, elaborate shell necklace. (We will try and create something like a wall hanging with it). When we get back to the ship there are a number of small canoes with people selling fresh fruit and vegetables. Some of these will be bought by the kitchen and no doubt form part of our meal tonight.

The second part of the morning involves exploring the lush tropical rain forest all around us from an outrigger canoe. We slide from our zodiac onto a platform across the canoe. There are four people on ours with a man each end slowly paddling us up a narrow estuary. So tranquil and cool, we travel slowly allowing us to really take it all in, we can hear a few birds but they are impossible to see. The ride is for about half an hour.

It's Melbourne cup and for those who are interested someone is running a sweep and it will be broadcast in the main lounge, this race that stops the nation is not of interest to us.
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