No, because there weren't any Pilgrims in Pohnpei

By now, you are all very aware how I love culture and tradition.  So imagine my delight when Cori Jo brought Thanksgiving dinner to her Pohnpeian family!  In a Pohnpeian kitchen, older women are in charge of cooking and younger women help out.  Just like anywhere else, they have a specific way of preparing, cooking, and serving which is learned and reinforced from childhood.  So it's understandable that a Peace Corps volunteer from the US may not be as experienced in the local culinary arts.  I mean, hand-squeezing milk from grated coconut meat wasn't exactly typical in my house.  In an amusing and sometimes frustrating way, these differences translate to a complete lack of trust and faith in a volunteer's ability to do anything useful in the kitchen.  Basically, Cori Jo's host family won't let her boil water.  So incredibly, she produced an entire Thanksgiving meal by herself for her host family.  Mind you, this may have been influenced by the fact that her host parents missed the whole dinner while they were at a church function.  

In many Pacific Island Cultures, meat and food is cooked in an underground earthen oven.  The Māoris call this a Hāngi, in Hawaii it's an Imu, and the Pohnpeian word is Uhmw [oom].  In Rhode Island, we call it a Clambake.  And so, CJ's 22lb turkey was laid over hot stones, surrounded by breadfruit, and covered with blankets of large taro and banana leaves.  How long does it take?  Oh everything takes 45 mintues to cook in an uhmw.  Really?  We decided later that this is probably the maximum time that the oven can hold any type of cooking temperature.  While the bird did not sizzle to a golden brown, we have learned not to be fussy about such trivial things as food safety.  

 

 

photo courtesy of cori jo

photo courtesy of cori jo

Cori Jo served turkey, stuffing, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie!  After she and I dish our plates, the siblings begin to prepare plates of food for the parents and elders.  There is an eating hierarchy in Pohnpei, so the higher title clan members must be served before the rest of the family.  This can be seen in the distribution of pig and turtle meat at a funeral.  After we sit down on the cement floor and begin eating with our hands, and after the elders' plates are prepared, at least two dozen family and neighbors appear suddenly in the buffet line.  The family thinks the food is strange, and cannot understand why we don't want rice and breadfruit with our meals, but they eat every last morsel and especially enjoy the gravy.  The feast is a success and clearly demonstrates CJ's ability to navigate the propane burner.  I am thrilled to have been invited to partake in this cultural mash-up and even more grateful to enjoy the comfort foods of Thanksgiving.  Thanks Cori Jo!