Mumu

Mumu

A mumu is a meal that is steamed in the ground. This is a tradition of Papua New Guinea. At the Numonohi Bung, the mumu was the highlight of the reunion. Or should I say, the mumu that wasn't. I say this because when it came time to eat--the meat was not cooked and only some of the vegetables were done. The problem was this: In PNG, the nationals would begin the process in the early morning and the food would steam all day long. Here in the US, the nationals (us) didnt start until noon, and the food didnt go in until 3:30ish. And we were expecting to eat at 6. So out came the grills to finish cooking the meat (pork and chicken), and the uncooked veges went to the kitchen. Our mumu flopped. But it was fun to watch the guys prepare it and to smell the burning grass and banana leaves. These smells took us back to New Guinea. This was definately an event to remember.

If you click on the picture above and read the captions under the pictures, they will tell you how a mumu is prepared.

Numonohi Bung

Numonohi Bung

Thursday, June 7th, 2007 at 10:00 pm, my mom, sister Rachel, her 2 boys Aaron and Tyler, and I set out for Wisconsin. Earlier that day I had left my house in Millersburg, drove 1 1/2 hours to pick up my mom in Jersey Shore, drove another 3 1/2 hours to Rochester, NY to pick up Rachel, Aaron, and Tyler. So the 5 of us were squeezed into my Subaru Forester (and I mean squeezed!) and were headed to a Numonohi Reunion. For those of you who dont know: Numonohi is where my parents and siblings and I lived in Papua New Guinea for 7 years. We had decided to drive through the night because that would be best for the boys (ages 6 months and 2 1/2 years). This way they would sleep most of the trip. The other intention was for the adults to sleep as well when we weren't the one driving. Ya well--it was a nice idea--too bad it didnt work. It is hard to sleep when one is cramped up.

12 hours later, we arrived at Camp Awana in Fredonia, WI. We ate lunch, then set up the tent (and realized we forgot a hammer to pound in the stakes--so we used a tire iron :) ) Finally we could hang out, relax, and visit with people, some of whom we haven't seen in 17 years. We had a great time. A concert was put on by Mayriver, a band that originated in PNG. Its band members are brothers and grew up in a tribe on the May River, hence the name.

After a mumu on Saturday night, the 5 of us climbed back into the car to begin the 12 hour drive back to NY.

Stats: Millersburg, PA to Jersey Shore, PA- 75 miles, 1 1/2 hours
Jersey Shore, PA to Rochester, NY- 308 miles, 3 1/2 hours
Rochester, NY to Fredonia, WI- 683 miles, 12 hours
Round Trip- 2132 miles, 34 hours