Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-10-17
a A IN HAWAII.
Novel Manner in Which the Food was Pre-
nared.


pared.
! The following extract from a private
letter written from Honolulu by DIR
Geo P. Andrews gives an entertaining
account Of a novel feast:
The great feast was a novel sight. Ar
awning of sails covered in a space OF
about sixty by one hundred feet, under
which were laid tables. and the viands,
cooked a la Hawaii, were laid on them.
As provision was made for one thou
sand people, an account of the cooking
may be of interest There we're pro-
vided forty-tive half-grown pigs, two
beeves, l25 chickens, several hundred
fish, bushels of sweet potatoes, etc.
The larger pigs were cut into fragments
and tied in bundles of banana and dra-
c@na leaves, of a pound or two weight
each. The beef was served in the same
way, also the chickens. The smaller
pigs were wrapped whole in the leaves.
Preparations for the cooking were made
the day before, Four holes were dug,
one ten by four feet, one six by four
feet, and the others about three feet
wide and two feet deep. A quantity of
wood was placed in the grotto and
upon this were piled large stones a foot
deep. One fire was lighted early in the
morning of the day before and the sec.
ond about one o'clock. Atthree O'Clock
the wood was burned out and the bot
tom was a mass of red.hot stones.
Upon these were spread a LAYER of
crushed fresh banana stems six inches
thick, and upon these were piled the
small bundles of meat two or three
feet high and the size of the hole. Over
them were placed a mass of fresh
banana leaves several inches thick,
over this mating and then dirt a foot
thick and the imu was finished and left
to steam until the next morning, At
five in the evening the big one was
similarly filed with the remainder of
the meat and the trussed pigs and also
covered. One can imagine what a de.
lightful heat would be brought to bear
upon the contents of the imu and how
lelicately the contents would be cook
during the long hours of the night.
Early in the morning of the feast day
he two small linus were filled with the
ish tied up in leaves and sweet potatoes
md covered. The large ovens covered
he day before were opened during the
morning and the contents taken out
md covered to keep hot.
The tables seated between two hun.
lred and three hundred at a time. Poi.
he native food, a paste made from the
alocosen e%sculentum and soured, was
ut in small water-tight baskets along
he center of each table SO that four
ersons could reach each one with the
ngers (knives and forks are eschewed l
t a luan). Each table was also gay :
18th crimson-tleshed watermelons cut "
l fancy shapes, various relishes of raw I
urchlns, meat, seaweed, raw b
hrimps and pounded kukui nuts and u
Conveniently at hand were fern a
'aves, and the viands upon leaves, -
ourds and wooden bowls and plat >
rs. d
The guests recline at their ease on the 81
1T side and eat with the right hand. 81
ach one has a bowl of fair water to
ease the fingers. The method of eat nj
g is not disgusting. The natives use V;
leir fingers deyterously and daintily -
not piggishly, though they are ".
,ther g~ormandizing in their native ~ y.
ate. dl
After the feast came the literary en- ne
rtainment, and very entertaining
ere the speakers, ancient Punahon e.
'ys recalling the pleasures, the es. d,
pades, the sorrows of s~choolboy life. 81
was well worth listening to.-Detroit VI
zee Press. br