INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

The tama'ara'a comes of course after the ahima'a.  It is the meal at
which one eats what has been cooked in the ahima'a, together with the
traditional raw fish, raw and cooked freshwater shrimps, raw and
cooked crayfish, the mao'a [turbot] and the pahua taioro [clam
marinated in juice of grated coconuts, seawater and shrimps], the
mao'a or pahua with re'a [ginger], the miti [salt] hue [calabash],  the
miti ha'ari [coconut or coconut milk], the popoi [manioca or
breadfruit paste], and of course the famous fafaru [fish marinated in
seawater], the smell of which is always a little shocking to an
outsider.  The usual drinks are beer, punch, red wine and water. Both
for the preparations of the ahima'a and for serving the tama'ara'a,
the Tahitians use traditional bowls, the 'umete made of wood. Some are
beautifully decorated and are used to prepare the po'e [starch and
stewed fruit preserve], the marinated raw fish, etc...  Other kitchen
utensils are; the penu or pestle, made in stone or  coral; the hue or
calabash, used to keep the mite hue or fafaru; the  'ana or coconut
scraper++though nowadays metal-pointed scrapers have  replaced the
traditional coral instrument, now only found in  old-fashioned
households.  The tama'ara'a is not just a meal.  It has all the
characteristics of  a feast in the country and no effort is spared to
make the table and  the surroundings as colorful as possible, with
plants, fruits and  flowers.  Each guest is received with great
attention and is crowned with  flowers; the tiare tahiti, the tipanie,
the fara [pandanus]. On the  ground or on a table covered with banana
leaves (green ni'au [coconut  palms]) the crockery is laid out; 'umete,
hue, bamboo cups, green  coconuts and split emptied coconut shells.
Tradition demands that  the ma'a [food] tahiti be eaten with the
fingers and therefore no  cutlery is laid out.  A tama'ara'a is always
a happy occasion.  The family meets, friends  come together, and
everyone is gay.  There is music of course,  because in Polynesia a
meal starts and ends with singing.  A small  orchestra is improvised
(all Tahitians are amateur musicians) with  guitars, ukelele and bass.
(This bass is a unique instrument; it is  built with a 20 litre
oil-drum, a broomstick an a string tying one to  the other, and the
sounds are obtained by plucking the string.)  Punch, beer and red wine
contribute to the gaiety.  From "Tahitian Cooking", Michel Swartvagher
and Michel Folco. le  editions du pacifique, Papeete-Tahiti, 1980.
ISBN 2-85700-062-6.  Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; September 13 1992.
File ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/cberg2.zip

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