Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Calling all the people, all the tuned-in population around the world… this is Hammock Society FM reaching out across the waves. And today, I’m not in the hammocks cos the man I wanna have a yarn with is always grafting. So here I am, sitting under the shade with him, while he hacks away at a tree with his machete. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s with great honor and tribal demand that I bring to you the wisdom of Pupu.

Bula sia everybody.

What are you doing Pupu?

This is for the new bure, Tevita’s bure, for him and the wife… so here I am to clean off the bark. This mangrove has stayed in the sun so the bark has gone dry so it is hard. Much better to do it straight away when the tree is wet, then the bark falls off easily.

You make it look easy, it’s like watching an artist.

This machete is like my best friend. Never leave my machete anywhere. If I need anything my machete is there to help me.

Is this machete as old as you?

No, it’s a bit younger then me. When I finish a job I’ll sharpen my machete. Keep everything sharp and ready. The way how I work, I can’t stay around the house, I must do something all the time. I want to be busy all the time. Pick up my machete and go.

Speaking of recent jobs, Tui Mali recently opened the new showers and you’ve been a major part in its creation. How was it?

We can do it in five blinks but it’s taken five thousand blinks. Many cooks in the kitchen. Too many taps in the sink hahahahahahaha… You just tell us what you want and we do it, no problem

The joys of two cultures working together on something never tried before. You’ve done an awesome job and refrained from getting your best friend involved, will you be using the showers yourself?

Yeah, I use them.

There’s a sign up there saying ‘shower with a friend’. Who you gonna choose?

I think you! Hahahahahahaha…

I think you have sun stroke…

I have a solar panel in the back of my head hahahahahaha…

It wouldn’t surprise me if you were some sort of android. You work harder than many men half your age and you have a handshake equal to a robotic crush. I think you might of been a boxer in your younger days?

I was not a boxer in the ring… but I boxed a little bit on the street… and in the pub.

Yes yes.

I do a lot of training, lifting up weights, I trained with a judo gang… use to play soccer, rugby. In that time the law was very poor. The rugby was dangerous. In those days, don’t you hold onto the ball, you get knocked down on the ground. Lots of fighting. I was a forward. The scrum… oooooooooo… you gotta look properly see who’s up to what. See all the cuts on my forehead, that’s from the rugby. Someone hit me on the pitch I see them after the game. OK, I’ll see you outside, before he’s taken the singlet off… BOOM!... down. Finish.

I notice you have a split second reflex. If something startles you or moves suddenly you spin round with your fists up, ready to go.

Even when I sleep, don’t touch me, just call me. This one time, I was sleeping… next to my bed is a basket, that’s where I put all my dirty clothes. My grandson came in and smacked my hand saying “Pa… Pa…” I get a shock a spin round and punch him. BOOM! He was upside down in the basket kicking his legs.

I bet that left him cross-eyed for life. Poor kid. Who do you live with?

My wife die in 2002. My daughter and her family live with me, many children.

Do they play a game and try and sneak up on you when you’re sleeping and touch you and run away?

No! That gang know not to touch me hahahahahaha…

So, when you’re not knocking out kids you’re knocking up bures, let’s chat about Vorovoro’s biggest creation so far…

That Grand Bure, the whole of Mali come and work on that bure. I did all the measurements and everything. I use my step… one.. two.. three… four… five… to measure. No ruler, no tape, no level. I use my eyes. Sometimes, the old people use to do, like my father, they climb the hill and use the sea level. Look at the roof, look at the sea level. Nothing is straighter than the sea level.

You’re like Bob the Builder crossed with the Terminator.

In the old days people were used to make the bure.

Excuse me…

See that big bure in Nadori, we went there last week for the meke, that bure only the wood still standing, there’s a person under there. That’s how they make the Fijian bure foundations before. If no person under the post it will fall over. They wait for one man to make a mistake… BOOM… maybe an Indian man. There was an Indian fella who used to sell tobacco to all the villages, that is the man they meant to have killed under there.

Are there any dead bodies under any of the bures in Vorovoro?

No, only the big rat hahahahahahahaha…

Fiji’s dark ages weren’t too long ago… I can imagine you as a warrior expect I see you with a chainsaw…

I learn the chainsaw from a man from Australia. He first taught me the axe. Start on the axe. Then after that we work on the cross-cutter – two man saw. Two days on the axe, two days on the saw… and on the Friday… then he said the chainsaw. He said everything is on your hands, use your head.

And that’s how you became the legendary chainsaw samuri of Paradise or Bust.

I used to work in the bush for FFI (Fiji Forest Industries).

Ahhh yes, that’s where we buy lots of our wood for our building projects.

I work there for 36 years. Many years logging. Chopping down trees. I do all the jobs. Drive all the machines, lorries, digger, anything they want to dig…

Is there anything you can’t do?

There’s nothing left for me to do but drive a plane. I can drive van, big truck, everything… right upto the bicycle hahahahaha… no matter the weather, dry, wet, it’s all the same to me.

Do you find anything hard?

Nothing is hard in the world.

Tell that to Viagra’s marketing department.

I always tell everybody… I say like this: don’t use your eyes to do the job cos you just look at it and give up. Better to just do. Nothing better than trying.

There’s an expression: ‘you can’t teach an old dog new trick’ but I guess that doesn’t apply to you?

Yeah, nevermind if you’re a small boy or a young fella or small girl you teach me something… good… thank you very much. But some people don’t want to learn, but us, we learn all the time, till the end. Whether you small, or big, you tell me something I don’t know, I’m very happy. When the tribe come and teach me… I’m very happy.

I think you do the teaching Pupu, not to mention a lot of homeopathic healing.

Yeah, medicine, if anybody get sick in Vorovoro just let us know first, if we can’t do it then go to the hospital. Most of the gang from the tribe get better here, I think what Vorovoro did, before the tribe came, was ready all the medicine round here. My old man, my father teach me about this medicine… what plant to use… make all things better.

If you look after the tribe when they’re sick, who looks after you?

I believe in God. Every time I need help, I just ask. Sometimes I dream of it. Might have a hard job and I dream of the answer. Thank you God very much. Vinaka.

I think the big G has sent a few prophets to Vorovoro. It often feels we’re in the presence of greatness. I’m glad you’re part of the project, how did you hear about it?

Tui Mali is my cousin.

You’re connected Pupu. It’s like a mafia story.

When we small, we grew up very far apart. When my father died he said “make sure you don’t forget about Vorovoro”.

And here you are, walking around with a machete as your best friend sharing knowledge and telling stories…

I came from the bush one time, I told my brother in-law… I brought you a snake to cook… aaaaaahhh, he very happy. Big snake. I asked him to take the skin off and keep it for me. Cut the head off, cut it a little bit, hold the skin, hold the flesh and pull apart. The snake smells like you’re cooking a mother hen, yeah, smells good. Everybody goes passed the kitchen door thinks we we’re cooking chicken. With the skin, I put the salt on it and dry it out in the sun… put the oil on it, it was a yellow snake, make it nice and shiny. My wife and sister is scared of the thing. I leave it hanging up on the wall but my wife wants me to hang it up outside, I tell her she can sleep outside. Sometimes when you wear it, it gets very tight. You can feel it get tight, like it’s squeezing you. Have to undo, make loose, feels slack, all good.

I notice you seem to naturally use the resources around you, whether it be a snake or even your hardcore cigarettes…

I use the newspaper, no rizla, just newspaper and real fiji tobacco leaf. Strong tobacco. It’s better to smoke Fiji tobacco than other cigarette.

The other day, I was walking along the beach and I saw you having a little tidy up, trimming the hair…

Yeah, I only cut my hair. Nobody else. No barber, only me I touch my hair and mustache. I have my own kit, my own trimmer and scissors.

And some of that kit is recycled parts…

Yeah, I use a car mirror hahahahahaha…

You’re a great example of what this project is about… hard work, sustainability, recycling, trying new ideas…

Cough cough eeerrrggghhhhhhh fleeeugh gob!

Have you got a cold Pupu?

Maybe a little one. It’s OK. I got this cigarette, put some tiger balm on it and smoke it. Make my insides clear. Won’t cough. Nice and cold when you smoke it.

I suppose it might work. Any messages for all you fans out there…

Everybody is talking about Vorovoro, the way they do the meke. Everything what we forget now the kaivalagi (white people) bring up. Very good. I enjoy it all. I like to say thank you to the tribe that come, not some… but all. I learn a lot and I know they learn a lot from me and I never forget them. I can see their face… isa… yeah, I miss them. Make a lot of friends.

I have one last request…

What’s that?…

That you put down your machete and come and pose in the hammocks…

Sure.

Until next time readers… box on, box strong.