My friend
We have had the chance to attend and observe a unique event that is part of the culture among many of the tribal groups here. It is called a pig kill. This is pretty amazing since we have observed two of these in the last week, one in a nearby village and one here in Takaru. More amazing because they don’t occur often. In fact, it can be many years between them and to have two occur in a week’s time is rarer still.
Let me explain what is involved. A pig kill is a means to establish pacts and agreements between individuals, families, clans, and even tribes. The tribal ones are the largest and can involve the killing and exchange of thousands of pigs. What we observed were between families and the other villages.
The way a pact is established is a person or group of people gift a pig or pigs to the others that are to be involved. This creates a debt that will need to be repaid at some time, either in the form of assistance in a time of need or in pigs, but more or better than what was received in the first event. This reverses the debt situation, which means the group being repaid becomes indebted at a higher level.
At first this may involve only a few pigs, but if the cycle continues the number of pigs, or even portions of pigs will grow and the debt will grow as well, until it becomes burdensome and difficult to repay. The deeper problem is one of shame. If one fails to repay or pay back at a higher level, they will bring shame on them and those related to them. The error of one person, when a group or clan is involved, brings shame not on just that person but the entire group. This is part of why the pig kills do not occur often. You have to be absolutely sure your repayment will be adequate and acceptable in order to reverse the debt.
So here is what happens. On day one (the pig kills usually take two days), the two groups gather in rows opposite each other. On this day, everyone is in traditional dress and it is very solemn. The group of those paying the debt are lined up with piles of sugarcane in front of them. A whole cane represents a whole pig, half a stalk – half a pig, and a quarter stalk – a quarter of a pig. Each person then begins to distribute the sugarcane to the appropriate person in the other group. While this debt may involve a large group of people, payment is between individuals within each group.
It is quite interesting to see the display and talk as the piles of sugarcane diminish on one side and grow on the other side. Finally, when all has been distributed, the group receiving the payment will leave and return to their village. They are not allowed to stay in the village of those paying the debt. If their village is too far, they build temporary shelters in some open area, but outside the village.
The next day begins early with the slaughter and preparation of the pigs to be delivered later. The group paying has a lot of work to do. They slaughter the pig by clubbing it to death. If done right, it takes two or three hits. If poorly done, it means bad luck and trouble for that family. Once killed, the hair is burned off and then the carcass is dressed. The guts are set aside and cooked as part of a meal for both groups, along with some choice meat from pigs set aside for this.
It is not uncommon to see kids inflating the bladder and kicking it around during this process.
Once all the carcasses are dressed and cut into halves and quarters the next step begins, the delivery of the payment. Again, there is a lot of pomp and display involved. Each part is paraded in front of all the visitors so all can see its size and quality. Step by step, piles of pig grow in front of each person. Soon you will see who the wealthy and powerful are in the group being paid the debt. You wonder how they can eat all of that pig, especially when you know there is no refrigeration available for most of the people. Even so, the piles for some become so big (e.g., 20 whole pigs). How could they possibly keep that meat fresh? I finally asked someone, and they explained that back in the village or area where the group came from they would distribute all the meat among family, friends, and others creating another level of debt and agreements.
Finally, all of the pigs were distributed, and the final step began. On the first day, only a representative of each debt was allowed to be present to receive the sugarcane. On this day, they returned with all their family and friends, or at least enough people to help them transport the pigs out of the village. There is a key guideline that must be followed. In receiving your payment, you cannot make multiple trips in carrying away what you have received, and you cannot use a vehicle until you are several miles from the village where the pig kill occurred.
That is why so many people are there on the second day. They must load up all the payment and in one trip, carry it to a defined place outside of the village. It was amazing to see how much was loaded onto men and women in order to accomplish this. I think I saw one man carry what looked like enough halves to equal three pigs. Amazing.
Finally, when it was all done I talked with our pastor about this. I was concerned at how such debt could affect the church and its ability to give. He said it was a real problem. Most people had such great debts that they could not risk giving a pig or selling a pig so that they could tithe. They understood the idea of giving the first born of an animal to the church as a thank offering but were so bound by the burden of their debt that very few did so.
I asked him about how he was doing. He then explained that slowly he and other members of the church were paying off their debts and doing so in such a way as to not create a need for the person to repay the debt. This was a significant shift in cultural practice. Some had actually accomplished this during the pigkill we had observed. But he said that there was some concern among the older members of the church about how this could affect relations among the different villages and clans. He was quite honest that it was quite a challenge to make the change and not create a new fear and burden.
We learned shortly after we arrived about the issue of gifts and debt and have been very careful about what we receive, why it is being given, and how to respond. Gifts here create more than good relations; they also carry the potential for creating debts that must be repaid. For us that is a real concern since we will not be living here after the first of the year.
We have actually planned a farewell mumu and will kill our pig then. If we have incurred a debt, we hope that that will be sufficient to care for it. We have talked to our pastor and our friends and they have assured us that all is well and that we have acted appropriately in the area of giving and receiving gifts. That is a big relief after we have observed this week and the serious manner in which debt is treated.
Well that is a look at a unique aspect of the culture of the people we are living among here in Takuru
Blessings
perry J
Debt is an important part of relationships in many cultures. What will you do to learn how debt is incurred and repaid? Will you be willing to be in debt to others?