Yawa Mai Vale: Halloween

What do you think it’s like never to have experienced Halloween? Is it like never having seen the ocean or snow? No, I don’t think so, because most people know those exist even if they haven’t seen them. It’s probably more like me never having heard of Diwali (see previous post). And I think that’s even better because when you do find out about it you are filled with wonder at all of the other awesome things that probably exist that you know nothing about. It makes you want to explore! Or – it would make me want to explore, anyway.

The children in my Saturday Kid’s Club had never heard of Halloween. I spent a week trying to build hype about costumes and lollies. Still, I wasn’t sure how it would go over, as they didn’t have much time to get costumes together. I went out and bought candy and pumpkins in Savusavu (if any of you have ever carried two big pumpkins plus candy and other stuff for half a mile on a dirt road, I applaud you. It’s hard work!). I gathered knives and basins, I passed out candy to ladies in four houses and I hoped I was ready.

Pumpkins Pre-Carving

At 8 in the morning Saki came by and asked, “It’s ok I wear girls sulu (clothes)?” “Yeah, of course, that’s great!” I said. “I’m going to be a pufta!” he added, excitedly. Wow – a little more wild than dressing as a girl, he was going to be a transvestite. I’ll have to tell you all about puftas sometime.

Anyway, I emerged onto my steps at 9:55AM and children were milling about in all kinds of costumes waiting impatiently for Halloween to start. I started snapping photos of my favorite costumes and, as always happens when a camera is around, they mobbed me. Here are a few good costumes.

Then it was pumpkin carving time. I showed how to cut the tops and scrape out the guts. They took it from there – basing the faces on drawings each group had (one by me and two copies by some industrious girls). There were rookie mistakes, like getting the mouths too low on the pumpkin, but it didn’t matter, later that day I passed out the pumpkins to some families and they were turned into soups and curries.

From carving we headed off to trick-or-treat. I gave them two rules, knock and say, “trick-or-treat.” I should have given them more. It’s one thing to dole out candy to 5 or 6 kids at a time over the course of an evening. It’s something entirely different to organize 40 screaming kids in order to give out candy without being bowled over!