My First Mumu

Mumu:  1)  something cooked by steaming with heated stones in a native pressure cooking pit, a 

                    method of cooking prevelant in the Highlands

               2)  the earth oven itself

I got to attend my first mumu this morning.  It was great fun!  Yesterday the hole was dug.  This morning about 7:00 am the ladies prepared the food - sweet potatoe, cabbage, carrots, taro, chicken, lamb, beef (they traditionally use a pig but this was a small mumu) pumpkin (squash), corn, and green beans.  Then a fire was built to heat the stones.  Once the wood burned up, the stones fell into the whole and were covered with banana leaves.  The food was then piled on top and covered with more banana leaves, a tarp, and dirt.  The food steamed about 2 hours and at noon we had a delicious meal.