I would only mention a few of our cultural traditions because it would take volumes to describe our culture in entirety. The Tikopian society had survived the test of time for several centuries through harsh environmental and socieconomic conditions but our culture had little changed over time. The Tikopian people continue to maintain their cultural norms, unifying them despite their widely scattered abodes away from their island.
The exchanges that occur, their timing and details depend on the nature of the occasion. Most of the time it involves use of koroa, which consist of traditional finely woven yet tough pandanas mats, maro or fakamaru'(male tapa), mami(female tapa), kafa(woven coconut husk), carved wooden elements such as fe’e(paddles) and kumete(bowls), raw and cooked food. Koroa, like money, are the Tikopian medium of exchange in all traditional ceremonies.
Circumcision
One of the first traditional ceremonies all Tikopian children undergo is the pungaumu(circumcision). A lot of planning and preparation is required prior to the event. The parents would accumulate enough koroa for use during the ceremony. Close relatives are informed including the maternal uncles so they would also prepare. Families would ensure the harvest would be ready during that time. Nowadays, the holiday season is chosen as the kids are on school breaks. This often occurs during mid year or Christmas holidays.
Both male and female children undergo this ceremony which marks their transition into adulthood. The average age for circumcision is 10 with a range from 8 to 18 years. The timing is up to the family and maternal uncles of the children. Only the males get circumcised but the girls are also included in the ceremony. The circumcision itself is performed by the maternal uncles. The boys are dressed in marotafi(male tapa dyed with tumeric) and wear a lavalava(loin cloth) over it. The lavalava often gets replaced by their maternal aunties during the day in exchange for new ones up to the time the circumcision is carried out. During the procedure no girls are allowed to watch. Some of the maternal uncles and aunties gather around and sing known laments throughout the procedure. One of the uncles sits behind the boy and closes the boy’s eyes so he does not see the procedure. In the past sharp stones and shells were used as blades. Scalpel blades and modern antiseptic and dressing is used nowadays. The tufunga(uncle performing the procedure) yells “katoa” to signal that the procedure is complete. The aunties then continue to lament over the blood and foreskin which they wrap up while the boy is carried away into the house by the uncle sitting behind him. The boys do not bath till the third day when they would bath in the sea. The dressing would often come off by the end of the week.
Later in the evening on the day after the ritual, the kids are made to sleep on several layers of fine mats with more layers of tapa over them. Families and relatives would be calling out names as they hand over mats and mami to be placed under and over the kids respectively. Early the next morning the uncles come and take their bedding to their homes where they would begin weeks of moving from house to house in the village, spending up to three nights at each home. They get treated like princes and princesses. They are not allowed to do any work during that period and only eat and sleep. That period also allows them to heal and learn from each home about the Tikopian way. After that they become mature in their way of thinking and doing things the Tikopian way.