Funderals 'r' us at the moment here in paradise

Looks like extended family deaths season here in paradise with deaths and funeral ceremonies running into each other over the past couple of weeks.

Funerals are DIY here and run over days with a range of activities, some of which you might not recognize but other parts of which are fairly conventional by western standards. The death itself mobilizes extended family members over a large area to support the preparations for the burial, the "haus crai" (mourning, wake), the (Christian) funeral service, the burial, the post burial wake, and the "brukim tambu" (distribution of traditional shell money to different parts of the family in recompense for their particular contributions to it all, e.g. washing and dressing the body, making/buying the coffin, digging and filling the grave, etc.).

A senior family member, Isikel ToLulu, a man of great ability, integrity, and dedication to the community, died of a heart attack last Sunday. His funeral was on Tuesday.

I took my GX7, with the 12-32mm and Oly 45mm lenses. That was all I needed.

The little United Church church at Bitatita was packed by the time we got there and hundreds were sitting around the church building and its treed perimeter in the shade, it being hot and sunny, as it should be here.

We are the shade people. If there is shade we will sit, stand, or lie in it. Hear what is going on in the church? Well, that is pretty familiar, an individual here will attend a lot more funerals than an individual will in, say, Australia, so the words of the day are perhaps a little less important than they might be elsewhere.

No hearses here. The ubiquitous Toyota 4WD was needed to navigate the dirt track up to the mountain top cemetery.

We walked up. It was quite a climb (and worse coming down -- oh, these old knees!)

A last prayer at the grave side.

Lowering the coffin into he grave. The grave is dug big enough for three or four men to go into it to receive and place the coffin. No ropes here.

The family grieves as other family members fill the grave.

Filling the grave is accompanied by enthusiastic, powerful, wonderfully self-coordinated, multi-part hymn singing -- on one side of the grave the United Church singers (above) while on the other side, the Catholic singers (below).

While that is happening, most of those present relax and catch up with friends and relatives. As elsewhere, funerals are a great force in bringing family members together.

Everyone has flowers ready to place on the grave, a mix of local and exotic blooms (most people have a flower garden near their house for these occasions) and store bought "Made in China" fakes -- valued for the fact that they will keep up the show for weeks.

Mourners show their respect both singly and collectively by placing flowers on the grave. Here, a group of work colleagues of the eldest son make their offering (some might also be extended family).

Funeral over, we slipped and slid down the track to the foot of the mountain and so to home. Not a bad outlook for the approach to a cemetery!