People's Daily - People's Daily Overseas Edition
Solomon children at play. Sogou pictures
island country
Solomon Islands is an island nation in the southwest Pacific Ocean, with more than 900 large and small islands scattered around an area of 28,000 square kilometers. The natural landscape of the archipelago is magnificent and beautiful, the mountains are undulating, the forests, grasses and trees are flourishing, and although there are volcanoes, it is still a "lucky island".
The Solomon Islands has a population of more than 500,000, the official language is English, and there are 87 dialects in the country. The inhabitants are mostly of the Melanesian race and generally live in the coastal plains. Residents rely on the sea to eat the sea, engage in fishing, but also grow grain and vegetables, and almost every family has its own vegetable garden. Raising pigs is their main livelihood, and the number of pigs determines the rich and the poor. The land is not owned by the government, is owned by indigenous peoples and is passed down from generation to generation. Landlords were generally the middle-ranking people of the clan, rich and respected.
The capital, Honiara, has no high-rise buildings, and residents live in two-storey wooden houses. There are not many cars in the city, and the traffic is often dusty.
inhabitant
Solomon Islanders had dark skin, curly hair, a wide face and a broad nose, and a strong body. They have a deep sense of kinship, and all brothers of their parents' generation, such as uncles, uncles, uncles, uncles, uncles, etc., will be respected like fathers. Boys started taking sabers from the age of 3.
Solomon people have a kind and simple personality, are warm and friendly to tourists, and the greeting etiquette is to shake hands, and call foreigners Mr. , Lady , Lady , Lady , Miss. The joy of their lives was dancing, with male dancers smearing white paint on their faces and skirts made out of leaves. When dancing in battle, they will hold spears and carry strange flowers and plants on their bodies.
diet
Solomon's grain and vegetables were basically self-sufficient. Daily foods include sweet potatoes, pork, chicken, seafood, mangoes, oranges, pineapples, bananas, plantains, papayas, coconuts, etc. Pork is generally made by grilling it on a fire, or wrapped in leaves and stewed on a red-hot stone, which can be cooked in an hour and eaten by hand.
Solomon's tuna, lobster and many other seafood are of good quality. King crab weighs several kilograms and is generally made by roasting and boiling with ingredients, or it can also be used to make soup. Oysters are delicious and can be eaten raw with lemon juice. Locals are not very particular about eating, often grasping food directly with their hands, and eating irregularly. Drinks are generally raw water and coconut water.
trappings
Due to the hot weather, country men usually wear shorts, sometimes with a piece of cloth or a bunch of leaves around their waists, and sometimes hanging bark on their chests. Women usually wear skirts and are keen to hang them on their necks, chests or arms with shells or petals strung together. Some people like to use grass to form a pattern and wear it on their heads as an ornament.
Both men and women are accustomed to wearing earrings and necklaces, and necklaces made of glass balls are often interspersed with shells and animal teeth. Some men love tattoos, and the more and more elaborate the pattern, the more beautiful it is.
Marriage
Solomon's traditional marriage custom was for a father to choose a daughter-in-law for his son. After the consent of both the man and the woman, the boy's father will send the girl's parents a shell coin or a pig as an engagement gift. The fathers then negotiate a dowry, usually shell currency, red feather currency, or the teeth of whales, pigs, or dolphins. The dowry is usually given to the mother of a girl by the boy's mother. In addition, the man should also send some cloth as a dowry. Before the wedding, the girl is sent by her father and other family members to the future in-laws' house and spends 6 months there. She could not sleep with her future husband. After 6 months of mutual understanding, the girl returned to her home and waited for the groom to come to marry and have a wedding.
In other places, the bride is put in a cage before marriage and cannot be released until the wedding ceremony. Because pig raising is a woman's job, some wealthy men marry more wives and concubines and make a fortune by raising pigs.
Sacrifice sharks
The Solomons worshipped sharks and worshipped them as gods, so shark sacrifices were popular. At that time, people will slaughter live pigs and throw large pieces of pork into the sea, attracting countless sharks to grab food. The seaside viewers are crowded, and the scene is spectacular and lively.
(The author is former Counsellor of the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)