Farewell and thanks
18.05.2010
Fr Frank Hoare expresses his thanks to Archbishop Petero Mataca, the first indigenous Fijian Archbishop of Suva, who now awaits his successor.
Petero Mataca, the first ever indigenous Fijian Archbishop of Suva, on reaching the age of 75 in April 2008, submitted his resignation to the Pope. After 34 years of service he now waits for his successor.
In June 2009, Archbishop Mataca came to confer the sacrament of Confirmation in Holy Family Parish, Labasa. The parish prepared a traditional Fijian ceremonial welcome and wanted to thank him for his pastoral leadership over the years.
Traditionally dressed parishioners from Dogoru village outside Labasa, some young Fijian students, parish council officers and women of the parish performed the main ceremonies. The whale’s tooth (the most important ceremonial wealth in Fiji) figured prominently in the rituals.
Traditional Rituals
On arrival at the Parish School on Saturday afternoon, a whale’s tooth was presented to the Archbishop inviting him to leave his vehicle and be seated for his reception. Then another whale’s tooth was offered in welcome. This was followed by the offering of a large yaqona bush. Yaqona is a species of pepper plant, found only in the South Pacific, from which is made a relaxing drink with many cultural uses.
Water from a bamboo was then poured on some yaqona powder in a wooden bowl, called a tanoa. The soluble essence was extracted by vigorous kneading and the dregs of the powder were strained off with a clump of natural fibres. These were squeezed occasionally during the mixing to estimate the correct concentration of the yaqona drink.
The warriors seated around and behind the tanoa sang an accompanying chant. Then the yaqona was squeezed into a half coconut shell and the cup bearer brought it to the Archbishop to drink.
A feast of cooked root crops and a whole roast pig was offered to the Archbishop. Some ladies then brought mats to be offered to him also.
At this point the Finance Chairman offered another whale’s tooth expressing the gratitude of Labasa parish for the Archbishop’s wise leadership of the Church in Fiji. He wished the Archbishop a happy retirement.
A young lady then garlanded the Archbishop; others offered tea and cakes, after which the assembled parishioners all approached to shake hands. Then Archbishop Mataca, Columban Fathers J.J. Ryan and Frank Hoare and some of the parishioners continued to drink yaqona and chat until the evening meal was announced.
Confirmation
On Sunday morning the sacrament of Confirmation was celebrated in a large temporary shed, constructed in the grounds of the Secondary School, because the church wasunable to hold the crowd. Archbishop Mataca confirmed about 100 young people during mass.
Some of the young people accompanied the lectionary to the ambo with singing and dancing.
After the readings and homily they approached the altar one by one accompanied by a sponsor. The Archbishop had a few words with each person and then laid his hands on them and anointed each of them with chrism. Afterwards many posed with family and friends for photos before returning home for a celebratory meal.
Archbishop Mataca flew back to thecapital that afternoon assured of the gratitude and best wishes of the parishioners of Labasa.
Rituals of respect, that predated the arrival of Christianity by hundreds of years, had been integrated with the symbols of the Church’s sacraments. The lives of pastor and faithful were mutually enriched as they moved to another stage of life, a further gift of God.
Columban Fr Frank Hoare was ordained in 1973 and has been a missionary in Fiji, Australia and the United States.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)