To'ona'i is the main Sunday meal held after morning church. Preparation begins the day before with a trip to the market, slaughtering of animals, and the collecting of taro. The boys and young men of the family usually do the cooking on the traditional Samoan oven or umu.
The meal is served first to the titled men, their wives, and guests who sit on the floor in assigned places (not unlike how we assign seats). Young girls fan away the flies as you eat with your hands. When you are finished, the uneaten food is taken to the back to be consumed by others and a bowl of water and towel are brought to wash your hands. Samoans don’t talk while eating and may exchange a light chatter after the meal. Then it is time to rest for the rest of the day, allowing your gluttonous behavior to digest.
This is what my children ate:
Salad- none
Appetizer- none
Main Meal- taro and roasted green bananas, palusami (coconut cream wrapped in taro leaves), mutton flap soup with Chinese cabbage (bok choy), roasted pig, and octopus.
Desert- none
Beverage- Cocoa Samoa
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