You would think that an island without a traffic light would not have traffic problems. But if you believed this, you would be wrong. This past week I was able to experience a Pohnpeian traffic jam when we drove by a funeral. Here, funerals are a big deal. They are not a few hour event with families and friends visiting. Often, funerals last a week or more, with the entire community attending. This past week there was a funeral down the road from us. A trip that usually takes 10 minutes or so took over 45 minutes, all from one 100-yard stretch of road. Another thing about Pohnpei is that there are crazy drivers everywhere and many don’t know how to park. In this case, what resulted was an already narrow road having cars parked on both sides, leaving an extremely narrow one-lane road with two lanes of traffic.
While this scene in an American city would produce a bunch of road raged maniacs honking horns and throwing certain hand gestures, everyone was pretty much calm. Sitting in the back of the MAHI pickup truck, I had a good vantage point to observe the culture. I learned previously that bringing a pig to a funeral is a major sign of respect. Thus, I wasn't too surprised to see cut up pigs on the side of the road. Though the men covered in blood holding machetes was a bit disconcerting. Women and children were walking past the cars carrying various pig parts. Seeing a little girl carrying a box with a couple of pig hooves might take some getting used to. The entire spectrum of ages was present, from children running around naked (something seen every day), to the elderly. Elections are coming up, so there likely has been politicians attending all the funerals, especially of the affluent families.
Although it might seem like a nice cultural tradition for funerals to last longer, gathering the entire community to remember someone and pay respects, there are downfalls. The largest one of these is the financial burden put upon the family hosting the funeral. For a family barely scraping for basic necessities, the costs of feeding their entire community for a week can put them in debt for years. I suppose another downfall could be the traffic!
Overall, transportation on Pohnpei deserves a post of its own. Let’s just say for now I’m glad I haven’t gotten stuck in a pothole…yet. I'll be writing soon about the progress in the education project. We have been very busy and there's a lot to report!
While this scene in an American city would produce a bunch of road raged maniacs honking horns and throwing certain hand gestures, everyone was pretty much calm. Sitting in the back of the MAHI pickup truck, I had a good vantage point to observe the culture. I learned previously that bringing a pig to a funeral is a major sign of respect. Thus, I wasn't too surprised to see cut up pigs on the side of the road. Though the men covered in blood holding machetes was a bit disconcerting. Women and children were walking past the cars carrying various pig parts. Seeing a little girl carrying a box with a couple of pig hooves might take some getting used to. The entire spectrum of ages was present, from children running around naked (something seen every day), to the elderly. Elections are coming up, so there likely has been politicians attending all the funerals, especially of the affluent families.
Although it might seem like a nice cultural tradition for funerals to last longer, gathering the entire community to remember someone and pay respects, there are downfalls. The largest one of these is the financial burden put upon the family hosting the funeral. For a family barely scraping for basic necessities, the costs of feeding their entire community for a week can put them in debt for years. I suppose another downfall could be the traffic!
Overall, transportation on Pohnpei deserves a post of its own. Let’s just say for now I’m glad I haven’t gotten stuck in a pothole…yet. I'll be writing soon about the progress in the education project. We have been very busy and there's a lot to report!
