Walton Burns - The Feast That Stopped a War

The Feast that Stopped a War

A folktale from Vanuatu

adapted by Walton Burns

A2 / Elementary

Before You Read

V anuatu is an island country in the South Pacific, near New Zealand. There are 14 major islands where people live and 83 islands total. The islands were formed by volcanoes. There are still volcanoes there today. It is a very beautiful country with many natural resources. Plants grow very easily there and there is a lot of sea life. Vanuatu is an independent country but it used to be a colony of England and France at the same time!

This story is about a chief named Roy Mata. He was a real person. He lived in the 13th century. He really brought peace to the island of Efate. This is the story of how he did that. Even now, people respect Roy Mata in Vanuatu. No one can give that name to their children. His grave is on a nearby island. It was discovered in 1967 and it an international historic site!

Would you like to live on a tropical island? What would your life be like? If you were chief of your country, what would you do?

The Feast That Stopped a War

I 'm going to tell you the story of a great feast, a large meal!

It happened 1000 years ago on the island of Efate in the country of Vanuatu.

This great feast brought peace to the island.

You see before there was a great war in Efate. For 150 years people fought and fought. They fought over food. They fought over land. They fought over everything!

There was a great king Roy Mata. He wanted to make peace. So he invited everybody on the island to his village.

He said everyone would eat together. So everyone had to bring their favorite food. People came from all over the island . Some brought octopus or crab. Some brought yams or manioc or taro. Others brought coconuts or mangoes or papayas .

crab

coconut

octopus

papaya

mango

taro

Manioc

yams

I N ONE FAMILY, THE father could bring a mango, the mother could bring a yam. Their son could bring a fish. Everybody brought a different food that they liked best. Now the people arrived at Roy Matas land.

Roy Mata told everyone to sit together with the people who brought the same food. All the people who brought crab sat at one table.

All the people who brought coconuts sat at another table. The papaya people sat together at yet another table.

Then Roy Mata said, "I am making a new law! Look at the people you are sitting with. They are your tribe now. You cannot steal from each other. You cannot kill each other.

It also means you must help each other. If a coconut person is hungry, the other coconut people must feed them. If chicken person is hurt, the rest of the chicken tribe must heal him.

If anyone attacks some from your tribe, your whole tribe must defend him. Anyone who hurts a member of the chicken tribe attacks the whole chicken tribe. Who will dare raise a hand against 1000 people?"

After Roy Mata had spoken, there was silence. Then, everyone clapped. Roy Mata brought people together. He made people part of a tribe. He stopped the war.

Then Roy Mata and his family cooked all the food. Everyone ate the food. They talked and laughed. They sang and danced. The feast lasted for 7 days. And the peace of great king Roy Mata has lasted 700 years.

Vocabulary