Community

The island life shows us how closely knit the community is, especially in the rituals and ceremonies associated with the lifecycle of the islanders. These start with birth, continue through childhood, marriage and finally, death.

If there is one thing in common, in all these ceremonies, it is the provision for expensive and lavish feasts. In most cases, the burden of arranging the feast is done by the community. It usually shares the cost of arranging the feast in a unique system called “bir”, which is a system of cooperative borrowing. A system in which borrowings made now, have to be repaid later.

Go back