The people of Natokalau Village in Cicia, Lau are still following a tradition of preparing the last church feast (magiti) for their lay preachers.
Village spokesperson and former teacher Iliesa Koto, said this tradition had been practised by their forefathers.
He said for this year they had the church’s lay preachers from Mabula Village assigned by the Cicia Methodist Circuit to deliver the New Year sermon.
The New Year service, he said, started at 10pm and concluded at 12am.
For the magiti Mr Koto, said it was prepared by each clan in the village. This included cooked and raw food items.
“Each household made its contribution to the mataqali and then to the chiefs and vanua,” he said.
“The vanua in turn presented it to our preachers to thank them for their work. A separate magiti was prepared for the chief.”
He said other villages too prepared their last feast.
The villages in Cicia are Tarukua, Natokalau, Lomaji, Mabula and Naceva.
Edited by Percy Kean
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