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Thali

Fire, pit and earth oven

Lovo and umu

The earth ovens of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga: food wrapped in leaves and baked on hot stones, for Sunday lunch and for every feast.

Across the Pacific, the feast is cooked on hot stones. In Fiji the oven is a pit called a lovo. In Samoa and Tonga it is the umu, often built above ground. Pork, chicken, fish, taro and parcels of coconut cream in taro leaves go in together and come out a few hours later, smoky and soft.

Piedras calientes, listas para preparar un curanto , comida típica de Chiloé (Chile) cocinada en un hoyo en la tierra.
Photo: Lin linao, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What it is

The method is the same in outline everywhere. Stones are heated in a wood fire until very hot. Food is wrapped in banana leaves, woven coconut fronds or foil and stacked on the stones, with the slowest items at the bottom. More leaves and wet sacks go on top to hold in the heat. In a Fijian lovo, earth is piled over the lot. A Samoan umu is usually covered only with layers of leaves. Root crops are essential: taro, cassava, yam and breadfruit.

The dishes

The best loved item is the parcel of young taro leaves filled with coconut cream, sometimes with onion, corned beef or fish. It is palusami in Samoa and Fiji and lu in Tonga. A whole pig is the centre of a large feast. Fish is wrapped whole. The oven food is served with raw fish cured in citrus and coconut cream, which is kokoda in Fiji and oka or ʻota ʻika in Samoa and Tonga, and with fresh fruit.

When it happens

In Samoa and Tonga the umu is lit early on Sunday morning, usually by the young men of the family, so that the food is ready after church. The Sunday lunch that follows is the main family meal of the week. In Fiji a lovo is made for weddings, funerals, festivals and village celebrations. A feast in Fiji is called a magiti. Many resorts hold a weekly lovo night, which is the simplest way for a visitor to try it.

How to do it

  1. At a village, wait to be invited and dress modestly.
  2. Watch the oven being opened if you can. It is done quickly and with skill.
  3. Open a taro leaf parcel and eat it with a piece of taro or cassava.
  4. Use your fingers. Cutlery is often not offered.
  5. Thank the family. A small gift for the household is appreciated.

Good manners

  • Guests and elders eat first. Hosts may wait until you finish.
  • In a Fijian village, remove hats and sunglasses and cover shoulders and knees.
  • Sit cross-legged on the mat. Do not stretch your legs toward the food.

What is eaten

BreadfruitLarge tropical fruit cooked as a starchy staple in many island cuisinesPoiSamoan chilled dessert of mashed fruit and coconut milk

Also part of it, and being written: Lūʻau, Taro, 'Ota 'ika, Cassava.

Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text by the Thali desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs vary from place to place. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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