Banana leaf answer - by Nancy

Thanks to everyone who guessed what Mama Agnes was doing in the photo in the last post. It was fun to read your comments! I will admit at the time I didn’t know what she was doing. So, if you got it correct or were on the right track – good job!

Here’s the answer…


She was using the heat from the fire to soften the banana leaf so she could wrap food for us to take along on our trip. A banana leaf - treated this way - is the Papua New Guinea village version of plastic wrap!

The night before, Sara had told Mama we planned to get up and head right out to the road the next morning to wait for a PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) for our trip back to Madang. Sara said we wouldn’t take time for breakfast. Like any concerned Mama, Agnes didn’t want us to go hungry!

We were thankful she did this for us, because the first PMV came… and was too full to pick us up. We waited… and waited… and waited. More PMVs went by. No room!

Grandma Maggie got out the bubbles I had brought to help keep the kids happy while everyone waited.

Mama Agnes sat along the side of the road and worked on making a bilum.

Papa Karis sat patiently while ten-year old Ireme carried baby Maureen in a bilum and watched the other kids play.

Every PMV that came by was too full to stop for us.


Most of the family had come out to the road with us to say good-bye, but as time went on, the crowd got smaller and smaller. Here's Sara with most of the family when we first started waiting.


Finally, they said every PMV that was going to go by had!

But someone called someone on their cell phone. They said there were more people from the clinic nearby who also wanted to go to Madang and they had arranged for one to come back and pick us all up. They would be there at 11:30. We had been waiting since 7:00!

So, we got out Mama’s banana-leaf-wrapped Sago Cake. It tasted really good! (This one was flavored with onions). We had some and shared it with the family who were still waiting. And, the promised PMV arrived at 11:30 – pretty amazing in PNG. (It happened when we were told it would). We said more quick good-byes to the family, hopped in the truck, and off we went.