Cook Island Beer Drinking Schools
The Tunumu or bush beer drinking school on Atiu Island
A trip to the Cook Islands should include a visit to the island of Atiu for the coral, the seclusing and to take part in a traditional beer drinking school or Tunumu.
A holiday to the Cook Islands can include a visit to the island of Atui iwhere there are eight traditional bush beer-drinking schools or tumunu with ceremonies regularly held for locals as well as tourists. It was the efforts of early missionaries to enforce prohibition and stamp out the practice of kava drinking that drove islanders to retreat into the bush to secretly produce their strong drink, a “beer” brewed from oranges. The only island on which the tradition survived is Atiu.
Present day beer schools tend to use imported hops, malt, sugar and yeast instead of oranges, but the traditional brewing process has not changed. The result is a flat, warm, beer, which is quite strong approximately 10% alcohol or more. The drink is consumed in an elaborate and entertaining ceremony, which involves music, dancing, and prayer. Many of the ceremonial aspects of the tunumu come from the kava drinking traditions. Visitors frequently participate in the tumunu and although it was traditionally a “men only” affair female tourists are allowed to attend.
The traditional “tunumu” was a hollowed out palm stump, it is more likely to be a plastic container today. Visitors can expect to be escorted into the jungle, sometimes at dusk and gather around in a circle, which includes the barrel of freshly brewed bush beer. There is a “master of ceremonies or barman” who usually stands in the centre of the circle, a “brew master” and often several musicians. Coconut ladles of the beer are passed around the group accompanied by ukulele music, singing and sometimes spontaneous dancing and much ceremony and good humour. Often the drinking is interrupted for a prayer. It is expected that each guest drain the first ladle of beer passed to them from the container, after that you have the right to refuse further drinks. The cost of the bush beer drinking school is by donation. Most visitors think it is a very cheap activity. It is expected that everyone who participates leaves money when they have had enough beer (not less than $3.00 often more). This donation goes towards the making of the next brew. The tunumu or bush beer drinking schools are still relatively non-commercial and add a great, relaxed event of traditional entertainment to any Cook Island holiday.
Atiu Island is 187 kilometres (116 miles) northeast of Rarotonga and can be accessed by a short flight between the islands. Unusually the villages of Atiu are clustered in the centre of the island on a flat topped plateau instead of surrounding the shoreline. This means the coral sand beaches and reefs are secluded and relatively untouched. Swimming is best at high tide and careful reef walking is a fascinating and rewarding activity (bring tennis or water shoes for this activity.)
