WOW Island traditions are dying fast……

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In the past few years I have noticed some local island traditions that are dying quickly. I’m not sure if it’s the time they end or the changes that take place around us each day. When social media and the internet because the biggest hit on the island I saw many changes taking place. I miss certain local traditions that you don’t see anymore. Before when families went fishing for the day and had a good catch they would all jump in the back of an old pick-up with a canopy on it. They would put their big cooler in the back of the pick-up. They would drive around all the small roads where people lived. Blowing their horn and the mommy in the back calling out the name of the fish they had to sell. People came running out of their homes to see the fish and buy from them. They would ring a bell or blow into a shell and yell the fishes name out. This was a wonderful tradition that you don’t see much of today. I feel it is because now nobody can ride in the back of an old pick-up and do this. Another tradition I loved was on New Years Day. All the members of a family would get together in an old truck and make an island tour. Laughing and singing all the way around the islands. You would see lines of trucks following each other. Each truck was decorated with palm leaves and flowers. These old trucks were our main means of transportation around the islands. Then the government here decided to do away with our old wooden trucks and replace them with buses. Now families no longer do this. Another tradition was for wedding. The couple being married was escorted to the city hall where they were married. We had tons of trucks all decorated following the couple to the city hall. After the ceremony we would go back to one of the family members home and open the under ground oven. We would feast on traditional Tahitian food, roast pigs, and baby cows. There was always a lot of fresh fish to eat and many other delicious foods here on the islands. We would dance and sing all night long. Today when people get married this tradition is gone. Now all you see is expensive 4 x 4 decorated for the married couple. Do you ever miss some of your old traditions and wonder why they have stopped. I noticed here it has been around 5 years they are slowly fading away. Do you have any traditions that are slowly fading away? Image source – personal image