The origins of Rengan cuisine are now lost in the mists of antiquity. Far-faring voyagers of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, their ancestors set sail a thousand years ago from among the people of New Guinea. The causes and meanings of that voyage have not even survived in myth, but it is known today that primitive peoples were indeed capable of sea journeys covering thousands of miles. Living primarily on fish and rainwater, their stock of dry fruit and yams must have been well husbanded, for we find that upon arriving in Renga they immediately seeded the forests with several non-native species, principally of yams, that are also found on New Guinea. Fish, too, and shellfish, have remained an important part of the Renganese diet ever since, in fact, their main sourse of protein. The waters around Renga contain a great variety of fish, and large fishing fleets were an important part of island life long before the arrival of Europeans.

What food resources did they find in their new land, so different from the tropical rain forest of New Guinea? Renga is a temperate land, and the only places really suitable for gardens like those the Renganese were accustomed to plant in their far-away homeland were the broad, wet-forested river valleys, like that of the Kambing River. Recent archeological evidence indeed indicates that these were the first settled areas on the islands, convenient for both agriculture and fishing. A composite picture of life at that time is only now being put together, but the main outlines show villages of wooden houses built on pilings, with thatched roofs and carved and painted gable ends. The villages were built near the shore of ocean or river, where the fleets of ocean going canoes could be drawn up on the beach. In quiet bays and estuaries, some villages were even constructed in the water itself. Surrounding the villages were usually gardens in which individual plots were planted, tended and harvest communally by the villagers.

The Renganese must also, form very early times, have made use of the great variety of wild fruit, seeds, and nuts native to the islands. Some, such as the Rengan Orange and several varieties of small squash, appear to have been domesticated early and continue to be a part of the Rengan cuisine. Others, in particular a variety of wild grass seed, seem to have been extensively used in ground form to make a kind of bread; but with the advent of African millet and European wheat, these aboriginal grains have dropped completely out of the diet and returned to a wild state.

Cooking during the first centuries of settlement must have been fairly simple: certainly the practice of digging earth ovens, so common in the south and west Pacific, were common. In these, quantities of fish, shellfish and vegetables could have been steamed, enough to feed an entire village at one time. Wooden mortars, too, were probably used to reduce cooked yams and other roots to a paste. The fruit which grows so luxuriantly on Renga was a major part of every meal: berries, melons and the native citrus fruits. These last, dressed with honey, forms the base for an extremely popular Rengan dessert, variations of which are common throughout the islands. We have included a recipe from the southern part of the main island of Renga.

No description of foods native to Renga can fail to mention the famed Rengan wild mushroom, still much sought for in the high upland valleys as a prized delicacy. Although the Western cultivated mushroom is but a shadow of the Rengan, which-alas-can not be shipped, I have included a famous recipe based on this eminently edible wild food.

Now we come to a period of Rengan history equally undocumented and perhaps even more open to conjecture than any time before or since. This is the brief period when influences-and food items-from eastern Africa made their appearance on Renga, though how this happened is as yet a matter for hypothesis. Even the mountain goat, now the national animal, clearly could not have been native to the islands, for was it known in Melanesia at the time the Renganese are estimated to have departed. Did other voyagers arrive from East Africa or Madagascar? Or were Arab merchants sailing to India blown off course? We cannot be sure. The only evidence for these hypothetical contacts is the presence on the island, attested to by the first Europeans to arrive, of millet, grown by the Renganese in good sized upland fields, and goats, both domesticated and wild. Of the millet, Renganese make a flat hearth baked bread: "delicious!" in the word of a nineteenth century sailor, fresh from a diet of hardtack. This millet bread is still popular and is served at special occasions with toppings of seeds and spices. It is excellent and has become more and more popular of late as a result of a recent trend towards the rediscovery and reaffirmation of Renga's pre-European culture. The herds of goats were kept primarily for milk and wool, and only occasionally, on feast days, slaughtered for meat.

The first sporadic European contacts came in the 16th century, when Renga was first considered as a verdant weigh-station directly on the main tradewind routes from South Africa to the South Seas. Most traffic at this time, however, was concentrated to the north, along the shipping routes to India and China. Still, it was at this time that European foodstuffs and methods of cooking first became known to the Renganese, and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that even at this early stage such food crops as wheat, apples, lemons and limes, as well as small livestock such as chickens and pigs, were introduced to Renga. Certainly, it would have been logical for such ships as stopped to revictual to offer seeds and stock to the Renganese, if only in order to improve the quality of provisions they were likely to acquire the next time.

At this time, frying in oil became a common cooking technique, possibly under Portuguese influence, and due in large part t the increasing availability of European made cook-pots and pans. Also at this time, spices from India and Indonesia first made their appearance, and some from even farther abroad, such as the red chili pepper, from central America. Is it possible that the dish known now as pago-pago was first developed at this time on Renga. This consists of small pieces of fish and shellfish dipped in a thin egg batter and deep fried. The crunchy golden morsels are always served with a spicy sauce, into which pieces are dipped before being eaten. There are several regional approaches to this sauce. Pago-pago parties are traditional in June, which is the middle of the cool rainy season in Renga. Friends and relatives gather in the afternoon, and each selects and cooks in the bubbling pot of oil their favorite from the trays of ingredients set out by the host.

The influences on Rengan cuisine of which we have been speaking were, in general, inconsistent and easily accepted or rejected by the Renganese. It was not until the arrival of the British government in force that the basic patterns of aboriginal Rengan culture were disrupted. Enough has been written elsewhere concerning the enslavement of the Renganese and the destruction of much of their culture, even their language; I will confine myself to some of the more positive (if such a word can be used) aspects of this period of contact, which, destructive as it was, still forms the basis for Rengan cuisine as we know it today.

This was a period of great mansions, of giant plantations employing thousands of Renganese slaves. European crops and methods of agriculture were imported wholesale. Since the basis of the economy was the supply and refitting of European ships, the growing of wheat and bread baking were two of the earliest changes in the basic cuisine. Sheep were also imported to grace Renga's grassy uplands, and it is from this period that Renga's textile industry dates. Lamb roasted over charcoal became a feast day dish still occasionally served, although the Renganese never really took to mutton.

European fruits, particularly apples and oranges, were planted in large orchards at this time, many of which still produce fruit. And vineyards were planted to supply grapes for the Governors table and to be made into light sweet Rengan wines. The British also imported dairy cattle, and taught the Renganese how to make cheese. The Renganese applied this new technique to the milk produced by their native herds of goats, and were soon producing artisan cheeses which have now acquired their well-deserved reputation among international gourmets.

Although British cooking styles were mandatory for the tables of the landowners, little influence in this line filtered down to the communal plantation kitchens. This was, in the main, because such foods as beef, mutton, sugar and cow's milk were scarce and not always digestible by the native population. Also cooking styles are some of the most persistent cultural traits and are rarely seen as subversive and undesirable, even under the most repressive regimes. Basically, it was cheaper and easier for the British to allow the Renganese to continue to feed themselves in their own fashion.

This is not to say that the Renganese did not make use of whatever new food crops became available; nor were they slow to try out new techniques. An example of this is their immediate acceptance of the tomato and, to a lesser extent, corn. A specialty of the villages of the Kambing River valley is a kind of fish stew resembling bouillabaisse, with its variety of fish and shellfish, simmered in a tomato based stock. This dish is excellent served with the round crusty loaves of wheat bread and illustrates the happy results of the fusing foreign and native elements which make up the Rengan cuisine.

Immediately after gaining independence, and perhaps in reaction to the long period of British rule, Renga became rather isolated from the rest of the world. For about a forty year period, the Renganese concentrated on developing what was already available in the islands-culturally, materially and politically-and were extremely selective in the foreign influences they did bring in.

Today, Renga is a prosperous place, self-sufficient in many areas. Much of the day-to-day cooking, especially in the larger population centers, tends to be done in large communal kitchens where both men and women, on a rotating basis, bake bread and prepare the meals. Contrary to what an American might expect, the food thus prepared is of high quality, due not only to the absolute freshness of the ingredients and the simplicity of the recipes, but also to the basic Renganese assumption that food preparation is a basic human function deserving care and thoroughness. Almost without exception, Renganese enjoy taking their turn preparing food for the community, with the result that these meals, although prepared in large quantities are always tasty, varied and interesting.

Most of the larger dwelling units are also equipped with cooking facilities. In outlying areas these remain the centers of meal preparation. A sympathetic visitor to a small fishing community will often be invited to eat the midday meal with a circle of relatives and friends. One of my fondest memories of Renga is of just such a meal on a bright fall day, consisting of a large heap of freshly caught, newly broiled prawns around which we sat, merrily shelling and eating, with the accompaniment of fresh bread, scallions and radishes.

Of course, good food and drink form a basic part of celebrations on Renga as elsewhere. Occasions for celebration, it sometimes seems, can arise daily. Favorites among festival foods are a variety of small skewered combinations of fish, meats, fruits and vegetables which go under the general name of satay. These are delightful finger foods, grilled over charcoal and basted and served with a wide variety of sauces-some spicy, some hot, some based on tomatoes or peanuts. Saffron rice forms a congenial accompaniment.

In sum, the cooking of Renga well expresses the character of the people: in its mingling of varied cultural origins, in its reliance on authenticity and absolute freshness of ingredients, in its simplicity and freedom from elaboration and pretentiousness, and, most of all, in the communal nature of all aspects of food preparation. Rengan cuisine is the food of the people at its best.

Early Renganese cheese making was confined to the goat and sheep cheeses, and these remain highly popular today. Mora Chtha is a goat's milk cheese similar to a Greek feta-white, soft, and quite salty. With bread and butter and a good wine, this cheese makes an excellent lunch or snack. Other goat cheeses are soft when young, but mature to a firmness that is excellent for grating. Ewe's milk is used to make Bilon Chthis. This cheese is traditionally combined with butter, paprika, mustard, caraway seeds, grated onion and fish paste to make a favorite spread.

Fine as these cheeses are, some of the most remarkable of the Rengan cheeses are made by combining both kinds of milk. These cheeses are rich and creamy and still maintain the salty character of the local cheeses. Larino, produced only in the MacDonald foothills, comes in small pyramids wrapped in grape leaves and is considered a delicacy throughout the islands.

With the advent of European occupation, many English cheeses were introduced to Renga along with cows. The Renganese began to raise cows and to make cheddar and Cheshire cheeses rivaling those of England. They readily adopted the British "farmhouse" methods and Renganese Cheshire (locally referred to as Pallo Chtho) is crumbly and mellow. It is a deep orange, almost reddish in color, with, of course, the distinctive saltiness that comes from the Rengan rennet. The cheddars are creamy, nutty and marry wonderfully with some of the fine red wines of Renga.

On a small scale, Renga produces many fine assertive cheeses. Agricultural collectives often have a "secret" recipe or method of production and the island of Renga itself has a cheese festival each year in which the different cheeses are tasted and appreciated. Lims chthis from the Pallinup Mountains Agricultural Cooperative is famous for its rich veins of blue and its creamy texture. Klort Chthis, from Tabba, is as fragrant as limburger and prized as an accompaniment to the local pilsners of the hills, or the ales of the Nabberu forests.

Recently these cheeses are claiming more attention in the export market, especially as the interest in international artisanal cheeses grows in the United States.