Mackay State High School prepares Kup Murri for 1000 students
The atmosphere was vibrant as 1000 students at a North Queensland school gathered for a special Torres Strait Islander feast, which may become an annual tradition. GALLERY
Community News
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The atmosphere was vibrant as 1000 students gathered for a special Torres Strait Islander tradition.
Students bustled around tables lined with trays of food that had been slow-cooked in the undergrounds ovens as part of a Kup Murri feast at Mackay State High School.
And it was a special day indeed, with about 100 students as well as teachers preparing the food for roughly 1000.
Student Lachlan McIntyre, 14, was involved in the Kup Murri preparation and enjoyed how it combined education with a feast.
“You get the benefit to learn the culture, you get to try the food and learn how to do it,” Lachlan said.
Deputy Principal Cicely Baira said with the success of the event, which was held on July 21, she hoped it would become an annual tradition for the school.
“It felt really connected”, she said.
THE BEST PART IS EDUCATION
It took the school three days to prepare all the food for the Kup Murri, and on the feast day the fire was lit from 1am with food cooking from 5:30am.
Main organisers Mrs Baira and her husband James had been commanding their team of improvised cooks since the Saturday before the feast, whey they dug two big pits at the school near the soccer field.
Mr Baira, who is a Torres Strait Islander from Badu Island and Palm Island, learned how to prepare a Kup Murri from his mum.
In the days leading up volunteer students wrapped vegetables in foil, and found river rocks and banana leaves that would be used in the underground ovens.
Mrs Baira said the best part was all the different classes came to look at the preparation and were educated on that part of Torres Strait Islander culture.
“Even the naughtiest of naughty kids, they sat, they were quiet and listened to what we said,” Ms Baira said.
Mackay State High School principal Felicity Roberts said the school had decided to make a big deal out of this year’s NAIDOC celebrations.
“It’s about us being a family,” she said.
“We don’t know if it’s ever been done before. This size,” she said, referring to the school catering for a 1000 students.
WHAT IS A KUP MURRI
Kup Murri is a traditional Torres Strait Islander method of cooking in an underground oven.
It is a gender specific tradition, with men responsible for cooking the meat and women responsible for preparing vegetables.
The food is wrapped in foil which is then put into banana leaf and coconut leaf baskets and placed in the pits, so it can cook evenly.
Stones that were heated in a fire are placed around the food, which is covered up with sand and dirt to seal in the heat.
Community Education Councillor Marion Heely said the food had been slow cooking for six hours before it was served.
“It’s all about keeping that heat in,” she explains.
The feasting ceremony is traditionally performed mainly at weddings, births and funerals and most importantly at tombstone unveilings.
IT ALL CAME TOGETHER IN 7 DAYS
Mrs Baira said the idea of holding a Kup Murri at the school had only been pitched one week earlier, Mrs Roberts pushing for the funding to bring it to fruition.
“We kept it under $5000, which represents five dollars per person,” Cicely said.
When she recalled how the project started, Ms Roberts said she had asked Mrs Baira and her husband if it was possible to pull it off in a week.
To which Cicely replied: “Why not?”
Although the students and a team of teachers worked hard to prep all the food, the school also relied on getting food from members of the community.
The father of a girl at school had committed to preparing enough rice for all the students, while another girl from school prepared 1000 fried scones for her fellow students.
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