ABSTRACT
The principal vegetable foodstufls of Tikopia are held severally under the control of the chiefs of the island by a traditional division, authorized by a myth, by which these foods were partitioned among the principal gods. The yam is the premier food product in ritual, and its rites alone belong to the seasonal cycle of the Work of the Gods. The yam being a vegetable, it is natural that cooking should occupy an important place in the preparation of it as an offering to the gods. The oven used is that in Kafika Lasi. To assist in retaining the heat during cooking, leaf covers are used for all ovens, and those employed are of special esoteric importance. On the morning of the yam digging the members of his household ate an early meal of cold foodfrom the oven of the day before, but the Anki did not eat, practising a ritual abstinence.
