Keeping The Niue Culture Alive! Haircutting & Earpiercing Galue!

This is the haircutting and earpiercing ceremony of Asher, Nora and Indie. Loved ones of Vanessa Marsh and BJ Rex of Alofi, Niue Island. The Niue haircutting ceremony feast is a traditional celebration of Niue to mark the coming of age of young men. Traditionally, the ceremony involves the cutting of the young men's hair, which is seen as a symbolic representation of their transition from childhood to adulthood. Their hair hasn't been cut since birth until this event. During the ceremony, the young men's hair is cut by designated family members and friends. For the girls, it is piercing of their ears. After the cutting of the hair or piercing of the ears for the girls, an uncooked feast is distributed out to invited guests to celebrate the occasion. The family prepares for this event way in advance by raising pigs and planting taro plantations. Extended family, friends and people in the community and the Island also contributes to the feast or the "galue" it is called in Niue. The size of the galue you get is in direct correlation to the amount of money you donate to the family on the day of the event. Donations range anywhere from $20 to thousands of dollars. The top donation that got the first galue on this occassion is $10K. How this normally works is like in a reciprocal way, so when people you invited to your event, when they do their function, they will invite you. So here, you return to them whatever amount of donation that they bring to yours, plus a little more usually. It would be considered very rude and wrong if you don't. Congratulations to Vanessa and BJ Rex and their families and friends for all the hard work that goes into this event! #NiueIsland #culturalevent #tarofarming #niuetaros