Throughout the Islands of the south pacific coconut husking plays a vital role in peoples lives as a lot of their diet depends on meals which is used with coconut. Especially with the sea food and a lot of the produce they gather from the land. There is a skill involve in husking a coconut. first of all let us look at the coconut itself- It is a palm and there are all types of variety. The green one or the young fruit stays on the tree and folks usually have these ones on a hot day for drinks and it is quite refreshing, and what we are looking at is when these fruits get brown on the outside of the husk.

There are many uses of the husk of the coconut- We can produce ropes by beating the husk on the rocks and washing it down and the fiber that is left are platted and are used for tying thatched roofs, produced, bamboo rafts and other things that is needed to be tied down or transported.This is called MAGIMAGI

To husk a coconut we will need a "ai sua" or sharp stick. Different islands call it differently but it means the same thing. the sharp stick is pushed into the ground at an angle of 45 degree with the sharp end facing up. The "ai sua" is in the ground about 15cm above your knees, if you are right handed place your left foot about 30cm  on the left of your stick and your right foot directly in front of the stick about a meter away with your toes facing right and your knee slightly bend we will begin our coconut husking.

Bare in mind we are husking the coconut assuming we are right handed, hold the coconut with the sharp v- end on your left hand and the rounded end with your right hand, slam the coconut on to the sharp stick closer to the right end of the coconut, once it is poked in the coconut put pressure with your right hand, not with your body weight as the risk of falling over to your sharp stick can occur. Repeat the action until the husks of the coconut is completely removed and you are left with your coconut in a cell.

Over the years husking a coconut have been a very competitive sports for our young men and women, women's record 2 days , men 30seconds, this is why if it have to be cooked in coconut its the men doing the cooking otherwise we will starve (ha ha)

Now we are left with the coconut in a cell. there is a trick in breaking the cell. A young man in Sydney drove his steam roller over it in the attempt to crack the cell, A man in Canada pointed his rifle on to the eye of the coconut as his mother-in-law holding on to the coconut,(ha ha ha)Take a look at the cell you will notice that there is a line that runs right around the coconut and there is one that runs above directly on the centre of the round lines. Hit that single line with an object and your coconut will break in one hit, rather then the coconut scattering every where.

Just a word of advice if you are going to try husking a coconut please seek the advice of an islander who have the experience to supervise you.