The Pops'a
p. 144 · Read in the full issue
Less Hospitality For The Pops'a
In an interview with Princes sj Turia Salmon (who earned a full-page photograph in the South Pacific edition of the American ", Holiday” magazine’s October issue ) “PlM’s” Tahiti correspondent asked her opinion on the changes that are taking place in Tahiti, due to the growing influx of tourists.
Charming pareu-clad and flower-bedecked Princess Turia agreed that Tahiti is changing, but that the whole world was also.
In the old days, she said, Tahitians would always welcome the visiting “popaa” (white man) to their homes; but now, with the ever-increasing number of “popaa” visitors, what are they to do?
In the old days, fresh, green drinking nuts would be offered without any thought of pay ment. But today, with the great increase in the cost of living, what are they to do?
A basic food favourite with the Tahitians , canned corned beef, which they prepare in nearly a dozen different ways, now costs 35-40 francs a can (about 4/-), which makes a big hole in a Tahitian’s daily earnings (when he works ) of 200 to 280 francs. So the selling price of one green coconut in downtown Papeete remains a steady five francs.