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Doctor Stanley Reveag has put our group up in one of the male wards 
of his new dispensary hospital, which was only completed two years ago. 
It was damaged by the hurricane and has been repaired already. Two 
Australian carpenters are here supervising work on rebuilding the Anglican 
School, which is a long and tedious and expensive task. Men from each 
of the six villages of Mota Lava are working with them. One is a four 
year immigrated New Australian from Yugoslavia. They are at the moment 
unable to work any farther because of lack of building supplies. 
Dispensary, Nereniuman village, Mota Lava October 2, 1972 
. . .midnight . . . 
We have danced passed midnight to an accomplished band of guitar and 
ukelele players all singing beautifully to their playing and accompanied 
by spirited singing of a half dozen schoolboys without instruments. 
Notably, Stanley Webb and Meken Festus were prominent in the singing and 
seem to know the songs better than do most others. Words of the wonderful 
renditions of American and British songs into Eislama, or partially into 
Bislama have been transcribed into a number of notebooks used by the singers 
fese is provided by a bow placed into a pail. The two late adolescent full 
albino school boys from Qeremagde village and , 
were the most spirited guitar players and singers, actually leaders of the 
band. It is fine to see this emormously important role in island social 
life, occupied by these albinos, who in many Melanesian communities occupy 
a somewhat outcast role. 
The feast and dance were all given (and paid for) by Stanley in memory 
of the death of his father on Hiu a month ago. All day the visitors assembl 
ed in and behind his house to eat and talk and after sunset the bands and 
dancing began. 
Guiart, Ferber and Frangoise all danced a great deal and Don and I 
danced some. I am clumsy enough as a dancer to find little fun in it and 
at 50 I cannot overcome my basic dislike of parties and such pleasant 
festivity which I had already at 15. I prefer private relationships with 
one other or a few to those diffuse socially proscribed relationships 
which I learned to shun as a boy. Bobby was our party boy and I usually 
retired hoping that one — only one — of the many guests would seek me out 
privately, as usually occurred. Here on Motalava it was Stanley Webb 
who sought me out yesterday and tonight because it is Stanley and David 
too, they both embarass each other and I shall find myself with neither. 
Stanley Reveag is the most "important" man on Motalava as the doctor 
of the Banks. Whether Stanley is a graduate or dropout from the Fiji 
Medical school,! do not know, but I find him able and very pleasant to 
work with. He has put us up well in the dispensary with six beds all 
with clean sheets. His wife keeps us supplied with hot tea and biscuits 
as we work. 
