Wogasia Un rituel des premiers fruits à Aorigi (Santa Catalina, Sud-est des Îles Salomon)

Every year, between May and June, the eight hundred inhabitants of Aorigi, a coral island situated in the south east of the Solomon Islands, gather for the wogasia, a fertility ritual accompanying the harvest of the first yams (Dioscorea nummularia) and of Canarium nuts (Canarium indicum). This article provides a chronological description of the event and examines and proposes an analysis of the multiple aspects of this ritual of renewal. Finally, it attempts to understand and explain why today, the performance of the wogasia, without any doubt of ancient origins, remains essential for the people of Aorigi.