Four cooks briefly cease their activities long enough for their picture to be taken as they prepare the first meal in the large cooking pot (foreground) that the author brought from an iron works back home.  Three of the cooks hold paddles with which they will stir the ingredients as they simmer in the large iron cauldron.  The distinction of being the pot's first occupant and, subsequently, the main course at the christening feast was bestowed on a missionary woman (seated modestly) who had been kept specifically for the occasion.  The natives were thrilled with the gift, and even the unlucky clergywoman seemed to be admiring the craftsmanship as she sat unable to take her eyes off of the large iron object until it was time for her to be placed inside.