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The ni-Vanuatu pride themselves on
their musical instruments, of which the tamtam - also called the
slit-drum or slit-gong - is a fine example. Traditionally used in
ceremonies, it is an intricately carved log with a slice hollowed out from
the centre from which the sound reverberates. Panpipes are also common in
music, as are conch shells, which double as bush telephones.
On Santo they play a three-holed flute, while on
Ambrym a long, carved musical pipe is played. Ambrym is also home to the
most elaborate sand drawings in Vanuatu, which villagers employ to
illustrate legends, songs, ceremonies or to leave messages. Stone, wood
and even treefern carving has developed into an intricate art form owing
to the abundance of available materials, and in the north the sculptors
sometimes use coral to carve small statues. Magic stones carved from
pumice are part of Vanuatu's hidden life and are generally not on display.
Tattooing was once a high art form but is becoming rarer, although body
and rock painting are still widely practiced.
Vanuatu's fractured terrain has produced a
kaleidoscope of cultures and more than 100 indigenous languages. Isolated
from each other by sea or impassable mountains, disparate groups of
islanders had hundreds or thousands of years to jealously guard their own
cultures and languages or to throw them in the mix with their neighbours.
The indigenous population is an assemblage of Melanesian - the black
people of the Western Pacific with links to Papuans and Australian
Aborigines - Polynesian, the lighter skinned people of the eastern
Pacific, and varying degrees in between. While Bislama
is a linguistically unifying factor, English, and more commonly, French
are also spoken. In a country that owns up
to being predominantly Christian, traditional beliefs hold sway over much
of the populace. The missionaries had success in imposing an alien faith
over people who already had strong beliefs, but that success may have been
due in part to some remarkable similarities between Christianity and local
beliefs. Many islanders believed in a Creator Tahara who didn't sound too
different from Jehovah, a Garden of Eden where the original man and woman
ate fruit from the forbidden rose apple tree and fell from grace, and the
demon Saratau, who neatly paralleled Satan.
The ni-Vanuatu world is still inhabited by
spirits and demons, despite the missionaries' best efforts to expel them.
Anything tabu is sacred or holy, and the word is in common use - on
signs it can mean simply 'no entry'. Traditional dances and ceremonies
still play a major role in villagers' lives, with participants acting out
the roles of mythical figures or their ancestors. The Nimangki
system, or 'grade taking', is important to many islanders in the north.
Participants publicly give away wealth through a series of ceremonies,
including a full-blooded slaughtering of pigs. Pentecost Island's
spectacular naghol or land diving is a significant fertility rite.
Around 80% of the population dwells in rural
villages and their main pursuit is agriculture. The food is basic but a
few standard dishes can be infinitely varied. Yams, manioc and taro root
are the most important crops in village life. Laplap, a stodgy
paste of ground manioc, taro or yam with wild spinach and grated coconut
is Vanuatu's national dish. Pork, beef, fish, poultry, seafood or bush
meat like flying fox can be added, and the mixture is wrapped in banana
leaves and baked in an underground oven. Nalot, a delectable
mixture of taro, banana or breadfruit mixed with grated coconut and water
caters to vegetarians.
When the French arrived, of course, they brought
more familiar foods from home, and exotica like frogs' legs, escargots and
croissants now figure on many menus. Kava (Piper methysticum), the
'anti-anxiety herb', is the national drink and virtually a national
obsession.
Vanuatu's kava is reputedly the strongest and
best in the Pacific, and fantastic claims have been made for its
stress-relieving properties, (should you be stressed by Vanuatu's beaches,
reefs, forests, mountains and other pleasures). It was traditionally
picked and prepared by young boys, but the modern industry encompasses
plantations, 'instant' powdered kava, and nakamals, or kava bars,
where stress evaporates, Captain Cook's condemnation drifts off over the
horizon and 'island time' comes into its own. For
more general information
on Vanuatu to: |
