Vanuatu

We have always prioritized seeing the less touristic areas of the world while they are still unhomogenized by westernization, and the string of volcanic islands which comprise the country of Vanuatu is definitely one of these places. Although tour companies can arrange package tours to this country, we opted to travel in our "figure-it-out-as-you go"style of travel, which gave us access to a more remote side of Vanuatu that delivered just the right experience were looking for. During the West's imperialistic period, England, France and Germany all attempted to colonize and/or Christianize these islands with mixed results. There's a lot of "Christianity" mixed in with some traditional culture. For example, during a particularly violent rainstorm, we were invited into one guy's hut for food and lodging. Right after serving us our food, we paused, making sure it was OK to start eating. He noticed our hesitation and asked if we wanted to pray first. We said "sure." So he said the following prayer while holding out his right hand like a handshake and wiggling his fingers like "spirit fingers": "Jesus, bleeeesss this food. Amen."

John Williams, the first Christian missionary to Vanuatu in the early 1800's, set foot on the island of Erromango, where he was promptly cooked and eaten by the locals. They did, however, first take the time to splay out and chip around the outline of his stout body on a boulder, where his body print can be seen to this day. The same thing happened to some of the other first westerners until an astute white trader began to use the Vanuatuan peoples' cannibalism to their favor. In exchange for local riches, the trader would pick up a boatload of slaves and sell them to the Vanuatans who would cook and eat them. Although the locals claim that they disavowed cannibalism some time ago, several people claimed that in some remote areas it persists to a lesser degree even to this day. This isn't too surprising since Vanuatu, although officially a government controlled republic, is, in actuality, largely ruled and policed by local tribal chiefs. One islander told us that back in the day, as punishment, they would give the offender a drink of Kava (an indigenous root-derived depressant) and bury him alive while ants ate him. Wow!

Kelsi, in a known cannibal site, posing beside the alter stove.

The people of Vanuatu were an absolute delight, and the most friendly people we have ever encountered. Just after arriving on the remote island of Malekula, we decided to check out the remote bush areas of the island, so we thumbed a ride from a pick-up truck (where we rode in the back along with an enormous sword fish). When we arrived at our intended village, which was nothing more than a collection of a dozen thatched, bamboo bungalows, we asked directions and set out on a footpath we had read about. After some distance, we came to a small clearing and a gathering of six or seven huts. We called out and were soon greeted by several women, children, and tribesmen.

One of the tribesmen identified himself as the chief of the area (they speak a form of Pigeon English called Bislama left over from the colonial era). We explained to the chief that we wanted to see some traditional dances, which seemed to please him. He promptly decided invited us to "sleep with him" and began making preparation and orders to his tribesman to prepare food, blankets, and dancing for us. Although we must admit that it was a bit rough sleeping with bed bugs on the ground of a hut, and the enormous spiders were even enough to scare Rusty, it was well worth it!

The "Small Namba" people where we stayed with the chief's family. They are called Small Nambas because the men's leaf sheath coverings are "smaller" than those worn by their neighbors:

The Small Namba's performing a traditional dance for us:

In addition to showing us the dancing of his own people, the Small Namba's, the chief also took us to a neighboring tribe where he introduced us to the chief of the Big Namba's (picture of the chief below). They were kind enough to show us a few traditional dances as well.

Big Namba's dancing:

In addition to dancing, staying with the chief gave us a wonderful opportunity to visit with the locals. We were tickled by some of their questions and comments and they found some of our comments equally funny. Both we and they revealed an unfamiliarity with each others' worlds. For Example:

"How many pigs to buy a wife in America? Here in Vanuatu, a wife is very expensive." --We didn't quite know how to respond to this one...

"Will your wife live with you and your father's family" --Rusty had to explain that his father didn't have several acres of jungle to throw up huts for his children when they marry, unlike the custom in Vanuatu.  The time we spent visiting with the chief and his family was very good, and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them.

Geographically, Vanuatu is located in the huge area described as "Oceania," which includes Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, and all the other pacific islands. You can sort of think of this area like you would Europe or Asia. As a region and culture, Vanuatu is located in Melanesia, which includes such countries as Papua New Guinea, The Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and Fiji.  We were excited to discover that the people of Vanuatu also have a range of natural hair colors, especially predominant in children:

Naturally Blond and Loving it!

Two Red-heads!

This brunette child with a knife is a typical site around Vanuatu. No one goes around without a knife (just like a second arm to these islanders), and they are used for everything from food processing to hacking through the bush and jungle. They start training their kids for life by handing them a knife at the tender age of 3 or 4...

We have a few more things to tell you about a different island in Vanuatu, so we elected to put that in a different blog to keep things "bite-size."