Culture of Vanuatu

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Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
.

This article presents an overview of the culture of Vanuatu.

Social system and customs

MHNT
A memorial in Port Vila representing totem poles and a rounded tusk

Vanuatu culture retains a strong diversity through local regional variations and through foreign influence. Vanuatu may be divided into three major cultural regions. In the north,

tusks, are considered a symbol of wealth throughout Vanuatu. In the center, more traditional Melanesian cultural systems dominate. In the south, a system involving grants of title with associated privileges has developed.[1]

Young men undergo various coming-of-age ceremonies and rituals to initiate them into manhood, usually including circumcision.

Music

Main article: Music of Vanuatu

Traditional music (known in

chordophone
were also found in some areas, but have fallen into disuse during colonial times.

The large slit gongs which symbolize Vanuatu belong to these traditional instruments; they were most often used as musical drums to accompany certain dances, but also sometimes – though seldom – as a ritual means of communication; although widespread throughout Vanuatu, they are used vertically only in central areas of the archipelago (mainly on Ambrym). Traditional music is actually a very general cover term encompassing a wide and complex variety of musical genres known by every local community – in a way very similar to the vague term classical music of Western societies.

String band musicians performing in Port Vila.

Another musical genre that has become widely popular during the 20th century in all areas of Vanuatu, is known as string band music. It combines guitars, ukulele, bush bass and popular songs.

More recently the

hip-hop
rapped in Spanish, played alongside its own distinctive beat, is especially played in the local nightclubs of Vanuatu with mostly an audience of Westerners and tourists.

Literature

Further information: Literature of Vanuatu

There are few prominent ni-Vanuatu authors. Women's rights activist Grace Mera Molisa, who died in 2002, achieved international notability as a very descriptive poet.

Painting

Wall painting opposite the market hall

Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
.

One of the most important contemporary artists of Vanuatu is Aloi Pilioko who created the impressive colourful relief on the post office in Port Vila.[2] Another remarkable wall painting can be seen on the administration building opposite the market hall in Port Vila.

Sport

Main article: Sport in Vanuatu

soccer and rugby union
.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Vanuatu

There are three official languages: English, French, and Bislama. Bislama is a pidgin language, and now a creole in urban areas, which essentially combines a typically Melanesian grammar with a mostly English vocabulary. It is the only language that can be understood and spoken by the majority of Vanuatu's population as a second language. In addition 113 indigenous languages are still actively spoken in Vanuatu.[1]

The density of languages per capita is the highest of any nation in the world, with an average of 2,000 speakers per language. All of these vernacular languages belong to the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Vanuatu

Traditional religion

Before Christianity, the indigenous religion of Vanuatu was inherited from Oceanian and Melanesian traditions.[4] Missionaries often called this pre-Christian religion “pagan” or “heathen” in English, and as “times of darkness” in the country's local languages,[5][6]: 207  or in Bislama (taem blong tudak).[7]: 86  [8]: 140 

The traditional religion, sometimes considered a form of

Anglican missionary and anthropologist Robert Codrington in his famous 1891 monograph The Melanesians: Studies in Their Anthropology and Folk-lore (1891).[9] He was followed by other scholars, including anthropologists[10][11]
and linguists.[6]

Concepts central to the traditional religion include

Tagaro on Ambae, Lisepsep across the archipelago.[6]
: 218–222 

Grade-taking ceremonies, which existed throughout Vanuatu, were associated with the indigenous religion, and with the transmission of mana.

Many aspects of the traditional religion have survived until today, in parallel with the adoption of Christianity, at least in some rural areas of Vanuatu.[7]: 86  [8]

Christianity

A church on Pele Island, Vanuatu.

Today,

Anglican
are other common denominations, each claiming about 15% of the population.

Others are the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of Christ, Neil Thomas Ministries (NTM), as well as many other religious sects and denominations.

Other religions

Because of the modernities that the military in

cargo cults developed. Many died out, but the John Frum cult on Tanna
is still large, and has adherents in the parliament.

Also on Tanna is the

Aneityum, the ancient religion consisted in the worship of Natmasses which were spirits represented in stones.[16]

Islam in Vanuatu is made up of about 200 converts and growing fast.[17] It was introduced by Hussein Nabanga who converted to Islam while training to be a Christian missionary.

Cuisine

Main article:
Cuisine of Vanuatu

The cuisine of Vanuatu (aelan kakae) incorporates

sweet potatoes are abundant through much of the year.[18]

coconut cream are used to flavor many dishes.[18] Most food is cooked using hot stones or through boiling and steaming; very little food is fried.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Culture of Vanuatu". Vanuatu Tourism. Archived from the original on 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  2. ^ Michael Brillat: Südsee, p. 52. München 2011
  3. ^ Vanuatu announce major sponsor – Beyond the Test World at Cricinfo at blogs.cricinfo.com
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-02-909880-6
    .
  5. ^ See entry toglolqōn̄ in A. François’ Cultural dictionary of the Mwotlap language (2023).
  6. ^ a b c d François, Alexandre (2013), "Shadows of bygone lives: The histories of spiritual words in northern Vanuatu" (PDF), in Mailhammer, Robert (ed.), Lexical and structural etymology: Beyond word histories, Studies in Language Change, vol. 11, Berlin: DeGruyter Mouton, pp. 185–244
  7. ^ a b Lightner, Sara B. (2007). Ples blong olgeta sista: Ni-Vanuatu catholic sisters navigating places and spaces (Masters thesis). Honolulu: University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-90-04-21723-2
    . Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  9. ISBN 9780486202587
    .
  10. ^
    JSTOR 2843828
    . Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  11. ^
    ISBN 9782854300642
    .
  12. JSTOR 3629696
    .
  13. JSTOR 40332069.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link
    )
  14. doi:10.1353/ol.2022.0017
    . Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  15. ^ Fifty facts about the Duke of Edinburgh Archived July 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine 25 January 2002
  16. ^ Cf. Felix Speiser in Ethnology of Vanuatu. London: C Hurst, 1998, p.310.
  17. ^ Ben Bohane (2007-06-29). "Green Moon Rising: Islam Is Spreading In Melanesia". Pacific Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  18. ^ a b c d e The Peace Corps Welcomes You to Vanuatu Archived 2008-09-10 at the Wayback Machine. Peace Corps (May 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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