This article presents an overview of the
culture of
Vanuatu
.
Social system and customs
[
edit
]
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,
wealth
is established by how much one can give away, through a system of
grade-taking
.
Pigs
, particularly those with rounded
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
[
edit
]
Traditional music (known in
Bislama
as
kastom singsing
or
kastom tanis
) is still thriving in the rural areas of Vanuatu. Musical instruments consist mostly of
idiophones
: drums of various shape and size,
slit gongs
, as well as
rattles
, among others. In various regions,
aerophones
, such as
whistles
or
bamboo flutes
, are used to be played;
membranophones
and
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
.
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
music of Vanuatu
, as an industry, grew rapidly in the 1990s and several bands have forged a distinctive ni-Vanuatu identity. Popular genres of modern commercial music, which are currently being played in town include
zouk
music and
reggaeton
. Reggaeton, a variation of
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
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
Sand drawing
from Vanuatu is an art form recognised by
UNESCO
as a
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
[
edit
]
Cricket
is a very popular sport in Vanuatu. There are 8,000 registered cricketers.
[3]
Sport
varies depending on the gender of those involved.
Volleyball
is considered a
girls sport
, while males play
soccer
and
rugby union
.
Languages
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
Traditional religion
[
edit
]
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
animism
, has been described by various authors, notably the
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
mana
,
[12]
[13]
tabu
,
[14]
and the worship of ancestral spirits (
tamate
).
[4]
[6]
[10]
[11]
Named deities or mythological figures included
Qat
and
Qasavara
in the
Banks Is
,
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
[
edit
]
Today,
Christianity
is the predominant religion in Vanuatu, consisting of several denominations. The
Presbyterian Church
, adhered to by about one third of the population, is the largest of them.
Roman Catholic
and
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
[
edit
]
Because of the modernities that the military in
World War II
brought with them when they came to the islands, several
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
Prince Philip Movement
, which reveres the United Kingdom's
Prince Philip
.
[15]
Villagers of the
Yaohnanen
tribe believed in an ancient story about the pale-skinned son of a mountain spirit venturing across the seas to look for a powerful woman to marry. Prince Philip, having visited the island with his new wife
Queen Elizabeth
, fitted the description exactly and is therefore revered and even held as a god around the isle of Tanna. On the island of
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
[
edit
]
The cuisine of Vanuatu (
aelan kakae
) incorporates
fish
, root
vegetables
such as
taro
and
yams
,
fruits
, and vegetables.
[18]
Most island families grow food in their gardens, and food shortages are rare.
[18]
Papayas
,
pineapples
,
mangoes
,
plantains
, and
sweet potatoes
are abundant through much of the year.
[18]
Coconut milk
and
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
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Culture of Vanuatu"
.
Vanuatu Tourism
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-05-20
. Retrieved
2007-07-16
.
- ^
Michael Brillat:
Sudsee
, p. 52. Munchen 2011
- ^
Vanuatu announce major sponsor ? Beyond the Test World at Cricinfo
at blogs.cricinfo.com
- ^
a
b
Allen, Michael (1987).
"Vanuatu religions"
. In
Charles J. Adams
;
Mircea Eliade
(eds.).
Encyclopedia of Religion
. Vol. 15 (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan. pp. 184?187.
ISBN
978-0-02-909880-6
.
- ^
See
entry
toglolq?n?
in
A. Francois
’
Cultural dictionary
of the
Mwotlap language
(2023).
- ^
a
b
c
d
Francois, 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
- ^
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 M?noa.
- ^
a
b
Taylor, John Patrick (2016).
"Two Baskets Worn At Once: Christianity, Sorcery, and Sacred Power in Vanuatu"
. In Fiona Magowan; Carolyn Schwarz (eds.).
Christianity, Conflict, and Renewal in Australia and the Pacific
. International Studies in Religion and Society. Brill. pp. 139?160.
ISBN
978-90-04-21723-2
. Retrieved
2023-04-28
.
- ^
Codrington, Robert Henry
(1891).
"Chapter 7: Religion"
.
The Melanesians: Studies in Their Anthropology and Folk-lore
. New York: Clarendon Press. p. 116 ff.
ISBN
9780486202587
.
- ^
a
b
Ivens, W. G. (1931).
"The Place of Vui and Tamate in the Religion of Mota"
.
The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
.
61
: 157?166.
doi
:
10.2307/2843828
.
ISSN
0307-3114
.
JSTOR
2843828
. Retrieved
2019-02-01
.
- ^
a
b
Vienne, Bernard (1984).
Gens de Motlav - Ideologie et pratique sociale en Melanesie
. Societe des Oceanistes. Paris: ORSTOM.
ISBN
9782854300642
.
- ^
Keesing, Roger
(1984). "Rethinking mana".
Journal of Anthropological Research
.
40
: 137?156.
JSTOR
3629696
.
- ^
Mondragon, Carlos (June 2004). "Of Winds, Worms and Mana: The traditional calendar of the Torres Islands, Vanuatu".
Oceania
.
74
(4): 289?308.
doi
:
10.1002/j.1834-4461.2004.tb02856.x
.
JSTOR
40332069
.
{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (
link
)
- ^
Francois, Alexandre (2022).
"Awesome forces and warning signs: Charting the semantic history of *tabu words in Vanuatu"
(PDF)
.
Oceanic Linguistics
.
61
(1): 212?255.
doi
:
10.1353/ol.2022.0017
. Retrieved
2022-07-11
.
- ^
Fifty facts about the Duke of Edinburgh
Archived
July 25, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
25 January 2002
- ^
Cf. Felix Speiser in
Ethnology of Vanuatu
. London: C Hurst, 1998, p.310.
- ^
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
.
- ^
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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