About Vanuatu
General Introduction
The Republic of Vanuatu (Ripablik Blong Vanuatu) is an archipelago of 83 islands which are located in the South Pacific. It is exceptionally beautiful (the name means “land eternal”) and while it does not offer grand monuments or enormous shopping malls, it does offer the beauty of nature combined with myth, folklore and an incredibly rich culture. The general beauty and relaxed way of life are Vanuatu’s biggest attractions.
The capital of Vanuatu, Port Vila, is located at the end of the picturesque bay on Efate Island. Here, you will find no skyscrapers or crowds to push through, instead the capital is small enough to explore on foot. Its main attraction is the cultural museum that is located opposite the charming Parliament building.
The main street, Kumul Highway, has some duty free shops, galleries and restaurants as well as a local market which is held every Thursday and Saturday and is where you can pick up souvenir grass skirts to take home. Efate itself offers stunning beaches, a few caves, quaint villages and excellent diving and snorkelling opportunities.
Tanna, the second most visited island of Vanuatu, is famed for its Yasur volcano and the John Frum cargo cult that has grown here. It is about one hour’s flight from Port Vila and very different in lifestyle. Here, the villagers still live and dress in a traditional manner. There are no paved roads on the island and you will see pigs and cattle wandering freely. The homes are thatched huts and a visit to the island is like taking a step back in time.
Other islands of note include Espiritu Santo, famous for its diving, beaches and bush walking; Malekula, famed for its folklore and Nambas tribes; Ambrym, home to a number of active volcanoes and the islands of Banks and Torres, noted for their exquisite handicrafts and traditional dancing.
While there is an international airport on Port Vila, many international travelers, especially those from Europe and the US, may find that they have to travel via Brisbane or Fiji. The best way to get around the islands is by air and there are always cheap fares available for island hoping. Visas are not usually required, but it is always prudent to check with the nearest embassy or consulate.
History
The prehistory of Vanuatu is obscure; archaeological evidence supports the commonly held theory that peoples speaking Austronesian languages first came to the islands some 4,000 years ago. Pottery fragments have been found dating back to 1300–1100 B.C.E.
The second island in the Vanuatu group discovered by Europeans was Espiritu Santo, when in 1606 the Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, working for the Spanish crown, spied what he thought was a southern continent. Europeans did not return until 1768, when Louis Antoine de Bougainville rediscovered the islands. In 1774, Captain Cook named the islands the New Hebrides, a name that lasted until independence.
In 1825, trader Peter Dillon’s discovery of sandalwood on the island of Erromango began a rush of immigrants that ended in 1830 after a clash between immigrants and Polynesian workers. During the 1860s, planters in Australia, Fiji, New Spain, and the Samana Islands, in need of laborers, encouraged a long-term indentured labor trade called “blackbirding”. At the height of the labor trade, more than one-half the adult male population of several of the Islands worked abroad. Fragmentary evidence indicates that the current population of Vanuatu is greatly reduced compared to pre-contact times.
It was in the 19th century that both Catholic and Protestant missionaries arrived on the islands. Settlers also came, looking for land on which to establish cotton plantations. When international cotton prices collapsed, planters switched to coffee, cocoa, bananas, and, most successfully, coconuts. Initially, British subjects from Australia made up the majority, but the establishment of the Caledonian Company of the New Hebrides in 1882 soon tipped the balance in favor of French subjects. By the turn of the century, the French outnumbered the British two to one.
The jumbling of French and British interests in the islands brought petitions for one or another of the two powers to annex the territory. In 1906, however, France and the United Kingdom agreed to administer the islands jointly. Called the British-French Condominium, it was a unique form of government, with separate governmental systems that came together only in a joint court. Melanesians were barred from acquiring the citizenship of either power.
Challenges to this form of government began in the early 1940s. The arrival of Americans during World War II, with their informal demeanor and relative wealth, was instrumental in the rise of nationalism in the islands. The belief in a mythical messianic figure named John Frum was the basis for an indigenous cargo cult (a movement attempting to obtain industrial goods through magic) promising Melanesian deliverance. Today, John Frum is both a religion and a political party with a member in Parliament.
The first political party was established in the early 1970s and originally was called the New Hebrides National Party. One of the founders was Father Walter Lini, who later became Prime Minister. Renamed the Vanua’aku Pati in 1974, the party pushed for independence; in 1980, amidst the brief Coconut War, the Republic of Vanuatu was created.
During the 1990s, Vanuatu experienced political instability which eventually resulted in a more decentralized government. The Vanuatu Mobile Force, a paramilitary group, attempted a coup in 1996 because of a pay dispute. There were allegations of corruption in the government of Maxime Carlot Korman. New elections have been called for several times since 1997, most recently in 2004.
Population
Vanuatu has a population of around 250,000. The population is predominantly rural, although Port Vila and Luganville have populations in the tens of thousands.
The inhabitants of Vanuatu, or Ni-Vanuatu (ni-Van), are in the majority (98.5%) of Melanesian descent, with the remainder made up of a mix of Europeans, Asians and other Pacific islanders. Three islands were historically colonized by Polynesians. About 2,000 Ni-Vanuatu live and work in New Caledonia. In 2006, the New Economics Foundation and Friends of the Earth environmentalist group published the Happy Planet Index which analyzed data on levels of reported happiness, life expectancy and ecological footprint and estimated Vanuatu to be the most ecologically efficient country in the world in achieving high well-being.
The national language of the Republic of Vanuatu is Bislama. The official languages are Bislama, English and French. The principal languages of education are English and French.
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. The density of languages, per capita, is the highest of any nation in the world, with an average of only 2,000 speakers per language. All of these vernacular languages belong to the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family.
Culture
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. 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.
Young men undergo various coming-of-age ceremonies and rituals to initiate them into manhood, usually including circumcision.
Most villages have a nakamal or village clubhouse which serves as a meeting point for men and as a place to drink kava. Villages also have male and female-only sections. These sections are situated all over the villages; in nakamals, special spaces are provided for females when they are in their menstruation period.
The traditional music of Vanuatu is still thriving in the rural areas of the country. Musical instruments consist mostly of idiophones: drums of various shape and size, slit gongs, as well as rattles, among others. 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, 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 language, played alongside its own distinctive beat, is especially played in the local nightclubs of Vanuatu with, mostly, an audience of Westerners and tourists.
There are few prominent ni-Vanuatu authors. Women’s rights activist Grace Mera Molisa, who died in 2002, achieved international notability as a descriptive poet.
Cricket is very popular in Vanuatu, with its own national team. There are 8000 registered cricketers. There is also some rugby union played in Vanuatu. Sport varies depending on the gender of those involved. Volleyball is considered a ‘girls’ sport’ and males play soccer.
The cuisine of Vanuatu (aelan kakae) incorporates fish, root vegetables such as taro and yams, fruits, and vegetables. Most island families grow food in their gardens, and food shortages are rare. Papayas, pineapples, mangoes, plantains, and sweet potatoes are abundant through much of the year. Coconut milk and cream are used to flavor many dishes. Most food is cooked using hot stones or through boiling and steaming; very little food is fried.
Geography
Vanuatu is an island archipelago consisting of approximately 82 relatively small, geologically newer islands of volcanic origin (65 of them inhabited), with about 800 miles (1,300 km) north to south distance between the outermost islands. Two of these islands (Matthew and Hunter) are also claimed by the French overseas department of New Caledonia. Fourteen of Vanuatu’s islands have surface areas of more than 100 square kilometers (39 sq mi).
From largest to smallest, these are Espiritu Santo, Malakula, Efate, Erromango, Ambrym, Tanna, Pentecost, Epi, Ambae or Aoba, Vanua Lava, Gaua, Maewo, Malo, and Anatom or Aneityum. The nation’s largest towns are the capital Port Vila, situated on Efate, and Luganville on Espiritu Santo. The highest point in Vanuatu is Mount Tabwemasana, at 1,879 meters (6,165 ft), on the island of Espiritu Santo.
Vanuatu’s total area is [roughly 12,274 square kilometers (4,739 sq mi)] of which its land base is very limited [roughly 4,700 square kilometers (1,800 sq mi)]; most of the islands are steep, with unstable soils, and little permanent freshwater. One estimate (2005) is only 9% of land is used for agriculture (7% permanent crops, 2% arable land). The shoreline is usually rocky with fringing reefs and no continental shelf, dropping rapidly into the ocean depths.
There are several active volcanoes in Vanuatu, including Lopevi, as well as several underwater ones. Volcanic activity is common with an ever-present danger of a major eruption; a recent nearby undersea eruption of 6.4 magnitude occurred in November 2008 with no casualties, and an eruption occurred in 1945. Vanuatu is recognized as a distinct terrestrial eco-region, known as the Vanuatu Rainforests. It is part of the Australasia eco-zone, which includes New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand.
Vanuatu’s growing population (estimated in 2008 at 2.4 percent annually) is placing increased pressure on local resources for agriculture, grazing, hunting, and fishing. Some 90 percent of Ni-Vanuatu households fish and consume fish, which has caused intense fishing pressure near villages and the depletion of near-shore fish species. While well-vegetated, most islands also show signs of deforestation. They have been logged (particularly of higher-value timber), subjected to wide-scale slash-and-burn agriculture, converted to coconut plantations or cattle ranches and show evidence of increased soil erosion and landslides.
Freshwater is becoming increasingly scarce and many upland watersheds are being deforested and degraded. Proper waste disposal and water and air pollution are also increasingly troublesome issues around urban areas and large villages. Additionally, the lack of employment opportunities in industry and urban areas and inaccessibility to markets have combined to lock rural families into a subsistence or self-reliance mode, putting tremendous pressure on local ecosystems.
Climate
The climate is sub-tropical with approximately nine months of warm to hot, rainy weather along with the possibility of cyclones. There are three to four months of cooler, drier weather characterized by winds from the southeast. The water temperature ranges from 72 °F (22 °C) in winter to 82 °F (28 °C) in the summer. Cool between April and September, the days become hotter and more humid starting in October. The daily temperature ranges from 68 °F (20 °C) to 90 °F (32 °C). Southeasterly trade winds occur from May to October.
Vanuatu has a long rainy session, with significant rainfall usually occurring almost every month. The wettest and hottest months are December through April, which also constitute the cyclone season. The driest months are June through November. Rainfall averages about 2,360 mms (93 in) per year but can be as high as 4,000 mms (160 in) in the northern islands.
Getting around Vanuatu
Air
Air services are operated by Vanair, a subsidiary of Air Vanuatu Ltd. It offers regular services to 29 destinations within the archipelago. Charter flights are provided by Unity Airlines and Air Club Vila. Travellers with an international ticket issued outside of Vanuatu are eligible for a 20 per cent reduction off Vanair’s regular ticket prices. The airline also offers the Vanuatu Pass which entitles holders to four flights to any destination for one fixed price.
Driving
Rental cars are available in Port Vila. Traffic drives on the right. Of the 1,130kms of road, only 54kms are sealed. Most roads consist of either compressed coral or dirt. The road around the island of Efate is not always open, so visitors are advised to check with their hotel or the police before trying to drive around the island.
Taxis
Taxis are abundant and are all metered, but it is a good idea to agree on a price before going on any long distances. Taxis also meet cruise ships arriving at the harbor. They are very adept at convincing you to take extra tours that can be more expensive than you like. Just be firm and say no.
Bus
Buses are the cheapest way to get around the island. Timetables and routes are not fixed, as the buses take you where you want to go. Just hail one down when you see it, get on board and enjoy the ride.
Ferries
The ‘Island Gateway’ is a fast inter-island catamaran seating 58 passengers, which operates out of Port Vila to Espiritu Santo and calls at other islands on the way. Other ferries are infrequent and it’s best to enquire directly at the port.
