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Yakel
Kastom Village |
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Click
here to refer to map of Tanna
The people in Yakel
still live in the traditional Ni-Vanuatu way. Houses are constructed
from local products. European clothes are only worn when visiting
other centres and children are not allowed to attend school in the hope
that they won't be tempted away from the kastom lifestyle. Here the
boys are pictured outside a 'leaf house' used by men from nearby villages
when visiting the nakamel (meeting area) to share kava.
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If you ask the boys
what impressed them most about the village, it won't be the kastom
dancing, the artefacts, or the houses. Rather they spent most of
their time trying to count the 57 pigs they saw. Pigs are a valuable
commodity in Vanuatu and there were pigs everywhere. They also liked
the chickens and wanted to take home the kitten that Simon is holding in
the previous photo. |
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A 'Bubu' or Grandma
with some of the village children. The youngster standing at her
side didn't appear that happy to see us and spent a lot of the time hiding
behind one of the houses and crying. Tanna has over a dozen
different languages and as the people of Yakel tend to stay within the
village area, Bislama was not familiar with them. However with lots
of smiles and hand signals we were able to get permission for photos like
this. |
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Although we were
the only three visitors on this day we were entertained with a
demonstration of the village's kastom dancing and the ladies brought out
carvings and weavings for us to buy. The boys each selected a carved
wooden fish from the items that this lady had made.
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Friendly
Bungalows |
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Click
here to refer to map of Tanna
We spent three
nights at Friendly Bungalows on the East Coast, about 6kms away from Mt
Yasur. As you can see from the picture the accommodation had real
character. We enjoyed sitting on the balcony or rocking in the
hammock as we watched the waves roll onto the black sand beach, only a
matter of metres away. The food was local produce cooked with French
style. Our first night there we were each served half a lobster.
(Even the boys).
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A village was
located close by and the boys were taken for a ride up and down the beach
on an outrigger canoe |
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While Simon was
taken bare-back riding on a village horse, Jeremy and Geoff began a sand
bombing competition. The local children were quick to join in the
game. |
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Here the kids are
all lined up ready to throw their bombs at the targets.
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Lownow
Kastom Village |
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Click
here to refer to map of Tanna
On our way to see the volcano we visited
Lownow Village. Once again, even
though our family were the only visitors, the villagers dressed in their
kastom clothes and proudly performed several dances for us under the shade
of a huge banyan tree. In contrast to the natural fibres worn at
Yakel, here colourful dyed grass skirts, lavalavas, feathers, tinsel and
face paint were in abundance.
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were finished everyone lined up to shake our hands and then posed for some
photos. We were able to show them what we were taking on our digital
and video cameras and were soon surrounded by a crowd of excited children
trying to see themselves in the images.
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Mt
Yasur Volcano |
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Click
here to refer to map of Tanna
As you can see from the
photo at left, The
ash plains at the base of Mt Yasur are devoid of any vegetation at the
base of Mt Yasur. When
Yasur is very active, lava and rocks are thrown as far as these plains and
visitors are not allowed in the vicinity. The grey mound is the
actual volcano. We drove around and approached the crater from the
other side, where the road ended a few hundred metres below the summit.
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The
climb to the top was very steep and we scrambled over ash and past large
boulders which had previously been hurled form the crater. These
were a constant reminder of how dangerous Yasur can be. Once we
reached the top we were rewarded with a great view of the crater and were
soon scared by a loud bang, which resulted in rocks and lava being thrown
into the air. Fortunately the volcano was very quiet on our visit
and the lava landed nowhere near where we were standing. |
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At
first you may think you are looking into the interior of an open cut mine, but this view shows some of the inactive vents. The one
on the left is beginning to fill with water, which as it seeps downwards
through the layers of rock could make a new path way for an eruption of
lava from below. |
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Previously
seven vents were active, but now only one remains open to release the
pressure building up underground. Scientists are predicting a major
eruption in the future and last year they advised the relocation of any
villages situated in close proximity to the volcano. However the
people refused to budge from their homelands. |
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A
closer view of the open vent. Very little steam or smoke rose from
it during our visit but on the day we drove back to the airport large
plumes of smoke billowed from the top of Yasur. From the rim of the
crater the lava below was not visible but when rocks and lava were flung
upwards, accompanied by a whoosh of air, they rose several hundred metres
into the air before plunging back into the hole. Some pieces fell
onto the side of the vent and glowed red hot for some time afterwards. |
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As
night descended the lava glowed brightly against the darkness of the night
sky. We stayed for another half hour, to see the fireworks at their
best, before returning by torchlight to the truck. |
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Our
visit to Tanna and particularly Mt Yasur was an incredible experience that we
will long remember. We would recommend that if you manage a trip to
Vanuatu and can afford to spend a couple of days in Tanna, you won't regret
it. Life on the islands is very different from life in Port Vila.
Besides, its not everybody that has the opportunity to visit a live volcano and
stand in awe of the power of God's creation. |
| Carved figurines
from Yakel Village |
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. . .
in Vanuatu
Click
a photo to enlarge
