19 January 2014 | 02 21.241'S:105 37.595'E, between Bangka and Sumatra
10 January 2014 | 02 44.5'S:111 43.9'E, Kumai, Kalimantan, Indonesia (Borneo)
07 January 2014 | 06 59.103'S:114 07.199'E, East end of Madura, Eastern end of Java, Indonesia
24 December 2013 | 08 30.473'S:116 01.389'E, Lombok, Indonesia
19 December 2013 | Komodo National Park, Indonesia
14 December 2013 | Komodo National Park, Indonesia
06 December 2013 | 08 31.113'S:119 52.065'E, Labuan Bajo, Flores, Indonesia
05 December 2013 | 08 23.583'S:120 02.972'E, Flores Sea
04 December 2013 | 07 57'S:120 49'E, Flores Sea
03 December 2013 | 07 16.0'S:122 11.7'E, Bone Rate, Indonesia
02 December 2013 | 06 03.9'S:124 08'E, Wakatobi, Indonesia
01 December 2013 | 04 54.932'S:126 13.158'E, The Banda Sea
30 November 2013 | 3 42.134'S:128 10.149'E, Ambon City
25 November 2013 | 4 31.374'S:129 53.872'E, Melissa's Garden, Raja Ampat, Papua
25 November 2013 | 4 31.374'S:129 53.872'E, Raja Ampat
25 November 2013 | 4 31.374'S:129 53.872'E, Banda Neira
18 November 2013 | 1 53.459'S:129 43.990'E, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
18 November 2013 | 1 13.245'S:129 45.069'E, Raja Ampat, Indonesia
17 November 2013 | 0 26.578'S:130 26.639'E, Raja Ampat
10 November 2013 | 0 57.185'S:130 40.136'E, Raja Ampat
The center of magic
28 September 2013 | 16 09.118'S:168 06.385'E, Ambrym, Vanuatu
Arthur
Ambrym has been a very interesting place. Upon first arriving late on Friday afternoon I found myself talking with Chief Felix and Chief Josef. After talking a short while they invited me to a fundraiser for the local primary school. There I was introduced to Vanuatu Kava. Which, they correctly pointed out, makes Fiji Kava seem like water. The fund raiser was a kava sale. So all the local men were there drinking kava and listening to the "string band" which is a combo of ukelele and guitar players along with a wash tub base. I had gone in for a quick hello at 5pm and didnt get back to the boat until about 9pm. And along with me came chief josef, who was very interested in what kind of beer we had on board....
Slept very well that night, and got up early so that we could all go on a hike to Fanla. Which is a village in the interior of the island known as being a cultural center for the island. There we saw the Rom Dance, which is a dance they do each year to celebrate the yam harvest, and it is also done for various villages or people on the island if they can afford to pay for it to be done. The dance is about the full body masks you see worn in th picture, and when the dance is done the masks are destroyed. So it costs an individual a great deal to have mask makers make the masks, and to have the dance performed. It is therefore an important status symbol to be able to have the dance performed -- and this sort of status remains important in their social and political lives.
Its a bit strange to see, as they wear traditional Nambas -- which means those not wearing the big masks, are more or less naked. Human culture from thousands of years ago, right in front of you, in a place where it is still actually the culture...
Certain men of Ambrym are widely known for their carvings, and most carvings in Vanuatu come from Ambrym -- so we picked up a few...