October 5, 2009

Absolutely incredible! Certainly a once in a lifetime experience! The festival here in the Maskelynes off the southeast coast of Malekula was fabulous. It was attended by groups from the entire island. The Big Nambas came from the north. They are the last known cannibals. The Small Nambas came from the south. Namba is the word for the penis sheath that they wear which are basically pandanus plant fibers wound around their penis secured into a thick bark belt. Their bodies are painted with charcoal, earth, and coconut oil. For the ceremony they tie nut rattles around their ankles and wear headdresses that are made with clay sculptures and rooster feathers.

They performed fearsome dances, very energetic; the ground shook as they stamped to rhythms from the tamtams, drums carved from tree trunks and beat with large clubs. They opened the festivities with the ceremonial pig killing and presentation to the chief. The spears, clubs, masks, shields, bows and arrows were all very impressive in their craftsmanship and use. During the 3 days of activities there were demonstrations of mat weaving, making canoes, food preparation, hunting with spears and bow and arrow, sand drawings, and singing and community dance.

This is the real deal, none of that cheesy Survivor Vanuatu stuff. There is no modernization here. This is most evidenced by the lack of trash. There is no such thing as trash. No plastics, no paper, no glass. They prepare their food in earth ovens wrapping everything in banana leaves and serving it on banana leaves. They do cook rice in a big iron pot that they got from another island. They drink from coconuts and empty coconut shells. All their food is harvested from their own gardens, gathered from the island vegetation, raised on the land or hunted from the sea. There are no cellophane wrapped styrofoam trays of meat here! I watched them butcher a quarter of beef that they carried in from the other village; they made quick work of the pig, and pluck and dress out the chickens in no time! It's a stark stinky, bloody, gooey, fly-infested process. I think I would be a "fishtarian" and egg-eater, but all that meat in the jungle/village setting is just a little too much for me. Their main staple is taro, a starchy root vegetable that is very bland. They roast a lot of breadfruit, very bland also. They make laplap which is a tapioca type cooked pudding from cassava, more starch. The people are very friendly. The ni-Vanuatu, the people, are 95% Christian in their beliefs now, they identify with a Presbyterian style of church and are very sincere in their faith. Clint was invited to preach twice for their Sunday service. The entire village attended. They were very receptive and very excited about Clint's message.

We shook hands with and were introduced to every member which was well over 700 people; that took a long time! We spent several days in their homes walking and talking with them as we toured the village. Clint helped work on some of their equipment and is helping them with some projects they have in the village. I have to say that this is probably one of the poorest, most primitive cultures that I have ever experienced, but it has been one of the most joyous fulfilling interactions with any people that I have had. I don't think I could handle living in these conditions. The life is very hard. My heart goes out to just wanting to help them flourish in their own ways without modernizing or changing their way of life. They do have school that the children attend on the main island. They have to pay for this. Their needs are simple, clothing like t-shirts and shorts for the men and boys, material for dresses that the ladies wear, books and school supplies, hardware like rope, axes, knives, fishing supplies, tools for gardening and working on small boat motors, and some fuel. We have rummaged through all our equipment and stuff and given whatever we can to help them out. I wish I could come back time and again to be with them and visit them. We will miss these lovely folks immensely! I visited with some medical workers here who travel around the islands and set up 3-day clinics. The biggest problem is malaria. There are a lot of infections from wounds. Next, they suffer from respiratory illnesses secondary to all the cooking they do over the earth ovens especially during the rainy season when they are cooking in-doors with poor ventilation. I gave them some antibiotics to help with the needs. Many of you probably heard about the big earthquake, 8.3, off the coast of Samoa. We were under a tsunami watch here for a few days. We did not experience any effects. America Samoa and Tonga were hit by some waves. Several people died, buildings and two villages were destroyed. We had visited those places last year. Some cruisers that we have met are helping the people recover from their loss. There were also 2 earthquakes in Indonesia. We are a bit more alert about being prepared for such events now that they have been so near to our experiences. We understand that the warning system in America Samoa failed, and we know that they have no warning system in Niuatoputapu, Tonga where many died and the villages were destroyed. We heard the earliest reports through our SSB radio. Our radio still does not transmit; Clint is trying to work out the problems. We leave today for Espiritu Santo. It's an overnight sail. We're traveling with a Canadian family, Glen, Marilyn, and their 13-year-old son Jaryd on a 50ft steel sloop, Tin Soldier. We're still checking our emails hoping to get some letters from you. Don't think that you don't have anything exciting to write. We love to hear about your lives and remember our times together and what's going on. Keep in touch. Love Janet, Clint, and Abbey