Pics from Tanna living - part 1
Kokamo's Pacifc Meanderings
Tom and Rachel
Wed 11 Aug 2010 21:44
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Rach and I are just back
from spending a week on Tanna. We left the boat in Port Vila, and flew
back to the island where I've spent time filming for the two series I've made
about five ambassadors from the 'Kastom villages' there visiting the UK, and
then another five the US, so they could explore the
different culture there.
It was fantastic to see
all the ten ambassadors again, and many others who'd been so hospitable in the
past. We visited several different villages, sleeping in 3 different ones
over the six days, and wherever we went the welcome we were given was
amazing. Everyone was very excited to meet Rachel, and hear the story of
us sailing from New Zealand, and for me it was great just to be able to relax
and enjoy village life, rather than having to fret about filming all the
time.
Village life for me
involved a little bit of gardening occasionally, a lot of lounging around in the
nakamal (meeting area under the impressive banyan trees) chatting,
philosophising (a favourite male occupatoin) and slowly learning a bit more of
the nawhal language, and drinking large amounts of kava in the evenings.
Rachel had a very different experience, and we didn't see each other for much of
the day. She was with the women: cooking (for large parts of the day),
making mats, baskets and grass skirts and mucking about with the little
kids. I think she might write more later.
Here are some pics to give
a flavour. If you've watched either of the series, there are some
characters you might recognise:
 Kaui, his grandchildren,
and Sam checking out some photos from our trip
 The ladies getting stuck
into some mat weaving, using strips of pandanus
 It's not long before
Rach gets stuck in
 Over at another village,
I'm invited to witness the practice of the Toka Dance for the annual Nekowiar
celebrations. These are the most important dances for the most important
event of the year. As I'd never been here at this time, I'd never seen
them. They are totally different to the other dancing: all male, much more
militaristic, and more dramatic, each one acting out a different
story.
 Albi leading one of the
dances
 Acting out a scene of
watching a boxing match in the town, in dance
 A chief with a whistle
tells everyone when to move on to the next stage of the dance
 Dance finishes with a
salute
 Grass
skirt fitting - followed by much appreciative laughter
 Digging Taro early in
the morning
 Chief
Mangau
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