In May 1768 Bougainville sailed between between
Santo and Malakula, naming the passage typically, "the Bougainville
Strait". Cook followed some years later landed in the southwest
Bay area but did not stay long. Amongst the other i slanders surrounding
Malakula, and as arriving Europeans soon discovered for themselves,
the predominant tribal groups known as the Big and Small Nambas
had a justifiable reputation as fierce warriors. They also had
a reputation for cannibalism that eventually earned the island,
and consequently the entire island group of Vanuatu, the name
"The Cannibal Islands".
Malakula is the second largest island and the most diverse,
culturally and linguistically, with over thirty distinct languages
spoken. The names given to the primary cultural groups, Small
Nambas and more famous Big Nambas is a function of the size
of the leaf worn as a penis sheath, or nambas. Sandalwood was
absent and thus the island attracted little interest from the
essentially ruthless sea traders of the time.
Because of this, an the reputation of the inhabitants, Malakula's
megalithic cultural heritage has been left intact and the population
remained virtually unscathed by the rampant black birding (slaving)
and introduced Western diseases so prevalent elsewhere in the
South Pacific. These factors have made it a favorite island
for twentieth century anthropologists and much work has been
done on the diverse cultural groups inhabiting the island. Surprisingly,
those Europeans who settled the area in the early 19th century
to clear coastal areas for coconut plantations remained relatively
unscathed. Perhaps because they did not try to inflict their
beliefs on the local population, nor steal them as slaves -
or more likely because they very sensibly kept to the coastal
areas and avoided the territory of the Big Nambas. In fact no
foreigner in their right mind would venture into their territory
until the 20th Century, and then only by invitation and careful
negotiations.
This lack of contact helped them to survive all the epidemics
that devastated other Pacific populations, until the 1930's.
There is an estimated population of about 20,000 on the coastal
areas and around 1,000 in the rugged interior. The Big and Small
Nambas villagers have really only opened to outsiders in the
last five to ten years. Since Vanuatu has become Independent,
there is no colonial effort to 'modernise' such communities
- quite the opposite. For the people of Vanuatu wish to retain
their heritage and recover that which has been lost. The inhabitants
of Malakula are now free to share their lives with the outside
world while retaining their unique traditions. The villagers
are exceptionally friendly and enjoy sharing their proud heritage
with visitors. Consequently there are numerous very basic guest
houses across the island and walking tours can be organised
to some of the most primitive locations.
On the small island of Wala on the East Coast, somewhat more
sophisticated thatched bungalows and restaurant facilities are
available. It is an excellent base for explorations into the
interior of this beautiful island.
