9:26 PM Sat 19 Sep 2009 GMT
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'It’s a grueling marathon'
Yacht Courtesan
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Heather and David on yacht Courtesan are cruising Vanuatu while assisting the local Ni-Van (born in Vanuatu) with their dentistry requirements
We timed our circuit of Malekula Island in Vanuatu to coincide with the Big Namba Namaki Ceremony at Leviamp on the north west coast. This ceremony occurs every 15 to 30 years when a paramount chief passes his title to the next generation.
It's like a coronation.
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Only every 15 - 30 years - Yacht Courtesan
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The highlight of Day One was the Mens' traditional dancing, a grueling endurance test lasting three hours. Forty-eight men with blackened faces and torsos were decked out with feather head dresses, hot pink pandanus Nambas (penis sheaths), leaves to cover their buttocks (sort of), anklets of seed pods which rattled in unison with the beat of the tamtam, and archaic rifles, many of which malfunctioned at the critical moment.
The dancing was primal, performed with energy, enthusiasm, and a lot of dust. During the ceremony the new (and inexperienced) chief had to club a pig to death, unfortunately a very slow death.
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The women dance for two hours - Yacht Courtesan
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Day Two featured the Womens' dancing. They also wore feather head dresses and we noticed that most of the roosters in the village were missing their tail feathers. Most of the pigs were just missing! The ladies wore hot pink pandanus skirts and bodices. The girls had their faces painted with orange clay, whereas the women wore long pink pandanus veils, presumably to hide their faces from the new chief. Their singing and dancing only lasted about 2 hours, with another pig killing, this time thankfully more effective with a smaller pig.
The anchorage at Leviamp was a 'roadstead anchorage,' with no protection from the ocean, so on Day Three when the wind swung around to the south-east, the five yachts anchored for the festival decided to leave. Perhaps it was fortuitous as the agenda for Day Three was the killing and distribution of 150 pigs to the chiefs and sub-chiefs, and then dancing all night by the entire village and their guests.
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Each appointment takes as long as it takes, so there’s no stress - Yacht Courtesan
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Our next stop was Malua Bay for our own endurance test. In five days we saw 65 patients, extracted over 80 teeth, did 11 fillings and 19 cleans. After this marathon, I asked David how I was going as a dental nurse. He said I showed potential!!@#? and had great legs!
David extracted a tooth from a distinguished looking 90 year old man who had walked five hours to reach the clinic. We later learnt that John Peter was actually Chief Armahabath, whose father was the Big Namba 'Cannibal King,' who was converted to Christianity by the missionaries.
Our week in this village was a wonderful experience, building relationships with some special people. It was also quite an emotional experience for me; more than once I had to fight back the tears in my eyes, something that rarely happens back home. When we weighed anchor, we looked back to the beach, and as usual there was a small figure with arms waving widely.
In Vanuatu, they have a saying 'It's easy to say Hello, but hard to say Goodbye!'
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Joining in the festivities - Yacht Courtesan
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Culinary Corner:
Laplap, laplap and more laplap (it's not a dance)! We've had all the variations - manioc, taro, yam (my favourite), with pumpkin, with fish.
When our hostess, Margaret, removed the special giant leaves which wrapped the kastom laplap we had been invited to share, there was a fowl in the centre. She had a big bowl of grated coconut to which she added water, stirred it with her hands, then squeezed the coconut milk over the fowl, forming a dipping sauce.
We've met up again with our German friends from Galatea, the yacht that has been cruising for nine years. Anna Maria has treated us to Mahi Mahi sushi and gravalax. She's even had a fresh spice cake (she grinds the seeds herself) and banana bread ready for us with coffee at the end of a busy day at the clinic.
We caught a small 60cm Skipjack tuna on the sail up to Luganville. As we got it close to the boat, it was a race between David winding it in and two sharks which had already sampled the dorsal fin. I screamed throat-burning shark-scaring noises. The tuna-for-dinner result was Courtesan 1 : Men in Grey suits Nil!
Our current experimental project is making our own 100% chocolate from cacao beans!
by Heather and David, cruising on Courtesan
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