We were fortunate to be able to visit a number of villages and tribes and found that everywhere we went, we were welcomed warmly. The Entani tribe, who protect the volcano, gave us entree to their sacred mountain. A fascinating, albeit a little startling, visit to a tribe not so long separated from their cannibal past where Lindsay met with the chief’s son and was given wise advice on his responsibilities as a man. He showed us, well actually Lindsay (it’s a patriarchal society) how they ‘predicted’ the weather, enforced laws like arranged marriages, how they healed their sick - the Kasdom way. And on our final day on the island we visited the village of the Yakel tribe; this was the village setting for the movie Tanna in 2015, a movie about an ancient culture and its customs. We met some of the people who featured in the movie. This is one of the villages which follows traditional kastoms where modern inventions are restricted - except we saw a couple of small solar panels installed to power lights - and the villagers wear traditional clothes: grass skirts for the girls and penis sheaths for the men and older boys. These warm and gentle people gave us a small window into traditional village life. Each family has its own compound with structures for sleeping, eating and housing animals.
We were taken to see a Stone Age man-made cave and an ancient footprint embedded in the lava. Once protected from outsiders’ eyes, the local villages which are the custodians of the treasures of Tanna Island, are sharing some of their ancient heritage- and very proudly. All the guides are local and they are passionate about their island.
There is a simplicity of life and the warmth and humour of the people make this place an idyllic place. I gave me pause for thought at what treasures we are missing out on by not knowing and understanding more about our Australian aborigines. One can always hope!
The banyan trees are sacred on Tanna. Sadly this huge tree was damaged during Cyclone Pam but it is still a magical entrance to another world. We slipped through the roots and were greeted by screaming terrifying tribes people acting out their cannibal past.
Of course we had to line up for a photo with clubs and spears
This is one of the family houses in the village of Yakel, ‘Wawa’s family. We met her mother and grandfather and Selin her duster - in the movie. It’s fairly rudimentary.
The kids were intrigued watching Lindsay changevthe batteries in his hearing aids. A first for them!
A bought a beautifully polished shell from this beautiful woman. All thevwomen laid out their trinkets to show us (but we had little local money - and customs etc)
The kids were just gorgeous and loved having their pictures taken and being able to see themselves and pix of our great grandson.
These kids were from a village up the hill from where we were staying. Why abd first but the camera or rather the pix made them curious. This village has a home stay.
Our last day on Tanna we wandered around the small market at the main town. Wonderful selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. And lots of curious stares - tourism is pretty slim at the moment and those who come go Tanna go to the main tourist spots.
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