Vanuatu has
approximately 113 indigenous languages, spread over eighty plus islands. With
each language there is a distinct culture, so it is not uncommon for
neighbouring villages to be of completely different cultures. As a result many
people speak more than one language so that communication between different
groups is possible. The introduction of English, French and Bislama (a pidgin
that evolved out of the sandalwood and blackbirding trade of the early 1800s),
and their current status as the three official languages of the nation, has
helped inter-cultural communication also, as well as Bislama giving us a
national identity for an otherwise multifarious people.
The
colonial period is remembered particularly for bringing together ni-Vanuatu
from all over the country into central settlements, Port Vila and Luganville.
Islanders were brought to the centers for reasons of employment, vocational
training and education. Initially, to stem immigrants from other islands, and
thus avoid conflicts with the local people in these areas, there was a colonial
policy that if one was not employed in the towns (as a house-girl, or student
etc.) one was not allowed to reside there. As Independence neared, however,
when self-determination for Melanesians during the colonial era was increasing,
this policy basically broke down and the towns today are a mix of cultures, many
of which contain unemployed people. In the towns traditions are changing.
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