Case Study: Mele Maat

In the early twentieth century, the volcanoes Benbow and Marum on the island of Ambrym erupted and threatened many villages, particularly Maat village. Forced to leave their land, the Maat villagers were allowed to resettle on the island of Efate, on Mele village’s land, hence the name Mele Maat. As this was pre-Independence, access to the Mele land was actually granted by the main plantation owner in the area at the time, who employed the Maat villagers, and who had obtained permission from the Mele landowner to have a plantation. To the best of my knowledge the Mele villagers were not formally consulted about this influx of islanders with whom they had no kinship ties or other traditional links. After Independence, when the land rights were returned to the Mele people, the village of Mele was kind enough to allow the Mele Maat villagers to remain on the land, with limited access rights. What was not foreseen, however, was the rapid growth of immigrants from the island of Ambrym to Mele Maat, where they have relatives, as the village is close enough to Port Vila for commuting to work. Many of these immigrants are young boys who behave irresponsibly, believing in their own invincibility when it comes to stealing from peoples’ gardens, and even claiming land for their own. A major fight once broke out between these Mele Maat youngsters and some Mele villagers, when the youths were blocked from their gardens one day by some Mele men and a fight involving machetes ensued, hospitalizing a Mele Maat youth. As in the case of Blacksands, similar to the Ifira landowners, the Mele landowners for the Mele Maat area are realizing that the immigrants are becoming too demanding. Also, the different cultures clash. While one solution would be to evict the Mele Maat villagers, the village has now grown too large for this to be a feasible solution. Moreover, Ambrymese notoriety for nakaimas, or sorcery, compounds the problem, as fear of curses is a very effective way to ensure that one gets to remain on the land.

Here I would like to point out that many of the immigrants in the settlements come from certain islands. The majority are from Tanna, which is the most densely populated island in the archipelago, and where there is also an erupting volcano. People from Paama also come as their garden land on the active volcano island of Lopevi is inaccessible due to the recent volcanic activity. And Tongoa is the third island with a large presence in Vila.

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