Vanuatu Art and Artifacts

Background of Vanuatu Art and Artifacts

Vanuatu, is a beautiful island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 83 islands, of which only 65 are inhabited, spread across an area of approximately 1,300 kilometers.

The history of Vanuatu dates back thousands of years when the islands were inhabited by Melanesian tribes. European explorers arrived in the 17th century, and Vanuatu became a French-British joint colony in the late 19th century.

Many of the top collectors and collections of Vanuatu are french.

Much of the sculpture was created as part of grading or initiation ceremonies. These gradings were multi-level and often took a lifetime to achieve.

Vanuatu Art and artifact Types

Vanuatu Sculpture

Rambaramp Figures

In Vanuatu the skulls of the dead become the central component of life-size effigies called rambaramp.

A surrogate body made out of bamboo, clay, and plant fibers was painted with clan designs. There is debate over whether the rambaramp was intended to be a physical likeness of the individual. The people in the community would have recognized the identity of the figure through patterns painted on the skull and body. These patterns are associated with the status of the deceased. Rambaramp were created only for men and only for those of the highest rank, usually chiefs or warriors.

Once completed, the rambaramp would be set up in the men’s house. By offering a place for the spirit to reside, the figure facilitated the continuing presence of the ancestor. The ancestor who would, in turn, ensure the well-being of the community. Because they were made largely of vegetal materials, the bodies of the rambarampwould eventually decay. However, the skull—the most vital part of the figure—would continue to serve as a representative of the ancestor long after the body was gone.

Vanuatu Stone sculptures

The exact function of these Vanuatu stones is not known. Some refer to them as being for magic related to an increase in pigs on the island. The pig is the standard of value and all other values are related to the pig.

Others stones appear to represent important ancestors or deities.

Vanuatu Art and Artifacts Masks

Vanuatu Wooden masks

The wood masks of Vanuatu come from the north of the archipelago. Their distribution is to the north of the Island of Ambrym and the South of Pentecost island

The masks were kept in the men’s house to preserve them from insect damage. A few days before the ceremonies took place, the initiates would take the masks to the forest. Here, in a clearing, far from sight, they would clean the soot of the men’s house from the masks and repaint them.

On the day of the ceremony, four of these masks, accompanied by two conical masks, would emerge from the forest. The masks danced in the village square, scaring the boys and women. The dance, which took place in April, celebrated the beginning of the yam harvest, the tubers which were then maturing in the gardens. The ceremony was one of the most important aspects of village life, beginning a period of plenty and exchange. The mask’s function was its power to materialize the presence of the ancestors bringing abundance and continuation.

Dances related to the harvesting of yams were abandoned from the late nineteenth as a consequence of Christianity.

Helmet mask comes from southern Malakula. they are a part of complex men’s secret societies, which involve a series of ritual “grades”. Grades of initiation in which individuals pass, by means of initiation rites, festivals, and pig sacrifices. The higher your grade the higher you religious and social status. The two most prominent grade societies in southern Malakula are Nimangki and Nalawan. Grade rituals in each of these societies involve the creation of brightly painted figures and masks. The masksdepict depicting powerful spirits and other supernatural beings.

For example one mask represents the female cannibal giant Nevinbumbaan, whose son, Ambat Malondr, sits on her shoulders. Nevinbumbaan created the men’s Nimangki society

Vanuatu Slit Gong Drum

The slit gong, also known as the tam-tam, is an important musical instrument and cultural symbol in Vanuatu. It is a type of percussion instrument made from hollowed-out hardwoods such as ironwood or breadfruit tree.

Slit gongs have significant cultural and ceremonial significance in Vanuatu. They are played during important events, rituals, and community gatherings. The instrument serves many purposes, including communication, signaling, and as a means of connecting with ancestral spirits. The sound of the slit gong carries spiritual power. It sound can invoke ancestral spirits, creating a connection between the living and the spiritual realm.

Vanuatu Ritual objects

Vanuatu Pudding Dish

Pudding dishes much like pounders and knoves were a symbol of status.

 Some styles of pudding dish were on legs a bit like Kava Bowls while others were flat on the bottom. Styles varied area by area.

Only a man of  high grade in the Suque or secret society structure would  own or use a such pudding dish .

Vanuatu Weapons

Vanuatu clubs

War Clubs from Vanuatu were often collected without locations being recorded. As a result it is difficult to assertain which cultural groups use which club type.

Well made clubs were also highly prized and the locals were reluctant to clubs that had spiritual meaning to them

Some club types are relatively common. These usually have 4 half sphered on the top but other types can be quite rare and valuable.