Vanuu

Vanuu
Vanuu
Coordinates	15 ° 59 ′  S , 168 ° 12 ′  E Coordinates: 15 ° 59 ′  S , 168 ° 12 ′  E
Basic data
Country	Vanuatu
The great waterfall of Vanuu

Vanuu ( Sowa : van uu , German about: "under the noise / waterfall", English: Waterfall Village ) is a settlement on the southwest coast of the Pentecost Island in Vanuatu .

geography

The village consists of several scattered groups of houses in a former coconut plantation . It is on the main road that connects the north with the south, around 9 km north of Lonorore Airport and around 8 km south of Melsisi .

The village has a Churches of Christ church , a traditional meeting house ( nakamal ), some shops and a hostel. Vanuu's children attend Anglophone Primary School in Ranmawot , 2 km away. The Ranwadi High School is also nearby .

The eponymous large waterfall and the pool behind the village, as well as a good anchorage, make Vanuu a popular destination on Pentecost. The waterfall is only one of seven waterfalls on the river; the others lie far in the impassable hinterland. There is also a limestone cave nearby. Although liana jumping is not practiced in the area , the site is occasionally accommodation for tourists en route to the ceremony.

history

The narrow coastal plain in the area in which Vanuu is located was originally uninhabited and with dense marshmallow thickets (Hibiscus tilliaceus, cottonwood, burao ). In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the area lost many inhabitants due to introduced European diseases. The present village was founded in the middle of the 20th century by men from other places who made copra in the plantation . The villagers therefore have many connections to other villages on the island (ancestral villages). The plantation, however, was given up again.

In gardens above Vanuu, crops such as taro are grown for subsistence farming, as well as commodities such as kava . Another source of income is fees charged by tourists visiting the waterfall and for other services.

Language and culture

The language and culture in the Vanuu area have historically been in a mediating position between the culture of Central Pentecost and South Pentecost, even if the influence of Central Pentecost predominates.

The original language was Sowa , but depopulation in the 20th century resulted in the extinction of this language. Today Apma , the language of Central Pentecost in the north , is mainly spoken. The village chief Isaiah Tabi Vahka is fighting for a documentation and revival of the Sowa. The national language Bislama is also in use and there are some speakers of the Ske from the Baravet community in the south. English is spoken by educated locals.