Cultural myths from a time past live on in today’s world.
Vanuatu is a series of isolated tropical islands inhabited by a people
who have passed down stories and tradition in oral form for many
generations, keeping alive their traditions and culture.
On the island of Ambrym there is a large rock, named Pouviaserole. The
locals say it was a monster that once was the guardian of the sacred
Olal Bay. According to tradition Pouviaserole, or Guardian, was a huge beast with
the appearance of something between a savage dog and a wild boar. In
the middle of its head there was a large horn.
Swimming in the beautiful tepid waters of the tropical island, children
from the nearby villages were unaware that the innocent looking log was
really Pouviaserole on the beach. The log became an object of fun as the children would throw it into the
ocean and laugh as they watched it drift back onto the beach.
Pouviaserole would suddenly transform itself into the enormous monster
it really was and pounce on the terrified children. A tasty meal of
children was just what Pouviaserole was after. His belly filled with children and undetected, the beast would slink
back into its lair which was concealed underwater. It would hide
undetected for many months, until it would once again repeat the
deception.
The Chieftan of the local Village finally declared the beach taboo.
That area of the ocean was off limits to the children of the
neighbouring village.
Pouviaserole realised after some time, that there were no more children
visiting and went to the village looking for them. Slithering along it
licked its lips in anticipation of the coming feast.
A child, the strongest and most becoming of the village, ran to where
Pouviaserole lay as a log. Suddenly the monster snatched the child in
its ugly mouth. It so happened that this boy was the Chieftan's son.
The Chief enraged with grief, declared revenge on the guardian of the
sacred bay. The men of the village were ordered to hide themselves in
the surrounding bush of the beach.
One child had not satisfied the hunger of the beast. He needed more food. As it slithered out of the water the avenging hunters jumped on it.
The villagers rushed threw their spears at the beast. The first pierced
the monster’s eye, then another hit it in the stomach.
The beast suffering grievous wounds, was determined not to breathe
it’s last on a beach in front of the assailants. It turned and headed
for the safety of its lair. A brave warrior valiantly threw his spear, which lodged itself in the back of the animal’s neck.
The monster turned and stopped. Blood quickly discoloured the water. In an act of
defiance the monster quickly changed into a rock. Pouviaserole had lost the
battle, but gained immortality. The guardian of the sacred bay can still be seen today in the Bay of Olal, a popular travel destination, as a large black rock dominating the bay.
In the book of oral traditions of Vanuatu, Nabanga, one can read many
stories such as Pouviaserole, the Guardian Child Eating Rock. Vanuatu secrets are slowly being
revealed. For the first time
outside Vanuatu, some of the sacred art of Ambrym was shared in a
recent art exhibition in Australia.
The ancient anthological tales of Vanuatu may make amusing reading for
some, yet there is an underlying tragedy in the beautiful tropical
island archipelago of the Happiest Country on Earth. Many of the Vanuatu children do not receive an education.
Free education is not available and therefore being educated is beyond
the realm of most of the isolated villagers in their cashless economy.
Many live on under $1 per day.
For the villagers the disastrous consequences are...
26% of Vanuatu children will never go to school at all
55.8% of Vanuatu kids will get to grade 6
Only 18.2% will go to high school.
Education was not seen as a priority for the government of Vanuatu. In
late 2007 they admitted they did not have the resources, or the
finances to provide education beyond the main islands.
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