As we arrived in Port Resolution on the isle of Tanna, Vanuatu, the village was preparing for a major multi-village event celebrating a young person becoming a man in the eyes of the village adults. This is a big deal in the outer villages, occurring maybe once a year, far away from the “big” city of Lenake. Once the ceremony was complete, the newly minted man could begin the process of learning a trade, building his own house, and preparing for his uncles to choose him a wife. Lisa and Abby were invited to help prepare many rice and veggies dishes along with the other women of the village the day before in a giant earthen oven. The men slaughtered 2 cows, a half dozen pigs, and many chickens. The number of people that were coming to the celebration increased as the day went on. I heard about 200, then 400, then 1000 people, with about 800 showing up. Everyone knew each other and all the families presented gifts ranging from cooking pots, bowls, clothes, the odd chicken, and very large kava roots to the young man. The guests from the other villages showed up with 50 pound sacks of rice, kava roots, and smiles. Several elderly ladies showered others with baby powder. We were asked if we could spare some gas for the generator. 5 gallons went along way and kept the music playing until the wee hours of the night and the next morning.

The morning began with the young person being taken to a private beach away from the eyes of the girls and women. His uncles, and a cousin who had the same ceremony last year, began the day by leading the boy to the beach and then gave him a shave and a haircut. They scrubbed his body with freshly made coconut milk and mixed it with sand, exfoliating his skin. An older uncle got to whip him a few times with a switch made from a rainforest tree. He then had to cleanse himself in the sea and drip dry while his extended family sang songs, laughed at and with him, and prepared to paint his face.

A few young boys around 8-10 years old showed up to watch and see what all the fuss was about. Little did they know, one of them had to participate by having a circumcision preformed with a sharpened bamboo knife. Ouch! The group was trying to select which boy was to be the “lucky” one (without the blessing of their moms) when I was asked if Luke was circumcised. Fortunately for Luke this happened on day 2 or 3 of his life and he doesn’t remember it. When I affirmed that he had been, he was asked to participate in the ceremony, sparing the 3-4 days of pain that one of the young boys would have endured at that moment. The older guys all remembered getting circumcised this way back in their youth. Luke was accepted as a member of the tribe after going through a few events and performing several duties. I don’t think he will ever forget the day he became a man and a member of the Tanna tribe.

Shaving the next man of the village.

Uncle whipping the boy before he becomes a man.

 

Face painting.

 

Uncles getting ready to choose the next circumcision candidate.

 

The man to be and the previous man to be from last year.

The chosen boy to represent youth. He will do the ceremony next year.

The man to be’s favorite uncle with Luke.

The man to be with his tribe members.

Mom welcoming him back into the village.

Guests of honor.

Presentation of gifts to the new man.

Traditional food on a traditional plate. No forks or knives.

Chief of the village with his daughter. Both were always smiling and laughing.

Traditional kava for the men to drink. Luke participated and had a few cups.

Love the recycled buoy for the water bucket.

Bachelor hut.

Beachfront bachelor pad or wife attractor.

Big family house. Stanley’s place. I added a door frame for him using my cordless tools. Also presented his brothers with a few sets of carving tools as they lost nearly everything, including their houses, when Cyclone Pam hit in 2015.

Wet and green everywhere.