Together with Yasur Volcano, a visit to one of the Yakel kastom (custom) villages is a highlight of Tanna |
"Village Green" of a small settlement of inland Tanna |
Tanna man up on a banyan tree |
Banyan Tree, Tanna |
Welcome to Black Rooster Field, Tanna |
Vanuatu election poster, 2012 - Ail-Atu Pipols Asosiasen |
Shelter at the base of a banyan tree |
Twisted trunk and vines |
Tanna Evergreen Resort visits the Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, part of the Yakel tribe |
Our guide for the Yakel village |
A traditional hut, Yakel village |
The guide explains some of the native crops |
Tanna coffee |
Taro, a common staple throughout the Pacific islands |
Taro patch |
Yakel tribe, Tanna - mother with 4 young children |
We are invited into a kitchen hut to sample some native food |
Preparation of traditional food in a Yakel village, Tanna |
Cooking the meal on hot coals covered with banana leaf |
One of the older women of the Yakel tribe preparing traditional food |
I can't say it was particularly tasty |
At 3 or 4, Yakel boys start wearing the namba |
Yakel boy wearing a namba |
Yakel girls in grass skirts |
Yakel mother with a baby |
The Yakel build storage huts on short stilts |
Girls of the Yakel tribe demonstrate one of their games |
Yakel girls playing, Tanna |
Yakel girl wearing a flower and an odd stamp |
Yakel girl, Louinio Village |
Baby boy, Yakel tribe, Tanna |
Yakel girl in a grass skirt, Tanna |
Some Yakel women wear a "top" but most don't bother |
Yakel girls, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village |
Young Yakel woman wearing orange face paint |
Yakel children, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Yakel tribe, Tanna |
Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Yakel tribe, Tanna |
Raised hut, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village |
Raised hut, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village |
A young Yakel boy playing with a girl |
Yakel boy, Tanna |
Pig pen, Yakel village |
After visiting with the women and children, we move to the men's part of the village |
Yakel elder with one of the boys |
The elderly Yakel chief of Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
Girls hoping we'll buy some of the handicrafts produced by the village |
Yakel tribal handicrafts including outrigger canoes, jewellery, axes, tusks and shells |
The namba worn by men of the Yakel tribe on Tanna |
The men of Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
Yakel man wearing a namba, Tanna |
Yakel man demonstrates how they make fire without matches, Tanna |
A demonstration for us, making fire |
Tribal idol, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
Yakel boy with a pipe, Tanna |
Blowing on the pipe to get the smoke going |
Yakel boy with a pipe, Tanna |
The boy places the lit pipe in the mouth of the village idol |
Yakel village idol with pipe, Tanna |
Yakel chief, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
Yakel men wearing mambas, Tanna |
Yakel men seem to like fidgeting with their nambas |
Men of the Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
Namba man - Yakel tribe, Tanna |
They're used to visitors |
The Yakel men gather for a dance demonstration |
Yakel men and boys dance, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
A little action between two boys on the side |
Yakel village, Tanna |
Now a dance with the whole village |
Traditional Yakel tribe dance demonstration, Tanna |
Traditional Yakel tribe dance demonstration, Tanna |
Traditional Yakel tribe dance demonstration, Tanna |
Yakel teen, Tanna |
Yakel tribe, Tanna |
A burst of laughter |
Yakel tribe, Tanna |
Good looking young man of the Yakel tribe, Tanna |
Yakel tribal dance, Tanna |
Yakel tribal dance, Tanna |
Yakel men and boys |
Oops...someone lost their namba |
Yakel tribal dance, Tanna |
Tribal dance at the Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
Most of the villagers here are very enthusiastic |
...except this guy who didn't seem very thrilled with the family business |
Yakel man wearing a low-riding namba, Tanna |
The Yakel re-segrigate to relax by the men's hut after the dancing |
Yakel girls, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
Not everyday you get a photo op like this |
Me with the men and boys of the Yakel tribe |
Spot the joker and the sourpuss |
Visit to the Yakel tribe of Tanna |
I should have "gone native" :) |
Vanuatu village people, Tanna |
One of the other guests goes for her memorable photos (we were only 3 tourists) |
Yakel village, Vanuatu |
Yakel men of the Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
The namba on Tanna is very different from the penis sheath used on Malakula in the north of Vanuatu |
Yakel village, Tanna |
Close up view of a Yakel man's namba |
I'm not sure how many villages are open to tourists, probably several |
A hug from the elderly Yakel chief of Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna |
VanuatuOct12 0839.jpg |
The guys playing around, Yakel village, Tanna |
It's not like they can put their hands in their pockets |
Yakel guys with the village icon, Tanna |
Yakel guys with the village icon, Tanna |
Young Yakel men posing with the village icon |
Young Yakel men posing with the village icon |
Tourist at the Yakel village, Tanna |
I wonder how many tourists try the native dress |
Yakel village, Tanna |
Men's hut, Yakel village, Tanna |
Time to go and let them resume their lives |
On the way back down from the interior, we stop at a giant banyan tree |
These trees are just amazing |
Tanna banyan tree, Vanuatu |
The only two-level hut I spotted |
Clearing beneath the banyan trees |
Treehouse, Tanna, Vanuatu |
After the Yakel village, we stopped at another tourism project, a small botanical garden |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
The guide tells us some of the legends of Tanna |
Painting depicting on of the legends of Tanna, Vanuatu |
One of the panels has a rather modern looking boat |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Botanical garden, Tanna |
Pig pen at the Botanical Garden |
For sale back at the lodge (and at the airport), a DVD documentary on the Yakel tribe |