Ranon, Ambryn

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Wood carvings, Rom drum, wedding preparation, friends reunited

Allen (pictured below) is the chief of Ranon, he is showing us a Rom drum it takes about 3 years to carve, the base of the pole is hollow making it drum. I asked Allen how many years it would last and he rubbed his chin and thought then responded "maybe 3 chiefs". This amused me as did the ni-Vanuatu attitude to age, they celebrate birthdays, but don't seem to know an accurate count of their age, when I asked how old a child was it was not uncommon for the parent to respond "little one pikininny, maybe 2 years"

Below,This is the kindergarten..., hmm and we think we are under resourced in Australia!

A giant Nubunga tree

Allan (the Chief) took us for a walk through Ranon village, he then took us to his hut and laid banana leaf mats on the ground,under a huge tree for us to sit on. It was very hot and we were glad to rest under the dense foliage of the huge tree ,while Allan brought his wood carving to show us. He was keen to trade and really needed rope but we didn't have any spare. Cathy brought a carving but nothing really grabbed my attention.













This is the School...no kids it is Saturday




















Susan's fear of Ambryn Island diminished when she meet a cousin (relationships seem to be a bit blurred, a cousin could be an aunt, a friend or a half sibling) who was attending the secondary boarding school.
This Island intrigued me and I want to go back during the October Rom ceremony...
Preparation for a wedding feast in two days, were under way in this communal kitchen








nice looking boy ....But what a waste carrying taro which should in my opinion only ever be feed to pigs!