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Home , Ambrym, Aneityum, Atchin, Banks Islands, Bislama, Efate

Language, Space and Identity in DARRELL TRYON

HE QUESTION OF REGIONAL GROLJPINGS and Tidentity in Vanuatu society has been central to the interests of geographers, linguists and anthropologists in the South Pacific from the Looking at Vanuatu from a linguistic standpoint, there are 113 extant indigenous late nineteenth century until the present. languages spoken today for a population of Among the leading contributors from the only 170,000 (Tryon, 1337). What does this perspective of cultural geography was Joël mean in terms of linguistic space and identity ? Bonnemaison, from the time of his earliest One might be tempted to think of a very frag- work in Vanuatu from the late 1360s until his mented society or set of societies with distinct untimely death in 1337. Bonnemaison (1372, and defensive boundaries. In some senses this 1374, 1373, 1385, 1386, 1336) covered nearly is true, in that language is seen in Vanuatu as al1 of the archipelago, with significant studies a kind of badge or emblem clearly demarca- of regional groupings and identities in , ting one group or society from another. Ni- Ambae and Pentecost in the north, in central Vanuatu are alert to and fully cognisant of Vanuatu, and especially in his classic study of language similarities and differences, right Tanna society. down to the sub-dialect level. This language awareness is enhanced by the multili&ual Bonnemaison's geographic interests found character of almost every Vanuatu society, their linguistic complement in the work of the where exogamous marriage is the norm, with present writer, whose linguistic enquiries in the result that children grow up speaking the Vanuatu began at the same time as Bonne- languages of both parents, and normally the maison's. In fact, as a result ofTryonls (1376) languages of neighbouring areas (plus English classification of the , a or French, and the Melanesian pidgin ). close persona1 and professional relationship developed, resulting in a number of joint This language awareness springs from projects, not the least ofwhich was the series another source, too, namely an awareness of of interrelated articles which appeared in the existence of chains of societies which Vanuatu Océanie (Bonnemaison, Huffman, amount to linguistic subgroups. These chains Kaufmann & Tryon, editors, 1336, 1337). have striking cultural correlates. What are these À Joël Bonnemaison, le Voyage inachevé..

TEGU~TORRES 1' _ Figure 1. LOH~~ TOGA' / 3 UREPARW4RA 9 .*ROWA\ \ D%OW VANUATU

\ Chaining of language subgroups

\ \ BANKS Is

1 Hiw Central Maewo MERE LA VA Baetora Northeast Ambae Nduindui Raga Apma Sowa Seke Sa North Lonwolwol Dakaka Port Vato Southeast Ambrym Valpei Nokuku

Atchin I' 'PMATASO -Wala-Rano Lin arak LI~z%~z / Katbol Unua Pangkumu Ntolenien (Repanbitip) EFA TE Aulua Vartabo Banam Bay) - Nisvai (detbong) + Port Sandwich Maskelvnes Maxbaio Axamb 94 Lamenu Nasvang 95 Lewo Sosorian 96 Bierebo Natanggan 97 Baki Navwien 98 Mai Naha'ai 99 Bieria Nahava (Sinesip) 100 Namakura Naati 101 Ninde (Mewun) 102 North Mbotkote 103 South Efate Ayiaulian (Dixon) 104 Mele-Fila Nasarian 105 Ura Vinmavis 106 Sie Larevat 107 NorthTanna Big Nambas 108 Lenakel Malua Bay 109 Whitesands vovo 110 Kwamera Mpotovoro 111 Southwest Tanna Mae 112 Futuna-Aniwa Maragus 113 Vivre dans l'île chains and how are they constituted? Put Torres and together with Maewo. simply, languages often diversify by dialect A fourth overlapping group links the southern differentiation, which occurs when a language Banks Islands (Mwerig and Mere Lava), Maewo, has spread geographically so that it is spoken Ambae and north Pentecost. The overlapping in more than one settlement. Evidence for chain phenornenon then extends West across dialect differentiation consists of innovations to Santo and and south through shared by al1 members of the group and/or Pentecost and Ambrym as far as Paama. innovations which link communalects in a Each of these groupings has cultural and chain or network. In a chain, languageldialect societal correlates.Thus, for example, the Banks A shares one or two innovations with B, B with and recognise a common culture C, C with D, and so on. This situation arises hero, . In terms of the graded society because an innovation may arise in any (nimanggi) which links al1 of north and central communalect of the chain and spread to its Vanuatu, the Banks and Torres group does not neighbours, so that the geographical domains indulge in great pig-killing sacrifices as a pre- of the various innovations may overlap. requisite for rank-taking, but rather makes a The term chain is commonly used to much more modest use of pigs, compared to describe the situation where communalects Ambae, Santo and Malakula. On the other have spread along a coastline, each most closely hand, shell money is used extensively throu- related to its neighbours on either side. The ghout the Banks and Torres for ceremonial and term network is normally used to describe the ritual purposes. It is hardly used at al1 outside situation where communalects are scattered this group. Ambae, Maewo and north Pentecost over a land area or archipelago, having neigh- share a comrnon culture hero also, namely bours on more than two sides and often Tagaro, whose home was reputedly Maewo. sharing innovations with several of these. Ni-Vanuatu are very much aware of these larger In Vanuatu this chaining phenornenon is groupings, within which there is often shared illustrated in Figure1. ritual (as for example between north-east In terms of identity and allegiance, ni- Malakula and Ambae), trade and exchange of Vanuatu distinguish a number of levels which ritual goods. reflect linguistic and cultural realities. The Huffman (1997), Tryon (1997), and Bonne- primary level is obviously one's irnmediate maison (1979, 1985) discuss this phenome- family, clan and home village and/or nakamal, non for northem and central Vanuatu, the main depending on which area of Vanuatu is being lines of which may be summarised as follows: considered. However, there are higher levels - shell money was traded, mainly for pigs, recognised, and it is these levels which corres- throughout the Banks and Torres Islands and pond to the chaining phenomenon described between the Banks Islands and Maewo, Ambae above. Thus, for example, Figure 1 shows that and the north of Santo. there is a language grouping, defined by the - pottery was traded from West Santo right chaining mechanism just discussed (based on around Santo and south via Ma10 and Vao, and shared linguistic innovations), which includes along the east Coast of Malakula and beyond, al1 of the Torres and Banks Islands in the far as far as Lamenu Island (Epi). north of Vanuatu. There is another which - pigs were traded between Malakula, includes only the Banks Islands (, Ambrym, Pentecost and Arnbae, for grade- , Mota, , , Mwerig taking purposes and for the purchase of and Mere Lava). Yet another links al1 of the women. À Joël Bonnemaison, le Voyage inachevé.. .

- nambas, bark belts and plaited belts were na1 groupings, a Northern, a Central and a traded for pigs between northem Malakula and Southern Vanuatu group. The Northern and Ambrym. Central Vanuatu groups (al1 of the islands north - mats were traded between Pentecost, of and including Efate) are more closely rela- Ambae, Ma10 and north Malakula. ted to each other linguistically than they are - dye, especially red dye, was traded from to the Southern group (see Figure 2). south Santo to north Malakula. The Northern Vanuatu group includes al1 of - foodstuffs, especially yams and taro, were the languages of the Banks and Torres Islands, widely traded, especially between inland and Santo, Maewo, Ambae and the northern part coastal regions. of Pentecost. The Central Vanuatu group comprises the languages of central and There were a number of major trading southern Pentecost, Ambrym, Malakula, centres through which goods flowed. These Paama, Epi, Efate and the ). included Rowa (for the Banks Islands), north- The Southern Vanuatu group consists of the east Ambae (with Maewo and Pentecost), West languages of , Tanna and Aneityum. Ambae (with Pentecost, Malo, Vao and east It should be noted that there are three Coast Malakula), Ma10 and Vao (probably the languages in Vanuatu which remain outside largest trading crossroads), West Ambrym and this higher level grouping. These are the three south-east Malakula, and Lamenu (Epi). Of languages spoken in course trading was not confined to an inter- Vanuatu, namely Futuna-Aniwa (in the south) island network. On the larger islands, espe- and Mele-Fila and Emwae (spoken on Efate cially Malakula and Santo, there were well-esta- and in the Shepherd Islands just to the north). blished trade networks. Bonnemaison (1974) These languages belong to the Samoic-Outlier has further documented intra-island trading subgroup of the (which for Ambae and Maewo. in turn are members of the Central Pacific While trade networks are better documen- subgroup of the ). ted for the central and northern areas of Vanuatu, well-established networks also exis- Interestingly, the three major subgroups of ted in the southern islands, between Efate and Vanuatu languages correspond to three major Erromango, and throughout the five southern cultural areas, recognised as such by many Ni- islands (Erromango, Tanna, Futuna, Aniwa and Vanuatu. There are many manifestations of Aneityum). overt cultural markers which serve as emblems of identity in each group, the most striking of Returning to the theme of larger language which are: subgroupings and their correlates in terms of common identity and allegiance in Vanuatu, - In the Northern subgroup (see Figure 2) while there are indeed chains of communities traditional male dress consists of rectangular or social groups linked by overlapping sets of dyed woven mats, whereas in the Central and linguistic innovations (lexical and gram- Southern Vanuatu subgroups, nambas (penis- matical), there is fairly dearly a tripartite divi- wrappers) are worn (There is a transitional sion of Vanuatu languages (and societies). The zone in central Pentecost). languages of Vanuatu are more closely related - In the Northern subgroup, drums are hori- to one another internally than to any language zontal, while in the Central Vanuatu subgroup, group outside. The Vanuatu Subgroup of the right down to Efate, the southern limit of the falls into three inter- subgroup, they are upright. In the area cove- Vivre dans 1 'île

HIU 8 $ TORRES ls LOH~ Figure 2 TOGA' Gu~~yR;~~

D MOTA UVA VANUATU Linguistic divisions

14'5- BANKS Is

(sa$%?aana, 0 0 MWERl'G MERE LAVAa Northern Islands

DSAKAO

16" S - Central Islands

EMWAE .P 0MA,, SHEPHERD Is

NGUNA

~... EFATE . ',. ,Southern Islands

r,,ERROMANGO

dANlWA

O 100 km TANNA FUTUNA CI 1 1 À Joël Bonnemaison, le Voyage inachevé.. red by the Southern Vanuatu subgroup there 1864 until 1931), while the Catholic church, are no slit-drums at all. which was established in Vanuatu only in 1887, In addition, in the Northern subgroup the used French in its mission schools. What in graded society (sukwe) is matrilineal, whereas fact this created, was a dual society in which in the Central area, where it is practised Presbyterians and Anglicans spoke English as (everywhere except Efate and the Shepherd well as local vernaculars, while products of the Islands), that society (nimanggi) is patrilineal. Catholic mission system spoke French. This set It is evident, therefore, that in Vanuatu there of identities, which transcended traditional are a number of different levels with regard to language boundaries, was compounded with the use of geographical space and identity, the development of politics and ultimate inde- which are recognised by al1 Ni-Vanuatu and pendence in the 1970s. For political parties at which operate simultaneously, the level in independence, and even at the present time in focus at any given moment being determined a more limited way, were aligned with linguis- by the political consideration in view. tic and religious affiliations. The Vanuaaku This brings us to consider the impact of the Party consisted almost entirely of Anglophone languages of colonialism in Vanuatu, English Presbytenans and Anglicans, while what tumed and French, the identities which they create out to be the opposition party in the first vis-à-vis identities based on traditional governments after independence, the Union language and community divisions, and also of Moderate Parties, was very largely Franco- the role of Bislama, an English-based pidgin, phone. Considerable bitterness erupted proclaimed as the in the between political parties as the Francophones, Vanuatu constitution ; for these languages especially those employed in the various occupied a different geographical space and branches of the public service, were seen to be create quite different identities from those gene- increasingly marginalised. This situation was rated by language in traditional Vanuatu not redressed until a Francophone party won societies. government in 1991. There has been until now, and still today, There is no question even today that being perhaps to a slightly lesser extent, a linguistic Anglophone or Francophone creates an iden- and religious nexus which in more recent times tity, a group allegiance which in many cases has had political ramifications. In the nine- cross-cuts traditional groupings, in spite of the teenth century, first the Presbyterian and fact that strenuous efforts have been made to Anglican churches and later the Catholic develop common school curricula. However, church evangelised the greater part of what was this should not be viewed negatively. It is quite then the , an Anglo-French normal and fundamental, not just in , condominium from 1906 until independence but worldwide, that the fact of speaking a and the emergence of the Republic ofVanuatu certain language automatically creates a group in 1980. identity for speakers of that particular language. There was no government schooling provi- There is only one language in Vanuatu which ded in Vanuatu until the 196Os, education is spoken nation-wide, namely Bislama, an (and, for the most part, health) being the exclu- English-based pidgin which developed in the sive province of the churches.The anglophone nineteenth century, as a maritime, trade and churches used English as the medium of plantation language which provided a instruction (Mota, a language of the Banks common medium of expression in an area of Islands, being used in the Anglican church from the world characterised by a vast number of different laquages. It is this language which nement : formes de f~ationet de mobilité dans was declared a national language in the les sociétés traditionnelles des Nouvelles- Vanuatu constitution, although it is not used Hébrides ». L'Espace géographique, 8(4) : 303- as a language of education. The first Prime 318. Minister of Vanuatu, Father Walter Lini, made Bonnemaison (J.), 1985. ((Territorial control and every effort to use Bislama, especially on radio, mobility within Ni-Vanuatu societies ». In to create a feeling of nationhood in Vanuatu. Circulation in Population Movement: Substance Bislama is still very much a spoken medium, and Concepts from the Melanesian Case, and with the passage of time some feeling of M.Chapman and R.M. Prothero (eds.), common identity as a nation state has been Routledge & Kegan Paul, London: 57-59. engendered by its use in al1 situations throught Bonnemaison (J.), 1986. Les fondements d'une iden- the country, especially as Ni-Vanuatu have tité: territoire, histoire et société dans l'archipel de become much more aware of the world beyond Vanuatu. Travaux et Documents de I'Orstom their shores. no 201, Paris, 2 volumes. Bonnemaison (J.),Huffman (K.), Kaufmann (C.), Tryon (D.), 1996. Vanuatu Océanie. Arts des îles de cendre et de corail. Réunion des musées natio- naux-Orstom, Paris. in conclusion, there are multiple and some- times contradictory levels of space and iden- Bonnemaison (J.), Huffman (K.), Kaufmann (C.), tity, and therefore allegiance, predicated on Tryon (D.), 1997. Arts of Vanuatu. Crawford language in Vanuatu today. Some of these House Press, Bathurst. reflect traditional societal groupings, while Huffman (K.W.), 1997. ((Trading.cultural exchange others reflect the colonial history of this former and copyright: important aspects of Vanuatu Anglo-French Condominium. arts ». In Arts of Vanuatu, Joël Bonnemaison, Kirk Huffman, Christian Kaufmann & Darrell Tryon (eds.), Crawford House Press, Bathurst: 182- REFERENCES 194. Tryon (D.), 1976. The Languages of the New Bonnemaison (J.), 1972. ((Système de grades et Hebrides: an interna1 classification. Pacific différences régionales en Aoba ». Cahiers Ontom, Linguistics, Series C, no 50, Canberra. série Sciences humaines, vol. IX, 1 : 103-120. Tryon (D.), 1997. << Dialect chaining and the use Bonnemaison (J.), 1974. (( Espaces et paysages of geographical space ». In : Arts of Vanuatu, Joël agraires des Nouvelles-Hébrides ». Journal de la Bonnemaison, Kirk Huffman, Christian Société des Océanistes, 44-5: 163-232, 259-281. Kaufmann & Darrell Tryon (eds). Crawford Bonnemaison (J.), 1979. Les voyages et l'enraci- House Press, Bathurst: 170-181.