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http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/ Research Commons at the University of Waikato Copyright Statement: The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the thesis. The Potters of Espiritu Santo A socio-historical study of survival and loss of tradition A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology at The University of Waikato by Elizabeth Marie Pascal 2020 Abstract The Potters of Espiritu Santo : A socio-historical study of survival and loss of tradition. This dissertation looks at the traditional pottery of the Cumberland Peninsula on the island of Espiritu Santo in the context of its relationships with its makers, their history, traditional institutions and contact experiences, and also with other pottery in Vanuatu, in particular, the different pottery made further south on the same coast, that of the people of Wusi. The relationship between potteries is a persistent theme, starting with an attempt to trace their inheritance from the Lapita pottery believed to be made by the first colonisers of the region, and going on to compare the two technologies with each other and other ethnographically known potteries in Oceania. With doubt remaining about their precise relationship, the roles of contact history and cultural practice in the environments of the two areas are looked at to account for first an enhancement and then a decline of pottery making on the Cumberland Peninsula, while the comparative environmental harshness of the Wusi area has, in similar cultural and historic conditions, actually acted to help preserve pottery making there. ii Acknowledgements The idea of doing a project on the pottery and potters of Vanuatu was first conceived when I visited the west coast of Santo in 1993, so has been over 25 years in the making. Several of the people who gave me help and encouragement have since died: Professor Roger Green, my first supervisor, Pasta Bill Camden, who facilitated my first visit to the Weskos, Chief William of Tuturu who hosted our first visit to the villages of Big Bay, linguists Terry Crowley and Daryl Tryon, and my friends and wonderful hostesses Rovo Tavue and Lako Molissa. And since my last visit to the Notwes I am grieved to hear of the death of the last potter from the Pelia, Olfala Pala. Vanuatu Cultural Centre Field Worker, Chief Alty Ezekiel of Valpei, invited me on my second visit to the Weskos in 2004 and helped and hosted us over the next six years. Especial thanks to Alty and thanks also the rest of the Ezekiel family: Ezekiel and Ileimerik, Ruthy, Marylen, Essy and Rahany, Elijah, my frequent guide and escort, Jonas, Eliana and Noah, Silves and Marineth, Ian, Sanuel and all their families. In Olpoe I owe gratitude to the entire village for help and hospitality; but especially Chief Tavue Malmal, his sons Langi, Jean, Malon, Merejuen and Malmal and their families, and his daughters Riel, Thelma, and Merylin and their families. Also, to Olfala Pala and the other potters of Olpoe, and to Chief Robert, Peter Pos, Kamden, Mackenzie and Leon. My especial thanks for friendship and hospitality to Leah, Susan, Linda, Enikelen and the untiring Mary Jean, and for guidance and entertainment to Kwevira, Rolima, Kathleen and the beautiful Jenny. In Nokuku Chief Willy Mackenzie was our frequent host, teacher and guide. Thanks to his family and to Ben Frank and Margaret and their children, and to the whole village. In Ravlepa the Boe family let us watch pottery making and answered our questions. Thanks especially to Josef, James, Mule, Johnson and their families, and to Jack Wori. Other villages of Cape Cumberland that hosted, guided and shared their culture with us were Penaoru, thanks particularly to Chiefs Watut Molissa and Kelben Tom and to Viran Pweta and her family; Lajmoli, thanks to Nancy Lawrence, Viran Vae and the Seventh Day Adventist community; and the people of Petawata, Molpoi, Wunpuko and Hakua, especially Runa and Leon and their family; Vunap, especially the Joseph family and Brightly; and Pesena, especially the relatives of the Malmal and Joseph families, and the Pirates of Pesena iii who provided much of our Big Bay transport. People in Piamatsina, Piavot, Piamaeto, and Vasi, Pasta Andrew Jimmy Ova and his wife Naomi in Jureviu, and the Solomon family of Matantas gave us help as did the whole William family of Tuturu who guided us and gave us help and hospitality both in the village and in town. In west and south-west Santo I have to thank the people of Wusi village especially field- workers Lenki Bilat and Frank Lenki, potters Elda Mana, Naomi, Evelyn and Bepe’i, Salome of Malekula, Pansy and her family; and Chief Bule and all his family of Linturi village. In Santo town, thanks for help and hospitality to Alfred Mao, Simon Joseph, Jacques Wong, Trevor, the staff of the University of the South Pacific, the New Look Motel and Beachfront Resort, and especially to my friend Bernadette Tavue Robert and all her family, to Willie Boe and his family, and to Christine and Warren. And in Vila thanks to the staff of the Kaljoral Santa particularly Ambong Thomas and the Nasonel Laebri staff Anne Naupa and June Norman; to Jennifer West and her family and especially, for on-going hospitality, support, language lessons and friendship, to Dorry, Karl, Diana and William of Treetops. My thanks go also to my patient and encouraging rescue supervision team, Fraser Macdonald and John Campbell; had it not been for them what was really a thirty year project would have finished ignominiously two years ago. Max Oulton gave me his map of the regions of Oceania and drew and adapted all the other maps in this thesis, except the map of the languages of Santo, adapted from Daryl Tryon’s map by Ross Clark, and the map of the Nagriamel areas of Vanuatu which was accessed from Franky Steven’s deposit in the Vanuatu Kaljoral Senta. Caroline Phillips drew the Wusi kinship diagram, Ross Clark provided the tree of Northwest Santo languages and Stuart Bedford gave me permission to use his diagram of the pottery sequence of Vanuatu, which Max adapted. Hamish Macdonald gave advice and formatting help with photographs (all taken by me), and Dorothy Brown helped with proofreading. Editing and proofreading help and advice was given by my supervisors and Ross; and Caroline gave crucial help with organisation. The library staff at the University of Waikato gave advice and effectively did the major part of the formatting for me, thanks particularly to Jillene. Waikato Print and the Postgraduate Office made extra efforts to help me get this thesis submitted, my thanks especially to Jason and Angela. Finally thanks to people who supported me at crucial moments, and throughout this enterprise, particularly Caroline, Hamish, Ross and my first supervisor Tom Ryan, without whom I would have neither started nor completed this enterprise. Thank you also Judy Macdonald and Fiona McCormack. iv And finally, thanks to friends and colleagues who generously shared their research and knowledge, my predecessors on the Weskos: Jean-Christophe Galipaud, Yoko Nojima and Fabienne Tzerikiantz; and to Valerie Guerin, Katrina Malau, Robert Early, Paul Geraghty, John Lynch, Stuart Bedford and of course Kirk Huffman. And above all to Ross Clark who, as well as everything else, shared the adventure of attempting to do fieldwork in an environment in which there could be no Plan B. This work is for my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, in New Zealand, England and particularly Notwes Santo. v Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .............................................................................................................. xi List of Tables ............................................................................................................ xiii Glossary of Terms in Langwis and Bislama ........................................................... xiv Glossary of Pottery Terms ...................................................................................... xvii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ xix Note on Place Names and Spellings .......................................................................... xx Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 Background ................................................................................................................ 4 Pottery in Oceania .................................................................................................. 4 Potters on the West Coast of Santo .......................................................................

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