Language, Space and Identity in Vanuatu 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 Maewo, 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 languages of Vanuatu, a or French, and the Melanesian pidgin Bislama). 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 LAVA VANUATU \ Chaining of language subgroups \ \ BANKS Is 1 Hiw Central Maewo MERE LA VA Baetora Northeast Ambae Nduindui Raga Apma Sowa Seke Sa North Ambrym Lonwolwol Dakaka Port Vato Southeast Ambrym Paama Valpei Nokuku Atchin I' 'PMATASO Uripiv-Wala-Rano Lin arak LI~z%~z NGUNA / 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 Emae Ninde (Mewun) 102 North Efate 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 Aneityum Vivre dans l'île chains and how are they constituted? Put Torres and Banks Islands 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 Malakula 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 Torres Islands recognise a common culture C, C with D, and so on. This situation arises hero, Qat. 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 (Ureparapara, Ambrym, Pentecost and Arnbae, for grade- Mota Lava, Mota, Vanua Lava, Gaua, 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 Shepherd Islands). included Rowa (for the Banks Islands), north- The Southern Vanuatu group consists of the east Ambae (with Maewo and Pentecost), West languages of Erromango, 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 Polynesian Outlier 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 Polynesian languages (which for Ambae and Maewo. in turn are members of the Central Pacific While trade networks are better documen- subgroup of the Oceanic languages). 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,