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Religion in Vanuatu

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Sacred Heart CathedralinPort Vila.

Christianityis the largestreligion in Vanuatu.Vanuatuis an archipelago made up of 13 larger islands, and approximately 70 smaller surrounding islands, each home to multitudes of diverse cultural and religious communities.[1]

As of 2020, the population of approximately 300,000 people speak as many as 145 languages throughout the island nation.[2]Approximately 82% of the population ofVanuatuisChristian.An estimated 28% isPresbyterian,12%Roman Catholic,15%Anglican,and 12%Seventh-day Adventist.[3]Groups that together constitute 15% include theChurch of Christ,[4]the Apostolic Church,Assemblies of God,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,Jehovah’s Witnessesand some Protestant denominations.[5]

TheJohn Frum Movement,a political party that also is an indigenous religious group, is centered on the island ofTannaand includes about 5% of the population.[5]TheBaháʼí Faith,Muslims,Jehovah's Witnesses,andthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(Mormons) also are active.[5]There are believed to be members of other religions within the foreign community; they are free to practice their religions, but in 2007 they are not known toproselytizeor hold public religious ceremonies.[6]

History[edit]

The traditional religion of Vanuatu[edit]

Before Christianity, the indigenous religion of Vanuatu was inherited fromOceanianandMelanesiantraditions.[7]Missionaries often called this pre-Christian religion “pagan”or “heathen”in English, and as “times of darkness” inthe country's local languages,[8][9]: 207 or inBislama(taem blong tudak).[10]: 86 [11]: 140 

The traditional religion, sometimes considered a form ofanimism,has been described by various authors, notably theAnglicanmissionaryandanthropologistRobert Codringtonin his famous 1891 monographThe Melanesians: Studies in Their Anthropology and Folk-lore(1891).[12]He was followed by other scholars, including anthropologists[13][14] and linguists.[9]

Concepts central to the traditional religion includemana,[15][16]tabu,[17]and the worship of ancestral spirits (tamate).[7][9][13][14]Named deities or mythological figures includedQatandQasavarain theBanks Is,TagaroonAmbae,Lisepsepacross the archipelago.[9]: 218–222 

Grade-taking ceremonies,which existed throughout Vanuatu, were associated with the indigenous religion, and with the transmission ofmana.

Many aspects of the traditional religion have survived until today,in parallel withthe adoption of Christianity, at least in some rural areas of Vanuatu.[10]: 86 [11]

Christianity[edit]

Christian missionization of Vanuatu began as early as 1606 upon the arrival of the Spanish explorerPedro Fernandes de Queirósin Vanuatu.[18]Missionariesrepresenting several Western churches brought Christianity to the country in the 19th and early 20th centuries, specifically from Presbyterian, Catholic and Anglican missions.[6]Some foreign missionaries continue this work; however, approximately 90% of the clergy of the established churches were indigenous by 2007.[6]TheSummer Institute of Linguisticshave been active in translating theBibleinto thecountry's many indigenous languages.[6][19][20]

Because of the modernities that the military inWorld War IIbrought with them when they came to the islands, severalcargo cultsdeveloped. Many died out, but theJohn Frumcult onTannais still large, and has adherents in the parliament. As well, Tanna is home to thePrince Philip Movement,which reveres the United Kingdom'sPrince Philip.[21]Villagers of theYaohnanentribe believed in an ancient story about the pale-skinned son of a mountain spirit venturing across the seas to look for a powerful woman to marry. Prince Philip, having visited the island with his new wifeQueen Elizabeth,fit the description exactly and is therefore revered and even held as a god around the isle of Tanna.[22]

The effects of colonial Christianity on Vanuatu culture[edit]

The effects of colonialism and Christianization have differed enormously throughout Vanuatu, partially due to the Anglo-French condominium governance as well as due to the uncoordinated Christian missionization efforts throughout the nation.[23]The diverse approaches of the Catholic mission, theMelanesian Missionand the Church of Christ combined with varied cultural communities resulted in vastly different local attitudes regarding religion, tradition, and community restructuring.[23]Often,Ni-Vanuatuconverted to Christianity in the hopes of attaining the apparent wealth and prosperity the European Christians possessed.[18]Through the spread of Christianity, missionaries aimed to restructure indigenous societies by desegregating gendered eating and sleeping customs, prohibiting exclusive men’s houses, and reworking the idea of the domestic Ni-Vanuatu woman, in order to save women from what the missionaries saw as a “degraded state inkastom."[24]In doing so, the missionaries inadvertently thrust Ni-Vanuatu women into the separate, but similarly gender-segregated Christian church, where men hold disproportionate power. While this new religious system upheld women in familial, motherly roles, it “stripped away those sacred aspects of human kinship which gave women a crucial if subordinated place in the ancestral religion."[24]

The effects of Christianity on Vanuatukastom[edit]

As Christianity gained followers, eventually becoming the prominent religion, support of localkastomdecreased due to missionaries’ habitual suppression of the incorporated local values, practices, and traditions.[23]Kastomis an all-encompassingBislamaword that refers to traditional practices including culture, religion, art, economics, and magic in Vanuatu.[25]

Vanuatu indigenous culture andkastomdramatically declined in the face of European colonization. The Europeans brought with them disease, weaponry and alcohol which lead to the death of indigenous peoples, as well as forcibly removed Ni-Vanuatu citizens, relocating them to Australia for forced labor.[23]As well, European missionaries and Ni-Vanuatu Christian converts consciously oppressed certainkastomways of life. While tolerance ofkastomvaried between churches, locations, and missions, the majority of Christians deemed the erasure of certain customs as a precondition to Christian conversion. Some of these practices included: “Polygyny,pig sacrifices, ‘idolatry,’kavadrinking, and men’s secret societies,” as missionaries believed such practices exemplified “heathenism” and “the powers of darkness.”[23]

The roles of Christianity,kastomand national identity on the 1970s Vanuatu independence movement[edit]

Kastomplayed a key role in mobilizing Vanuatu's independence movement in the 1970s, through establishing a national identity within a largescale resistance against Anglo-French colonialism.[23]In 1971, Ni-Vanuatu Christian converts established theVanuaaku Pati,originally named theNew Hebrides National Party(NHNP), a political party which aimed to revive and maintainkastomas an essential part of Vanuatu nationalism.[23]The Vanuaaku Pati highlighted the need for Vanuatu to break away from its colonizers, while simultaneously “emphasized the importance ofkastomas a non-European ‘grass-roots’ force exemplifying the ‘Melanesian way’ as opposed to ‘the white man’s way.’[23]

Prior to the 1979 national elections, the Vanuaaku Pati “published its electoral platform,” affirming protection ofkastomwithin the government. The document outlined a plan to create a National Council of Chiefs, ultimately ensuring the inclusion ofkastomvia leaders with power within custom law.[23]

National symbols ofkastomand Christianity[edit]

  • TheVanuatu flagdesign, which features a boar's tusk symbolic of wealth and crossed palm leaves, a symbol of peace.
  • TheVanuatu motto,"long God yumi stanap," translating to "before God we stand," appears alongside a warrior wearing traditional Vanuatu clothing, as well as a boar’s tusk and crossed palm leaves.
  • The Vanuatu national anthem,Yumi Yumi Yumi,both acknowledges God as well as the importance ofkastom.
    • Regarding God, the anthem states “God i givim ples ia long yumi / God i helpem yumi evriwan” translating to “God has given us this land / God helps us in our work."
    • Regardingkastom,the anthem states “Plante fasin blong bifo i stap / Plante fasin blong tedei / Be yumi i olsem wan nomo / Hemia fasin blong yumi!” translating to "Many customs of before we have / Many customs from today / But we are all one / Despite our many ways!”
  • Independence Week of July 1980, which included the presence of both Christian andkastomleaders, ceremonies, and celebrations, including church services,kastomdance, pig-killing, and traditional feasts.[23]

Symbols and rituals ofkastomin daily life[edit]

[25]

Freedom of religion[edit]

Vanuatu religiosity
Religion Percentage
Christianity
 
 83%
Animism
 
 7%
Buddhism
 
 4%
Baháʼí
 
 3%
others
 
 3%

TheConstitution of Vanuatuestablishes the freedom of religion, and also states that the state is founded on a commitment to "traditional Melanesian values, faith in God, and Christian principles."[27]

Religious groups are allowed to establish private schools, and both private and public schools include optional religious education courses.[27]Secondary schools must offer at least one hour a week of religious instruction, but parents can request an exemption for their children.[5]

Religious groups are required to register with the government or face fines, but this law is not enforced in practice. Since 2016, high ranking members of the government have expressed the intent to define Vanuatu as a Christian country and to prohibit other religions from entering the country; as of the end of 2022, Vanuatu has no state religion.[5]

TheBaha'i Faitharrived in Vanuatu in 1953. Local administrative councils, orSpiritual Assemblies,were formed as soon as individual Baha'i communities were large enough. A regional administrative council for the south west pacific islands, including Vanuatu, was elected in 1964. Thirteen years later, in 1977, there were enough Baha'is in Vanuatu for them to elected their own separateNational Spiritual Assembly.The community continued to grow sufficiently that in 2012 the erection of a localBaha'i House of Worship,or "Haos blong Wosip" in the localBislama,was announced, serving as a space for people of all religions and backgrounds to gather, meditate, reflect, and worship. Ground was broken for the structure in 2019 and progress continues.[28]At the groundbreaking ceremony, Vanuatu government officials and traditional leaders highlighted the importance of the local House of Worship on the island, stating that "This Temple will symbolize what we wish to see in Vanuatu in the years to come, which is peace and unity among us all, irrespective of belief" and describing that it "provides us a place where we can meditate deeply about our spiritual reality."[28]

In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.[29]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Vanuatu | History, People, & Location".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved2021-10-23.
  2. ^Barbour, Julie; Daly, Nicola."People on Vanuatu's Malekula Island speak more than 30 Indigenous languages. Here's why we must record them".The Conversation.Retrieved2021-10-23.
  3. ^United States Department of State, Office of International Religious Freedom (2020)."Vanuatu 2020 International Religious Freedom Report"(PDF).
  4. ^"World Convention » Vanuatu".Retrieved2012-06-09.
  5. ^abcdeUS State Dept 2022 report
  6. ^abcdInternational Religious Freedom Report 2007: Vanuatu.United StatesBureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor(September 14, 2007).This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
  7. ^abAllen, Michael (1987)."Vanuatu religions".InCharles J. Adams;Mircea Eliade(eds.).Encyclopedia of Religion.Vol. 15 (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan. pp. 184–187.ISBN978-0-02-909880-6.
  8. ^Seeentrytoglolqōn̄inA. François’Cultural dictionaryof theMwotlap language(2023).
  9. ^abcdFrançois, Alexandre(2013),"Shadows of bygone lives: The histories of spiritual words in northern Vanuatu"(PDF),in Mailhammer, Robert (ed.),Lexical and structural etymology: Beyond word histories,Studies in Language Change, vol. 11, Berlin: DeGruyter Mouton, pp. 185–244
  10. ^abLightner, Sara B. (2007).Ples blong olgeta sista: Ni-Vanuatu catholic sisters navigating places and spaces(Masters thesis). Honolulu: University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.hdl:10125/21181.
  11. ^abTaylor, John Patrick (2016)."Two Baskets Worn At Once: Christianity, Sorcery, and Sacred Power in Vanuatu".In Fiona Magowan; Carolyn Schwarz (eds.).Christianity, Conflict, and Renewal in Australia and the Pacific.International Studies in Religion and Society. Brill. pp. 139–160.ISBN978-90-04-21723-2.Retrieved2023-04-28.
  12. ^Codrington, Robert Henry(1891)."Religion".The Melanesians: Studies in Their Anthropology and Folk-lore.New York: Clarendon Press. p. 116 ff.ISBN9780486202587.
  13. ^abIvens, W. G. (1931)."The Place of Vui and Tamate in the Religion of Mota".The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.61:157–166.doi:10.2307/2843828.ISSN0307-3114.JSTOR2843828.Retrieved2019-02-01.
  14. ^abVienne, Bernard (1984).Gens de Motlav - Idéologie et pratique sociale en Mélanésie.Société des Océanistes. Paris: ORSTOM.ISBN9782854300642.
  15. ^Keesing, Roger(1984). "Rethinking mana".Journal of Anthropological Research.40(1): 137–156.JSTOR3629696.
  16. ^Mondragón, Carlos (June 2004). "Of Winds, Worms and Mana: The traditional calendar of the Torres Islands, Vanuatu".Oceania.74(4): 289–308.doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.2004.tb02856.x.JSTOR40332069.{{cite journal}}:CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  17. ^François, Alexandre (2022)."Awesome forces and warning signs: Charting the semantic history of *tabu words in Vanuatu"(PDF).Oceanic Linguistics.61(1): 212–255.doi:10.1353/ol.2022.0017.Retrieved2022-07-11.
  18. ^abTaylor, John (April 2010)."The Troubled Histories of a Stranger God: Religious Crossing, Sacred Power, and Anglican Colonialism in Vanuatu".Comparative Studies in Society and History.52(2): 418–446.doi:10.1017/s0010417510000095.ISSN0010-4175.S2CID145645031.
  19. ^Bloom Library website
  20. ^Vanuatu Education Support Program
  21. ^Fifty facts about the Duke of Edinburgh25 January 2002ArchivedJuly 25, 2008, at theWayback Machine
  22. ^Squires, Nick (27 February 2007)."South Sea tribe prepares birthday feast for their favourite god, Prince Philip".Daily Telegraph. Archived fromthe originalon 19 April 2007.
  23. ^abcdefghijTonkinson, Robert (2009-02-10)."National Identity and the Problem of Kastom in Vanuatu".Mankind.13(4): 306–315.doi:10.1111/j.1835-9310.1982.tb00996.x.ISSN0025-2328.
  24. ^abJolly, Margaret (1989-11-24),"Sacred spaces: churches, men's houses and households in South Pentecost, Vanuatu",Family and Gender in the Pacific,Cambridge University Press, pp. 213–235,doi:10.1017/cbo9781139084864.012,ISBN9780521346672,retrieved2021-10-23
  25. ^ab"What is Kastom".www.vanuatu.travel.Retrieved2021-10-23.
  26. ^"Crossed Namele Leaves Shadow Vanuatu Elections | Pacific Islands Report".www.pireport.org.Retrieved2021-10-23.
  27. ^abInternational Religious Freedom Report 2017 § VanuatuUS Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
  28. ^ab"Milestone for Vanuatu Temple uplifts, galvanizes island | BWNS".Bahá’í World News Service.2019-11-17.Retrieved2021-08-06.
  29. ^Freedom House website, retrieved 2023-08-08
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