The Vanuatu archipelago, which lies in the middle of the Pacific Ring of Fire, has an impressive concentration of active volcanoes on its islands.
Vanuatu is one of the most culturally rich regions on the planet, a melting pot of languages and customs that change from island to island and even from village to village: traditions, customs and dances are some of the characteristics that differentiate them.
World Heritage Sites: The Dominions of Chief Roi Mata and The Sand Drawings of Vanuatu.
The Unesco describes the sand drawings as:
“This rich and dynamic graphic tradition has developed as a means of communication between members of some 80 different language groups living in the central and northern islands of the archipelago. The drawings also serve as a means nemotechnicalto fix and transmit rituals, mythological knowledge and a multitude of oral information on local history, cosmologies, kinship systems, song cycles, agricultural techniques, architectural or craft design or choreographic models. Most sand drawings have various functions and levels of significance: they can be “read” as works of art, sources of information, illustrations of stories, signatures, or simply as messages or objects of contemplation. But these drawings in the sand are not simply “images”, but a combination of knowledge, chants and stories with sacred or profane meanings. The masters of this art must not only know the motifs perfectly, but also understand their meaning. In addition, they must be able to interpret the drawings for the spectators.
