 Laplap | |
| Place of origin | Vanuatu |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | breadfruit, taro, yam, coconut cream, pork, beef, chicken or flying fox |
Laplap (sometimes wrongly spelled lap lap) is the national dish of Vanuatu. [1] Laplap is prepared by grating breadfruit, bananas, taro or yam roots into a vegetable paste. [2] The paste is then wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground stone oven, with fresh coconut cream. Meats like pork, beef, chicken or flying fox can be added. [3]
The word laplap comes from Bislama, the national language of Vanuatu. It finds its origin in some of the Oceanic languages of the country: e.g. Dorig lablab [laᵐblaᵐb] , Nume labalam [laᵐbalam] , both reflecting a Proto-Torres-Banks form *laᵐbalaᵐba.
The majority of indigenous languages of Vanuatu, however, name the dish using other roots. For example, Mota loko [loko] and Raga loḡo [loˈᵑɡo] reflect a Proto-North-Central Vanuatu etymon *loᵑgo; [4] Hiw tegōv [təˈɣoβ] , Lemerig 'ëgëv [ʔœˈɣœβ] and Mwotlap na-tgop [natˈɣɔp] reflect Proto-Torres-Banks *taɣoβe;, [5] while Tamambo has wewe [weˈwe] .
Torba is the northernmost and least populous province of Vanuatu. It consists of the Banks Islands and the Torres Islands.
Maewo is an island in Vanuatu in Penama province, 105 km to the east of Espiritu Santo.
Gaua is the largest and second most populous of the Banks Islands in Torba Province in northern Vanuatu. It covers 342 km².
Vanua Lava is the second largest of the Banks Islands in Torba Province, Vanuatu, after slightly larger Gaua.
Mwotlap is an Oceanic language spoken by about 2,100 people in Vanuatu. The majority of speakers are found on the island of Motalava in the Banks Islands, with smaller communities in the islands of Ra and Vanua Lava, as well as migrant groups in the two main cities of the country, Santo and Port Vila.
Mota Lava or Motalava is an island of the Banks group, in the north of Vanuatu. It forms a single coral system with the small island of Ra.
Mota is an island in the Banks group of northern Vanuatu. Its population – today about 700 people – speak the Mota language, which Christian missionaries of the Anglican Church used as a lingua franca in parts of Melanesia.
Alexandre François is a French linguist specialising in the description and study of the indigenous languages of Melanesia. He belongs to Lattice, a research centre of the CNRS and École Normale Supérieure dedicated to linguistics.
The North Vanuatu languages form a linkage of Southern Oceanic languages spoken in northern Vanuatu.
Rah or Ra is a small coral islet of 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi), located in the Banks group of northern Vanuatu. The same name also refers to the single village which is situated within this islet.
Lemerig is an Oceanic language spoken on Vanua Lava, in Vanuatu.
Mwesen is an Oceanic language spoken in the southeastern area of Vanua Lava Island, in the Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu, by about 10 speakers.
Vurës is an Oceanic language spoken in the southern area of Vanua Lava Island, in the Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu, by about 2000 speakers.
Volow is an Oceanic language variety that used to be spoken in the area of Aplow, in the eastern part of the island of Motalava, Vanuatu.
Aplow, Valuwa, or Valuga, is a village located on the eastern part of Mota Lava, in the Banks Islands of Vanuatu. Located close to it is the island's airport, Valua Airport.
Ravenga is a small island in Torba Province, Vanuatu, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is also known as Ranenger.
Rowa Islands are an uninhabited archipelago in Torba Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. The Rowa are a part of larger Banks Islands archipelago. The islands are a natural border between Melanesia and Polynesia; they are one of the most beautiful places in the South Pacific Ocean and an integral part of a vast system of atolls and reefs.
The Torres–Banks languages form a linkage of Southern Oceanic languages spoken in the Torres Islands and Banks Islands of northern Vanuatu.
Proto-Torres-Banks is the reconstructed ancestor of the seventeen languages of the Torres and Banks Islands of Vanuatu. Like all indigenous languages of Vanuatu, it belongs to the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian languages.
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