Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island country in Melanesia, located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 km (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.
John Frum is a mythical figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. He is often depicted as an American World War II serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the people if they follow him. Quoting David Attenborough's report of an encounter: "'E look like you. 'E got white face. 'E tall man. 'E live 'long South America."
The flag of Vanuatu was adopted on 18 February 1980.
The terms "star-crossed" and "star-crossed lovers" refer to two people who are not able to be together for some reason. These terms also have other meanings, but originally mean that the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or that the stars are working against the relationship. Astrological in origin, the phrase stems from the belief that the positions of the stars ruled over people's fates, and is best known from the play Romeo and Juliet by the Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare. Such pairings are often said to be doomed from the start.
Ambrym is a volcanic island in Malampa Province in the archipelago of Vanuatu. Volcanic activity on the island includes lava lakes in two craters near the summit.
Luganville is the second largest city in Vanuatu after the capital Port Vila; it is located on the island of Espiritu Santo and has a population of 18,062 as of the 2020 census. Those on Vanuatu's northern islands who regard Luganville as their big city, particularly indigenous populations, call it Santo; rural residents of Espiritu Santo call it Kanal. Luganville served as a major base of operations for American troops during World War II.
Tanna is an island in Tafea Province of Vanuatu.
Ambae, also known as Aoba, Omba, Oba, or Opa and formerly Lepers’ Island, is an island in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, located near 15°30′S167°30′E, approximately 310 kilometres north-northwest of Vanuatu's capital city, Port Vila. It is also Vanuatu's largest active volcano.
Futuna is an island in the Tafea province of Vanuatu. It is the easternmost island in the country.
Mount Yasur is a volcano on Tanna Island, Vanuatu, 361 m (1,184 ft) high above sea level, on the coast near Sulphur Bay, northeast of the taller Mount Tukosmera, which was active in the Pleistocene. It has a largely unvegetated pyroclastic cone with a nearly circular summit crater 400 m in diameter.
The second season of Australian Survivor, also known as Australian Celebrity Survivor and Celebrity Survivor: Vanuatu, is a television series based on the international reality game show franchise Survivor. The season featured 12 Australian celebrity contestants competing on the Vanuatuan island of Éfaté over 25 days for a grand prize of A$100,000 for the winner's chosen charity. It was hosted by television personality and former record company executive Ian "Dicko" Dickson.
The Prince Philip movement is a religious sect followed by the Kastom people around the villages of Yaohnanen and Yakel on the southern island of Tanna in Vanuatu. It is a cargo cult of the Yaohnanen tribe, who believe in the divinity of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921–2021), consort to Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022).
Christianity is the largest religion in Vanuatu. Vanuatu is an archipelago made up of 13 larger islands, and approximately 70 smaller surrounding islands, each home to multitudes of diverse cultural and religious communities.
This article presents an overview of the culture of Vanuatu.
Meet the Natives: USA is an American reality television series that premiered on the Travel Channel on November 29, 2009. The series follows five tribesmen from the island of Tanna, Vanuatu, as they travel to the United States on an adventure to explore America and the American way of life. During their visit to America, tribesmen intended to spread the message of peace and kindness that they had been taught by a foreigner known as "Tom Navy".
The Maskelyne Islands, often abbreviated as the Maskelynes, are a small chain of low islands that forms part of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. Among the islands are Awei, Avock, Leumanang, Uluveo, and Vulai. Uluveo is the main island in the group and has three villages.
Ni-Vanuatu names are the names used by the people of Vanuatu, who are commonly known as ni-Vanuatu. Under the law of Vanuatu, a child's name registered at birth should include "the family name, the Christian name, if any, and the Melanesian individual name", the latter of which is also known as a "traditional name" or "custom name".
Tanna is a 2015 Australian-Ni-Vanuatu film set on the island of Tanna in the South Pacific, depicting the true story of a couple who decided to marry for love, rather than obey their parents' wishes. Starring Marie Wawa and Mungau Dain, the film is based on an actual marriage dispute.
Mungau Dain was a ni-Vanuatu actor and villager who starred in the 2015 Australian-Vanuatuan film, Tanna. Dain, who had never acted before, was cast in the film alongside Marie Wawa, another Yakel villager, and other local untrained actors. Tanna, which is based on the true story of a ni-Vanuatu couple in 1987 who committed suicide after their tribes refused to allow them to marry, won the Audience Award Pietro Barzisa at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival in 2015 and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards in 2017. Dain, who reportedly had never seen a movie before his casting, traveled internationally in support of the film, including to Australia, Los Angeles and Venice.
Squatting in the Republic of Vanuatu is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. After independence in 1980, informal settlements developed in cities such as Luganville and the capital Port Vila. Land in Vanuatu is either custom land owned by indigenous peoples or public land owned by the republic.
