The Indigenous People

Megan Knapp

Sara Schaal

History of Vanuatu• Evidence shows that peoples speaking Austronesian languages first came to the

Vanuatu islands some 4,000 years ago.• First island in the Vanuatu group was disovered by Pedro Fernandez De Quiros in

1606.• Later, Louis Antoine de Bougainville rediscovered the islands in 1768. Then in 1774,

Captain Cook named the islands the New Hebrides.• In 1825, trader Peter Dillon's discovery of sandalwood on one of the islands began a

rush.• Around the 1860’s, missionaries, both Catholic and Protestant, arrived on the islands.

Settlers also came, looking for land on which to establish cotton plantations.• At first, British subjects from Australia made up the majority, but by 1882 the balance

changed in favor of French subjects. By the turn of the century, the French outnumbered the British two to one.

• In 1906, France and the United Kingdom agreed to administer the islands jointly. Called the British-French Condominium, it was a unique form of government.

• Challenges to this form of government began in the early 1940s. The arrival of Americans during World War II, with their informal demeanor and relative wealth, was instrumental in the rise of nationalism in the islands.

• The belief in a mythical messianic figure named John Frum was the basis for an indigenous cargo cult promising Melanesian deliverance. Today, John Frum is both a religion and a political party with a member in Parliament.

Art and Custom• Life for the ni-Vanuatu is ruled by ‘kastom,’ sometimes associated with

magic.• Male initiation is very important and every man goes through several

grades of initiation to reach true manhood.• Songs and dances are integral to this cycle of life celebration and are

performed according to ancestral rules and traditions. • Some areas have special dance grounds, with special places for preparation

of animals for the feasting.• Pigs are a measure of wealth and their curved tusks are highly prized and

used in celebrations and as recompense for breaking tribal custom and laws.

• Artwork is for both practical and traditional use. Women weave baskets of different sizes and shapes and mats for everyday living, but also weave special, finely woven mats for weddings and other functions.

• Men's sculpture includes making the ceremonial masks and carving the tree fern, wood and stone figures associated with initiation.

• Kava is an integral part of the culture • Art

Interesting Facts• Population (2005 est.): 206,000.• Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 2.7%.• Ethnic groups: 94% ni-Vanuatu; 4% European; 2% other Pacific Islanders,

Asian.• Religion: Predominantly Christian.• Languages: Bislama (Pidgin), English, French, over 100 tribal languages.• Education: Enrollment in primary is 100% with rapid fall-off to 20% in

secondary and upper secondary. Adult literacy rate (2005)--74% of those age 15 and older.

• Health: Infant mortality rate (2005)--55.1/1,000. Life expectancy (2005)--62.5 yrs.

• Work force (1999): 134,000. Agriculture--65%. Industry--5%. Service--30%. • Government

– Type: Parliamentary democracy.– Independence: July 30, 1980– Constitution: July 30, 1980– President: Kalkot Matas Kelekele– Prime Minister: Ham Lini– Foreign Minister/Deputy Prime Minister: Sato Kilman

Kava• Kava (Piper methysticum) is an age-old herbal drink that was the beverage

of choice for the royal families of the South Pacific • Its special anti-depressant components fight the "blues" and bring on a

happy, tranquil state. Kava is amazing for treating ailments like migraine headaches and cramps but best of all, it keeps the mind alert as the body relaxes.

• Kava is a soporific drink made from the root of a plant related to the pepper tree. It has been used for millennia by Melanesians throughout parts of the Pacific for a variety of reasons, but primarily as a relaxant.

• Kava is not an alcoholic drink. It is an intoxicant, the only legal narcotic in world. It is not addictive, nor does it have damaging side effects. Quite the opposite, for recent research has spurred interest by pharmaceutical companies worldwide as to its curative properties.

• Culturally, it was traditionally a Chief's drink used in ceremonies. But as Vanuatu's culture is so diverse, so are the ceremonies and use surrounding kava.

History of Australia• Before 1788 Australia was populated only by the Indigenous people of Australia - Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islanders. • Before 1788 there were approximately 700 languages spoken throughout Australia with an

estimated population of 750 000 people. • the most commonly accepted age of initial human occupation is 40,000-45,000 calendrical

years after calibration.• present day Australian climate was established 10,000 years ago• in 1788 the Aboriginal people watched the arrival of foreigners onto their land and in

December of the same year Arabanoo was the first Aborigine captured by the Europeans.• The Aborigines were dispossessed of their land in 1794• In 1799 the Black Wars began (a six-year period of resistance to white settlement by

Aborigines in the Hawkesbury and Parramata areas).• 1870 the first Aboriginal children are enrolled in the public schools and by 1880 there are 200

in school.• May 27, 2000 Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for

Aboriginal people and for them to be counted in the census.

Art and Culture

• Contemporary Arts: Many artists work in introduced media such as acrylic, fabric, photography or print-making.

• Themes of indigenous art reflect the range of artists' concerns and experiences: from relationships to landscapes and animals to political and social injustices.

• Historic practices are often used as a bases in forms of contemporary art such as certain bark paintings.

• Bangarra Dance Company: A dance company that has continued in newer contemporary ways the traditional aboriginal ceremonies that blend dance and drama with music an visual art forms.

• passing their knowledge, arts, rituals and performances from one generation to another

• speaking and teaching languages • protecting cultural property and sacred and significant sites and

object

Interesting Facts• Population:19.05 million• Work force:9.1 million• Average Household size:2.6 persons• Registered number of motor vehicles:11 million• The number of visitors to Australia per year:4.1 million• Language: primarily English• Longest river: Murray Darling 3370km• Religion: Beliefs to a sense of belonging to the sea and

other people and to culture

History of New Zealand

• The first Polynesians to inhabit what is now New Zealand are believed to have arrived around 800 AD. They were the Moriori, or moa hunters. (The moa is a species of birds, now extinct, some of whom were as tall as three mtres.)

• The next wave of Polynesians to reach New Zealand were the Maori. • In 1642 Dutch explorer Abel van Tasman sailed up the west coast of the

place he named Nieuw Zeeland, after the Netherlands province of Zeeland. • Captain Cook also sailed around New Zealand on three separate voyages,

the first in 1769. • The first settlers were sealers, then missionaries. The Europeans started

arriving in greater numbers in the early 19th century. • This treaty signed in 1840 ceded sovereignty over New Zealand to the

Queen of England and guaranteed Maori possession of their own land. • New Zealand gave its women the right to vote in 1893, a quarter century

before Britain or the US.

Art and Culture• whānau, extended family, includes any relative connected by genealogy.

Traditionally, the whole whānau was responsible for raising the children, not just the parents.

• Tapu, sometimes translated as sacred, holy or forbidden. Things or places that are tapu should not be interfered with.

• Noa, the opposite of tapu. Examples are food and alcohol. Tapu and noa things must be kept separate. For that reason, it is culturally offensive to sit on a food table, put a hat on a food table, pass food over a person's head, sit on their pillow, or walk over their outstretched legs.

• Male things are tapu and female are noa, a fact that brings traditional Māori culture into conflict with modern European views about sex roles. It would be very misleading, however to translate noa as "unclean" or "impure".

• Meeting, with discussion and debate where all viewpoints are heard and considered before a decision is made.

• Performed by many New Zealand Rugby leagues, the haka, which is an action chant, often described as a "war dance", was originally performed by warriors before a battle

Interesting Facts• Population: around 3.5 million, 39.2 million sheep

• People: 75% New Zealand European (Pakeha), 10% Maori, 5% other European, 4.5% Polynesian, 5% Asian, 0.5% other

• Religion: Predominantly Christian (75%) Official languages: English, Maori

• Government: a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of England as head of state and their Parliament is a unicameral body without an Upper House

• Unemployment: 5.3%

• Average weekly wage for males: $857

• Average weekly wage for females: $685

• Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, as was the Chronicles of Narnia

References

• http://www.dreamtime.net.au/indigenous/culture.cfm#oldest

• http://www.discountworldhotels.net/newzealand/• http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/newzealand/a/nzfacts.ht

m• http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2815.htm• http://www.vanuatuculture.org/contemporary/digital-arts/i

ndex.html• http://www.vanuatutourism.com/vanuatu/export/sites/VTO/en/activities/kava.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maori_culture