Tag Archives: tam tams

Tam Tams and the Beautiful Art of Carving

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After our lovely tour of the Fanla village we are finally taken to the nasara, their sacred site.  The nasara is a 400-year old concept which brings together the surrounding villagers for special ceremonies.

It is a short walk through the forest to the nasara which is a wide-open clearing.  This particular nasara is the only one used for grade taking ceremonies and the ROM dance.  It’s unique and privileged status is highlighted with the mass amounts of tam tams surrounding it.

Tam Tams

What is a tam tam and why is it so valuable?  A tam tam is a hollowed out slit drum that is placed in sacred grounds.  They range from 1-4 meters in height and usually have the bottom portion buried in the ground.

They are a symbol of wealth, prestige, and are markers of one’s level of initiation (grade level).

The tam tams are made from large trees within the breadfruit family.  This type of tree already holds significance to the villagers as a sacred, magical tree.

The Tam Tam Carver (Creator)

The process of making the slit drum is a very important ritual. There are many types of carvers in Vanuatu, but the ones that have the legal right to carve tam tams only reside in Ambrym.  Carvers have to pay for the right to carve the design (or face).  The fee of pigs and yams is very expensive.

The carver of a tam tam is also a sorcerer.  He is responsible for imbuing the tam tam with spiritual power.  Special measures are taken throughout the carving process to ensure that it is kept secret.

The tam tams are carved to honor their ancestors and designs/faces are unique to each carver.  This carver pays for the “rights” to this design and is the only one who can replicate it.

Some tam tams are carved with more than one face.  However, you have to be a high grade level to be able to carve a multi faced tam tam and it will cost you several valuable pigs.  No tam tam is allowed to have more than 5 faces.  Such drums are quite rare as the carver must pay extra in order to create each additional face. 

We found 2 two-faced tam tams while we were at Atchin island (which is near the North tip of Malekula).  It is such a rare find to come across a multiple face tam tam in its original environment.  We are so darn lucky!

Here is a post by someone else where they have more multiple faced tam tams.

What is their Purpose?

When the carving is complete, a hole is dug about 1.5 meters and the slit drum is sunk vertically or at a slight angle.  This will allow the drummer easier access to the drum during performances.

Tam tams are used during sacred ceremonies and they are used to send messages of birth, death, impending war, circumcision, meetings, and dance.

The rhythmic beating of the slit drums will shake the ground under your feet and can be heard for many miles.  Matt did not attend the 2nd day of the Fanla Festival and was out on his SUP.  He heard the drumming from the sea which is at least 5 miles away from the village in the mountains.

Stone or Lava Carvings

Stones have long been a source of magic in Ambrym.  So, if you are lucky enough to find a stone carving it has extra special meanings.  Stone carvings will usually cost more and are harder to find.

Often you will find special stones or rocks near the tam tams which represent the chief’s or elders ranking.

Stone or lava tikis are usually located near banyon trees to protect the spirit of the tree.  Male banyan trees are sacred and tabu for women to go near. The banyan tree near the nasara had two lava tikis. 

The festival had lots of carvings for sale and I was lucky enough to purchase the smaller, stone tiki below.

Wooden Carvings

Ambrym is known for its carvers and many of them live near Fanla.  So, we had a wide variety of carvings to shop from.  They had tiki statues, masks, necklaces, pig killing hammers, carving tools, and flutes.

Some of the work is really intricate while others are simplistic.  The prices reflected the detail of the work but usually ranged from 2,000vt to 80,000vt ($20-$800 USD).  

Here are several more stone, lava and wood carvings that were located around the nasara in Fanla.

Carving Demonstration

We were able to participate in a carving demonstration while we were anchored in Ranon. Starting from a round piece of wood, already shaved of its husk.  He used modern tools like a hammer and chisel.  He started on the face, then the ROM hat, then the top using a machete and a saw to add detail.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  The Fanla Festival occurred in mid-July 2024.  Fanla, an authentic kastom village tour occurred in our last blog post..

Beautiful Bays in Ambrym

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Ambrym is full of many lovely anchorages and bays.  Several are listed on charts and cruising guides and some we explored based on their beauty on the satellite charts.

Double Bay

We left Lonwolwol and headed for Double Bay which is not on any of the guide books.  But it looked super pretty on the satellite charts and it was on the way to North Ambrym (where we needed to be in  a week).  Super short motor, 8nm and we dopped the hook.  It is as beautiful as it looks on the satellite images.

Black sand beach with lots of volcanic rocks and shelves, bright green hills and multi colored rock faces.  The “shelves” are made of volcanic rock, sand, and debris and crumbles under your weight near the edges.  We found several unusual fallen trees with other trees wrapped around the trunks and lots and lots of flies and spiders.

It rained a lot here, so we had a lot of rainbows.  For the most part this is a great anchorage, but probably better in settled weather conditions.  Both Moana and Sugar Shack woke up at 5am to our anchor alarms going off as we were dragging.  We both had to reset the hook but then all was good.  The other bummer part of this bay is that you get lots of black debris on your boat (either black sand or the volcano dust) and you get a yellow rim around the water line from the sulfur in the water.

On our way out of Double Bay we drove by the other half of the bay and it was gorgeous.  The colors on the rock mountains were astounding and the caves are so mysterious.  We could not anchor here as it was too deep (30meters).

Ranon Bay

We make it to Ranon Bay which is where we need to be for the very famous Fanla Festival.  It is a small village with lots of very friendly people.   We visit the school, pass by a church, see many colorful houses, and discover a new nut (yellow flower below).

Can you understand what the writing is on the wall on bottom right photo?  Answer at the end of the post.

Ranon Bay is known for its carvers (both wood and stone).  So, we organize a display of carving work by all of the carvers at one time.  Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication and only one carver showed up.  We also meet with the chief to discuss our plans for the festival which is held at the neighboring village of Fanla.

These giant, 4 meter tall logs are the start of the famous Tam Tams.  Ambrym is famous for its magnificent tam-tams (or slit drums) sculpted out of the breadfruit family tree trunks. They are the some of the most impressive items of art in Vanuatu. The dancing areas in the traditional villages are decorated with Tam Tams planted in the ground, which can measure several meter’s high. They are used to beat the rhythm for the singing and dancing during ceremonial rituals.  Stay tuned for pictures of complete Tam Tams in our Fanla Festival blog post.

What is a Dinghy Wash?

Back in the states, when I had a car, I used to love going to the car wash.  Mostly because I loved a clean car but also because it was fun for me (I know weirdo).  Well, since I no longer have a car there has been no need for a car wash….but Matt found us a dinghy wash :0

We found a waterfall that fell directly into a bay and was deep enough to drive the dinghy through. There is a super funny video on Instagram so be sure to check it out on sv Sugar Shack’s page.

The day before the Fanla Festival we had Chief Sekor visit, he organizes the Fanla festival.  He came in from Olal which is another village at the north end of Ambrym.  I also met Chief Felix of Ranon and a lovely lady who had me giggling.  

Coming up next is a series of blog posts on the very famous Fanla Festival.

Answer: Cyclone Safe House

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred in mid-July.  We shared the history of Ambrym in our last blog.

Ambrym, the Volcanic Island

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Ambrym is a volcanic island with one of the most active volcanoes in the country.  This volcano has a very large caldera that is 12km in diameter and has two very active craters: Marum and Benbow.  The Benbow crater includes two lava lakes near the summit.

The locals offer 2-day hikes up to the summit, but you can only hike if the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo Hazards Department deems it safe and a level 1 or below.  During our stay on Ambrym, the volcano was rated a level 2 so we were not able to even consider the hike to the summit.

Ambrym is the 5th largest island in Vanuatu and is a beautiful triangle shape. It is known for the very active volcano which dominates the island with its desert-like caldera. Small parts of the island are inhabited by locals and the rest of the island, the majority, is covered by a dense jungle.

We start off on Ambrym at the West side of the island at Lonwolwol Bay.  There is a lovely family here that runs the Lonwolwol Yacht Club.  They offer cultural events, host 4 festivals a year, and give tours of the famous Lonwol Lake crater.

Lonwolwol Bay

This bay has a very interesting history.  Jessie, the owner of the land, explains that in the very early 1900’s Europeans settled here and brought with it Christianity.  They established a hospital, several buildings, and a nice community.

However, the chiefs noticed that the locals lost their culture and respect of their heritage so they performed black magic.  This sorcery caused the volcano to erupt and completely destroy the Christian community in 1913.

So the remaining locals were able to re-establish their heritage and cultural ways.

Lonwok Lake crater

Prior to the massive volcano eruption of 1913, there was a lagoon where many boats and cargo ships would shelter within the protection of the island.  However, after the eruption, the open lagoon was closed off and became known as the Lonwok Lake crater.   It is said that it is so deep that you could put a cruise ship right in the middle and it would float.  This crater now serves as a place to swim and kayak.

Beautiful Garden

Jessie and his family now live on the edge of the lake.  They earn a living by offering cruisers tours around the lake and cultural events.  They also have a beautiful garden full of tomatoes, potatoes (regular, sweet, and kasava), pumpkins, cucumbers, salad, onions, carrots, and more.

We ask Jimmy to give a us a tour around the lake.  It took about 2.5 hours to do the 5.3km walk through the forest.  He showed us where the megapode and ducks lay their eggs, procured us some coconut cake, and protected us from 6 stampeding cattle (running from his dogs).

Craig’s Cove

Just around the corner is another anchorage called Craig’s Cove.  Supposedly they had a market which we wanted to visit. So my friend Chris on Moana asked me to join him on a dinghy adventure.  Craig’s Cove is only 3nm away so it should be “no problem.”

Famous last words.  The winds and the seas were showing off and causing havoc on our dinghy.  In retrospect, we should have turned around.  We ended up having 20+kts on the nose and 2.5-3m seas.  Which are huge in a little dinghy.  But we pushed on.

The top photo is before things got dicey.  Once we rounded the corner the $hit hit the fan.  But we arrived safely at Craig’s Cove.  I will skim over the fact that I fell in the water as we were beaching the dinghy (first time ever in 14 years).  There are two ship wrecks in the anchorage and the holding is supposed to be horrible (which is why we did not bring the big boats here).

We seek out the chief to ask his permission to walk around the village and he assigns three local boys to give us a tour.  They took us by the primary school, the church where we found a tam tam (tall, wooden, carved, slit traditional drum), the airport, the market, and the store.

Here are our fearless leaders (top left), a shot of the village and the airport.

Traditional Local Dinner

Jessie and his son Jimmy asked us if we would be interested in a traditional, local dinner on the beach for $1,000vt/pp ($10 USD) and we said “yes.”  By mid-afternoon, two more boats showed up so we invited them as well.

They started preparing around 1430.  First they prepared the loc (or lovo which is an underground oven).  They dug a hole, laid sticks and then rocks on top.  They set fire to it and let the rocks get very hot.  Then they laid banana leaves forming a bowl.  Inside the banana leaves the put bananas and pumpkin and then folded more banana leaves on top.  

Next come more rocks, more leaves and then it is topped with a burlap sack and left to cook for hours.  They used sticks that are split at the end like chopsticks to remove the rocks.

Dinner: fresh salad picked from the garden, boiled salad, yams, island taro, pork, & chicken.

After we all enjoyed our delicious dinner, they built the best bonfire.  We sat around and enjoyed the music and even had a little dancing.

Check in with us in a few days to see the beautiful bays we find in Ambrym.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occurred over the 4th of July weekend.  Did you discover the Mysteries of Maewo Island in our last blog post?