6 Cultural Highlights in Vanuatu – A Captivating Island Nation

The residents of Vanuatu are renowned for their appreciation of sports, engaging in many kinds of sporting endeavours. The nation's most favoured sport is football, with Vanuatu being a member of organizations such as FIFA and OFC. In fact FIFA, the governing body of international football selects talented youngsters from Vanuatu to train at its academy. Another popular sport in Vanuatu is basketball.

You will see that in the towns and cities of Vanuatu, the people attire themselves in contemporary, Western-styled, apparel. On the other hand, in the country's rural regions the locals wear a blend of local and Western-styled apparel. Men will often don the native loincloth or sometimes shorts as a lower garment, frequently paired with a modern T-shirt. Meanwhile, women in these areas attire themselves in skirts made from fibre or a dress fashioned from leaves.

In fact, literature in written form only developed in these islands in the latter part of the 20th century. Before this, literature was only present in oral form and included folktales, myths, legends and poetry. This literature was passed down orally from one generation to the next. An interesting form of art native to Vanuatu that has acquired international attention is drawing on sand. A well-known artist from Vanuatu is Aloi Pilioko; his work in the form of vibrantly coloured reliefs may be seen on significant buildings in the capital of the islands, Port Vila.

Visitors will find that the cuisine of Vanuatu incorporates various vegetables such as taro and yams in addition to fish, other kinds of seafood, sugarcane, tropical nuts, plantains, green vegetables, coconuts and so on. A prominent place goes to fruits such as pineapples, mangoes and papayas. Vanuatu's national dish is "laplap", a baked pudding made with banana, coconut milk, yam, manioc and taro. A popular drink enjoyed by the local people is kava, which is often consumed by the natives. When it comes to Vanuatu hotels, a choice of accommodation to consider where you will have the opportunity to enjoy local as well as international foods would be Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu.

In the countryside of Vanuatu, the traditional forms of music are still popular. These customary forms of music are typically performed employing instruments such as rattles, slit gongs and a selection of traditional drums. Also seen are other kinds of instruments such as conch shells, whistles and flutes made from bamboo. Also popular in Vanuatu is the music of string bands, where songs are accompanied by guitar and ukulele. Dancing is also a significant part of the local culture, with grounds for dancing being present in local villages.

The majority of the people of Vanuatu are adherents of Christianity, with denominations like the Presbyterian Church, Roman Catholicism and the Anglican Church being the most popular. Unusual faiths like cargo cults can also still be found in Vanuatu. When it comes to holidays, Christmas and the season of New Year are well-established in the islands. Some of the local festivities include celebrations of the harvest and male initiation; another festive occasion is the Toka Festival, during which the local people exchange pigs and kava before engaging in dancing for a period of days.