|
 | Tanna Things To Do | Tips 1 - 10 of 16 |  |
Popular Things To Do | Miscellaneous Things To Do Tips | All Tips (16)  | |  |  | Visiting Yakel village | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
A visit to Yakel village (or "custom village" as it is commonly known) provides visitors with the opportunity to experience traditional ni-Vanuatu culture untainted by Western influence. For 2000 VT (about US$18), you are permitted to walk through the village and you're given a warm welcome by the villagers themselves. The homes are all leaf huts, and pigs and chickens roam about freely. When I arrived, there was nobody in the "residential" part of the village, so I just had a quiet peek around. Everyone was up the path a short ways at the communal gathering area. In the communal area, the women had spread out a number of beautiful arts and crafts for purchase. It appeared that the men were behind an enormous banyan tree drinking kava. The tree itself had a brilliant little tree house built into it. After a few minutes, all the men gathered out in the open and began singing and dancing. The women soon joined in. Everyone participated--young, old, male, and female. One word of caution--you may find yourself accompanied by a bus full of package tourists. This happened to me, and although I have nothing against large tour groups, I hadn't expected to see one here. I had to pay 1000VT (app. US$9) to visit Yakel. Leave a Comment Address: inland from the west coastDirections: accessible via a rough dirt track (4WD required) from the west coast of the island not far from Lenakel.
|
 | |  |
Trying Tannese kava is quite an experience. If you haven't already tried kava, it's a strong herbal drink made from kava root that is a major component of traditional Melanesian culture. It will be served to you in a coconut half-shell. It tastes like dirt and plant roots (no surprise there), or somewhat like brackish bathwater. Don't be fooled by how easy it is to gulp down. After a few minutes, you'll be heavily sedated and wonder how this innocent concoction could have had such an effect. Tannese kava is known for its potency, so be careful how much you have in one sitting. I had two small shells-full, after which I immediately felt like I'd just had a pain-numbing injection at the dentist. I wobbled back to the truck and for the whole rest of the ride home talked incessantly to my fellow travelers about yachting, which I had never done up until that point and have not done since. I was a little embarrased the next morning. Leave a Comment
|
| | | | Be prepared to have your mind blown! | | | | | |
 | 1 | 2 |  |
More Sponsored Links for Tanna |
|
on September 10, 2004
Tanna
on October 10, 2004
on April 14, 2005
