Receiving an invitation to the opening of art exhibitions at the prestigious Annandale Art Gallery, a converted Masonic hall, is a common occurrence for Bethany.
The stately building in Trafalgar Street was opened in the 1860’s as a Methodist Church. In the 1920’s it was converted to a Masonic Lodge. Now an up market art gallery in a trendy inner city suburb of Sydney, Australia. The owners have earned an enviable reputation the world over, regularly inviting Sydney society to attend the openings of their art exhibitions. They have gained their popularity by specializing in the best of Australian and overseas contemporary art.
The invitation, on the 22nd July, appeared to be exceptional from the start. It spoke of secret rare art, never before seen outside of the tiny remote tropical island, South Pacific archipelago, Vanuatu.
At the opening of the exhibition, a group of nine Ni-Vanuatu artists, dressed in full custom regalia, would perform a sacred and secret ceremonial dance from the remote island of Ambrym.
Bethany eagerly arranged with two friends to attend the opening, which sounded rather mysterious and lots of fun. Afterwards they would enjoy dinner at one of the fine restaurants of Darling Harbour. The problem of working their way through the Sydney traffic and finding parking for the Mercedes-Benz was averted with the firm decision to take a taxi, or be dropped off by one of the husbands.
“As we hurried toward the doorway of the gallery, the inviting sound of a string band playing Island music greeted us,” Bethany told me. “It seemed strange to hear the music of the South Seas in the middle of our winter. Made me think of taking that South Pacific cruise my husband and we have been promising ourselves. I can just see myself sitting under swaying palms beside a blue green tropical ocean,” she mused.
Sipping a glass of French champagne, Bethany and her friends joined the other guests buzzing with excitement, as they admired the beautifully carved wooden figures and masks, plus a four metre wooden drum. The upright tam-tam, one of the world’s largest free standing musical instruments.
“We understood the art to be very ancient and rare, yet it could mistake for any modern artwork,” the Gallery’s curator, David Baker said. “There is only one piece even close to it in a British museum.”
A barely clad figure stepped up to the tam-tam and began a steady methodical beat on the lip of the wooden gong’s face. A stylized face that had been carefully carved to represent an ancestor. The long slit up the front of the drum allowing the ancestor to speak once more.
Enticed by the ancestor’s call from the drum, four dancers appeared, dressed from head-to-toe, in what seemed to be a tent made of dried leaves. Their faces were covered with brightly painted wooden masks, topped with chicken feathers. They moved in a dream like trance. As they made their way to the center of the room, they chanted in monotone. In the middle of them danced five more men, in full secret society regalia. Stomping their feet, clapping their hands and chanting, they moved as one.
Shock registered on the Sydney matron’s faces as the five mature Ambrym men, dressed only with a wide bark belt slung low over their hips. A Namba penis sheath barely covering the essential part of manhood, as they concentrated on their sacred dance. A bright red hibiscus flower perched jauntily over one ear.
They appeared to be unaware of the sensation they were causing, as the gleaming well formed buttocks of the dancers jiggled up and down in time to the beat of their dance.
“I haven’t seen that much bare bottom since my four children were little,” laughed Bethany. “When the dancers first entered the room it was rather difficult to know where cast one’s eyes.”
To imagine these men dancing in the soft light of a tropical island forest, bare feet pounding out the ceremonial rhythm on a dirt floor, is one thing. But to think of them as having just come from a modern hotel room, braved the Australian winter, been driven through Sydney traffic, was something the mind had difficulty getting around.
“They’re taboo and no women are permitted to touch these men even today,” Bethany laughed. “In fact the dance was strictly ‘Men’s Business’. There was a time when any female who accidentally witnessed the dance, had to be killed. Just as well that doesn’t apply today.”
In a land of over 153 distinct cultures and languages, remote distances and few modern communication devices, life moves at a different pace in the tropical islands of Vanuatu, voted the Happiest Country on Earth in 2006. Dance and songs, carvings and sand drawings tell the stories of this ancient culture. Tradition being handed down orally from generation to generation. In many areas the villagers live as their ancestors did.
The Chiefs are beginning to recognize the educational needs of these remote islands. Many of the younger generation have lost the ability to understand the mystic language of the carved gongs. The chiefs made the decision to share the secrets of their society and released some of their sacred rare art, setting the art world on its ear. The aim being to inspire their young people and make them more aware of their ancient culture.
Few people are aware that the tiny South Pacific neighbor of Australia had such wonderful secrets tucked away, in the ‘Must See’ Travel Adventure Destination of the South Pacific.
This ancient society is slowly reaching out for the benefits of modern civilization. Children dream of becoming pilots, teachers, engineers. Yet many of the villagers live on under $1 per day. The inability to pay school fees, as there is no free education, has led to horrendous statistics in this tropical island paradise.
26% of children never go to school
Only 55.8% of kids will get to year 6
Only 18.2 % will go to high school.
In 2007 the Vanuatu government admitted they did not have the finance to fill the educational needs of the nation. Education is not high on their list of priorities.