Opening windows on other ways of life, on other civilisations, on the artefacts that surround them;
- those they value,
- those they exchange,
- those they talk about,
- everyday ones...
A collection of short, rich texts to help you discover the arts of Vanuatu.
This book tells the story of the Bubu, the "grandfathers " ofVanuatu, through artefacts. Some of thee pieces are no longer in use today, but their tradition is still very much alive: masks are still made on Malekula, women still weave mats on Ambae, carvers still make slit-gongs on Ambrym and canoes are still carved on Vao.
Kava is drunk every night at the Nakamal and every year they dance the Toka in Tanna.
This book gives an insight into the ways of life and the most beautiful artefacts of the men and women ofVanuatu, "our land, our country, our nation".
Art-lover Roger Boulay, museum worker and sometimes anthropologist, likes to share with others his liking for the Pacific societies he has known for many years. Designing exhibitions and publishing books on Kanak art and art from neighbouring Vanuatu, to make academic works more accessible and more attractive, especially to young audiences, appeals to Roger as a task worthy of care and attention.
In 1996, with Christian Kaufmann of the Basel Museum of Ethnography, he was a curator for the travelling exhibition "Spirit blong Bubu, i kam bak - the Ancestors' spirit returns - Art from Vanuatu".
For Roger Boulay, ancient tradition is important, not only in the pleasure that can be derived from the sumptuous works of art it has produced, but also for the seeds of future creativity that it contains.
Many Vanuatu's artefacts can be seen at the Musee de Nouvelle-Caledonie (Museum of New Caledonia)
This book is published by the Editions Grain de sable with the support of Musee de Nouvelle-Caledonie.
