Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the South Pacific

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

 nation of Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

. It lies 190 kilometres (118.1 mi) due north of capital Port Vila

Port Vila

Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result . This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the province's...

. Pentecost Island is known as Pentecôte in French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and Pentikos in Bislama. The island was known in its native languages by names such as Vanu Aroaroa, although these names are not in common use today. Pentecost has also been referred to as Raga or Araga, a tribal name that originated in the north but is now widely applied to the whole island. In old sources it is occasionally referred to as Whitsundie Island.

Geography

Pentecost is a lush, mountainous island which stretches North to South over some 60 kilometres (37.3 mi). It has an area of 490 km² and a population of 12,000 as of 1999. The mountain range, of which the highest is Mount Vulmat (947 metres (3,107 ft)), marks the dividing line between the humid, rainy eastern coast and the more temperate western coast. The coastal plains, cross-cut by small torrents, are generally very green and ideally suited for plantations and livestock

Livestock

Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...

.

Pentecost's population centres are concentrated along the west coast, although a number of people also live inland. Major settlements along the west coast include (from north to south): Laone, Abwatuntora, Loltong, Latano, Nambwarangiut, Namaram, Bwatnapni, Melsisi

Melsisi

Melsisi is a large settlement and Catholic mission on the west coast of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu.The mission includes a large church, convent, clinic, Francophone primary and secondary schools, and a small guesthouse. Melsisi also has a bank and post office, numerous small stores, restaurants, a...

, Ranwadi

Ranwadi High school

Ranwadi School is a co-educational boarding school on Pentecost, Vanuatu. The school has just over 300 students, who come from all over Pentecost Island and from other parts of Vanuatu.The school is situated 11 km north of Lonorore airport on a coastal hillside adjacent to the village of...

, Waterfall (Vanuu

Vanuu

Vanuu , also known as Waterfall Village, is a large settlement on the southwestern coast of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu...

), Bwaravet, Lonoror, Hotwata, Panas, Wali, Panngi

Panngi

Panngi is a large village in south-western Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. It is the main commercial centre of south Pentecost....

 and Ranputor. Away from the coast, there are major settlements at Nazareth and Atavtabangga in the north, and at Enaa, Wutsunmwel, Tanbok, Naruwa, Ubiku and Tansip in the centre of the island. Most of these places have village telephones and one or two inhabitants who own 'trucks' (four wheel drive vehicles) or 'speedboats' (small motorboats), which the villagers use for transport. A couple of these villages also have small banks and post offices.

The east coast is wild and inaccessible, with relatively few inhabitants, although people are moving into previously-uninhabited areas as the island's population increases. Major villages on the eastern side of the island include Ranwas, Bunlap and Baie Barrier (Ranon) in the south-east, and Renbura and Vanrasini further north.

History and customs

Pentecost was first sighted on the day of Pentecost

Pentecost

Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...

, 22 May 1768, by Louis Antoine de Bougainville

Louis Antoine de Bougainville

Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of James Cook, he took part in the French and Indian War and the unsuccessful French attempt to defend Canada from Britain...

. It was also sighted by Captain James Cook, during his voyage through the New Hebrides

New Hebrides

New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...

 (now Vanuatu) in 1774. It was influenced by successive Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 missionaries

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 but traditional customs there remain strong.

Pentecost Island is most famous for being the spiritual birthplace of the extreme sport of bungee jumping

Bungee jumping

Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that...

, originating in an ages old ritual called the Gol (Bislama nanggol), or land diving

Land diving

Land diving is a ritual performed by the men of the southern part of Pentecost Island, Vanuatu. The precursor to bungee jumping, men jump off of wooden towers around high, with two tree vines wrapped around the ankles. Land diving is done without any safety equipment...

. Between April and June every year, men in the southern part of the island jump from tall towers (around 20 to 30 metres) with vine

Vine

A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...

s tied to their feet, in a ritual believed to ensure a good yam

Yam (vegetable)

Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...

 harvest

Harvest

Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...

. The ritual is also now used to show acceptance into manhood

Rite of passage

A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's progress from one status to another. It is a universal phenomenon which can show anthropologists what social hierarchies, values and beliefs are important in specific cultures....

. Land diving was first given international exposure when David Attenborough

David Attenborough

Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...

 and a BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 film crew

Film crew

Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...

 brought back footage of the ritual during the 1950s. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom visited Pentecost in 1974 and witnessed a land diving ceremony, during which one unfortunate islander died because the jump was performed too early in the year, when the vines were much less elastic than usual. Nowadays, tourists pay large sums of money to witness the ceremony, often during day trips from Port Vila

Port Vila

Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result . This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the province's...

.

The north Pentecost village of Laone was the home of Walter Lini

Walter Lini

Father Walter Hadye Lini was an Anglican priest and the founding Prime Minister of Vanuatu. He was born on Pentecost Island. During the era when Vanuatu was a condominium ruled by the United Kingdom and France, Lini formed the Vanua'aku Pati, which was principally backed by English-speakers...

, who led Vanuatu to independence in 1980. Today, the 'father of the nation' is commemorated by a statue at the nearby Lini Memorial College.

Lifestyle and economy

There are no real towns on Pentecost. Most islanders live in small rural villages, surviving by subsistence agriculture

Subsistence agriculture

Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...

 and growing cash crop

Cash crop

In agriculture, a cash crop is a crop which is grown for profit.The term is used to differentiate from subsistence crops, which are those fed to the producer's own livestock or grown as food for the producer's family...

s. Taro

Taro

Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...

, a root

Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...

 vegetable

Vegetable

The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....

 well-suited to Pentecost's wet climate, is the staple food

Staple food

A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...

. Manioc (cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

), yam

Yam (vegetable)

Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...

s, banana

Banana

Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....

s, kumara (sweet potato

Sweet potato

The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...

), coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

s, island cabbage

Cabbage

Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...

, pawpaw (papaya

Papaya

The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...

), nakavika (rose apple

Rose apple

Rose Apple may refer to:* Angophora costata* Various Syzygium Species, especially the following:**Syzygium aqueum, Watery rose apple**Syzygium jambos, Rose apple or jambu**Syzygium malaccense, Malay rose apple...

s), citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

, sugar cane, cacao, mango

Mango

The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...

es, pineapple

Pineapple

Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...

s, nut

Nut (fruit)

A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...

s, and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an vegetables are also grown for local consumption.

Vegetables are often grated into a paste, wrapped in large leaves, baked

Baking

Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...

 in an earthen oven

Oven

An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...

 and covered with coconut cream

Coconut cream

Coconut cream is very similar to coconut milk but contains less water. The difference is mainly consistency. It has a thicker, more paste-like consistency, while coconut milk is generally a liquid...

 to create 'laplap', a savoury pudding

Pudding

Pudding most often refers to a dessert, but it can also be a savory dish.In the United States, pudding characteristically denotes a sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, though it may also refer to other types such as bread and rice pudding.In the United Kingdom and...

.

Villagers keep 'bullocks' (cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

), pig

Pig

A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...

s and chicken

Chicken

The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

s, which are slaughtered

Animal slaughter

Slaughter is the term used to describe the killing and butchering of animals, usually for food. Commonly it refers to killing and butchering of domestic livestock ....

 for food, usually on special occasions such as marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

s and 'grade-taking ceremonies' (at which aspiring chieftain

Chieftain

Chieftain may refer to:The leader or head of a group:* a tribal chief or a village head.* a member of the 'House of chiefs'.* a captain, to which 'chieftain' is etymologically related.* Clan chief, the head of a Scottish clan....

s rise through the ranks). Wild pigeons, flying foxes (fruit bat

Fruit Bat

Fruit Bat can refer to:* Megabats, a species of bat which eats fruit* Les "Fruitbat" Carter, guitarist of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine* Fruit Bats , an American band...

s), crab

Crab

True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...

s and fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

 are also caught and eaten. Dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

s and cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...

s roam the villages, and these too may occasionally end up in the cooking pot.

Imported rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

 and tinned

Tin can

A tin can, tin , steel can, or a can, is a sealed container for the distribution or storage of goods, composed of thin metal. Many cans require opening by cutting the "end" open; others have removable covers. Cans hold diverse contents: foods, beverages, oil, chemicals, etc."Tin" cans are made...

 meat

Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...

 form an increasing part of the diet in more developed areas of the island.

Pigs are highly important in Pentecost society

Society

A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...

, not only as food but as a traditional item of value

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

, which may be given as payment during marriage ceremonies or as compensation for transgressions. Boar

Boar

Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...

s with long, curved tusk

Tusk

Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canines, as with warthogs, wild boar, and walruses, or, in the case of elephants and narwhals, elongated incisors...

s are particularly prized. Woven

Weaving

Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...

, red-dye

Dye

A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....

d mat

Mat

A mat is a generic term for a piece of fabric or flat material, generally placed on a floor or other flat surface, and serving a range of purposes including:* providing a regular or flat surface, such as a mousepad....

s are also used as a traditional form of currency.

Traditionally, copra

Copra

Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...

 (dried coconut meat) was Pentecost's main export, but this has now been overtaken by kava

Kava

Kava or kava-kava is a crop of the western Pacific....

, a narcotic root used to prepare a traditional drink. Kava is grown and drunk on many islands in the South Pacific

Oceania

Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

, but Pentecost is particularly well known for it, and much of the kava drunk in Vanuatu's towns and abroad originates on Pentecost.

Cattle were once exported from Pentecost to the meat-processing factory at Luganville

Luganville

Luganville, called "Santo" by people from Vanuatu's northern islands who use Luganville as their big city, and called "Kanal" by rural residents of the large island of Espiritu Santo, is the second largest city in Vanuatu. The population is .Luganville is one of Vanuatu's busiest ports,...

 on neighbouring Santo island. However, most are now slaughtered locally instead, to feed Pentecost's growing population.

Houses are traditionally constructed from local wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

 and bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

, and thatched

Thatching

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...

 with leaves of natanggura (a variety of palm). However, wealthier islanders now build their houses instead using imported cement and corrugated metal.

Transport and communications

Pentecost has two airports, Lonorore in the south-west and Sara in the north, at which small airplanes land three or four times a week. Lonorore was upgraded in 2008-2009 with a new tarmacked airstrip capable of handling larger aircraft and operating in wet conditions; Sara remains a short grass airstrip.

Cargo ships travelling between Port Vila

Port Vila

Port Vila is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. Situated on the south coast of the island of Efate, in Shefa Province, the city population at last was 29,356, an increase of 55% on the previous census result . This suggests a 2007 population of about 40,000 or around 65% of the province's...

 and Luganville

Luganville

Luganville, called "Santo" by people from Vanuatu's northern islands who use Luganville as their big city, and called "Kanal" by rural residents of the large island of Espiritu Santo, is the second largest city in Vanuatu. The population is .Luganville is one of Vanuatu's busiest ports,...

 ply the island's west coast, although few ships visit the east coast, where sea conditions are rough and the population is sparse.

A rutted dirt road runs from the north to the south-west of the island, and another road connects Salap in the south-west to Ranwas in the south-east. However, many villages are accessible only by steep mountain footpaths.

Pentecost Island receives regular visits from yachties, who anchor at the villages of Loltong, Waterfall and Panngi. Panngi also has a jetty capable of receiving cruise ships, which make occasional visits during the land-diving season.

Language

Pentecost Island has five indigenous languages: Raga

Raga language

Raga is the language of northern Pentecost island in Vanuatu. Raga belongs to the East Vanuatu languages, a branch of the Austronesian languages family...

 (North Pentecost language), Apma

Apma language

Apma is the language of central Pentecost island in Vanuatu. Apma belongs to the East Vanuatu languages, a branch of the Austronesian languages family....

 (Central Pentecost language), Sowa

Sowa language

Sowa was the original language of south-central Pentecost island in Vanuatu. In recent times it has been totally displaced by Apma, a neighbouring language. Sowa is very closely related to Ske, another south Pentecost language....

 (a recently-extinct language of south-central Pentecost), Ske

Ske language

Ske is an endangered language of south-western Pentecost island in Vanuatu. Ske belongs to the East Vanuatu languages, a branch of the Austronesian languages family....

 (a small and endangered language of south-western Pentecost), and Sa (South Pentecost language). Apma and Sa have multiple dialects.

In addition, most people on Pentecost speak Bislama, the form of pidgin

Pidgin

A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...

 English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

that is Vanuatu's national language, and the island's native languages are becoming increasingly mixed with Bislama words and expressions. Educated islanders also know English or French, which are taught in schools.

External links

• PentecostIsland.net - further information on Pentecost
• Andrew Gray's diaries from Pentecost
• The languages of Pentecost
• Pentecote, Vanuatu on maps.google.com