Erromango
Also known as: Eromanga; Erromanga
Erromango is a small, high island in the south of Vanuatu. The islanders adopted Presbyterian Christianity in the early twentieth century, after a decades-long process of missionisation during which several missionaries lost their lives. The deaths of these missionaries led to the island becoming popularly known as 'Martyrs' Island'.
Traditional Culture(1860)Expand All +
Belief
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Supernatural Beings |
| Nature Spirits | Absent (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389-404 Humphreys (1926), pp. 165-167 |
|
| Nature god(s) | Absent (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389-404 Humphreys (1926), pp. 165-167 |
|
| Ancestral spirits | Present, and a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389 Humphreys (1926), pp. 165-167 |
|
| Deified ancestor(s) | Absent (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389-404 Humphreys (1926), pp. 165-167 |
|
| God(s) | Present, but not a major focus of supernatural practice (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389-404 Humphreys (1926), pp. 165-167 |
|
Supernatural Punishment |
| Supernatural punishment for impiety | Present (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389 | |
Afterlife and Creation |
| One's actions while living can affect the nature of one's afterlife | Absent (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389 | |
| The actions of others after one has died can affect the nature of one's afterlife | One factor in determining one's afterlife (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389 | |
| Myth of humanity’s creation | Absent (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 186-188 | |
| Primordial pair | Absent (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 186-188 | |
| Culture hero(es) | Absent (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389-404 Humphreys (1926), pp. 165-167, 186-188 |
|
General Features |
| Forces of nature are controlled by or imbued with the supernatural | Present (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 401 | |
Classes of Tapu |
| Social hierarchy tapu | Present (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 173 | |
| Resource management tapu | Absent (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 150-177 | |
| Kinship tapu | Present (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 174 | |
Mana |
| Mana as a spiritual or religious concept | Present (Source) |
| Blust (2007) Keesing (1984) Blevins (2008), pp. 255-256 |
|
| Mana as a personal quality | Absent (Source) |
| Blust (2007) Keesing (1984) Blevins (2008), pp. 255-256 |
|
| Mana related to social influence or technical skill | Absent (Source) |
| Blust (2007) Keesing (1984) Blevins (2008), pp. 255-256 |
|
Practice
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General Supernatural Practices |
| Headhunting | Absent (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389-404 Humphreys (1926), pp. 148-150, 165-177 |
|
| Costly sacrifices and offerings | Present (Source) |
| Robertson (1902), pp. 389, 398 | |
| Political and religious differentiation | No overlap (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 132-134, 165,177 Robertson (1902), pp. 389-404 |
|
Rites |
| Tooth pulling | Absent from culture (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 134-141, 177-186 | |
| Scarification | Absent from culture (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 134-138, 177-186 | |
| Piercing | Present in culture, but not as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 135, 177-186 | |
| Tattooing | Present in culture, but not as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 136, 177-186 | |
| Genital cutting | Present in the culture as a rite or feature of a rite (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 177-178 | |
Social Environment
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| Population | 7000 (Source) |
| Spriggs & Wickler (1989), pp. 86 McArthur (1981), pp. 11 |
|
| Population of largest political community | 1,000-9,999 (Source) |
| Spriggs & Wickler (1989), pp. 83, 86 | |
| Importance of Patrilateral descent | High (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 129 | |
| Importance of Matrilateral descent | Low (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 129 | |
| Polygamy | Limited polygyny (Source) |
| Spriggs & Wickler (1989), pp. 84 | |
| Marital residence | Patrilocal or virilocal - with husband's kin (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 141-146 | |
Conflict |
| (No) external warfare | Common, at least every five years (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 148-150 Robertson (1902), pp. 22-46 |
|
| (No) internal warfare | Common, at least every five years (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 148-150 | |
Isolation
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| Contact with other cultures | Frequent, through trade, warfare, travel, etc. (Source) |
| Spriggs & Wickler (1989), pp. 84, 86 | |
| Distance to closest landmass inhabited by a different culture (km) | 35.7 (Source) |
| Daft Logic Distance Calculator (2014) | |
| Distance to nearest continent | 1802.0 (Source) |
| Daft Logic Distance Calculator (2014) | |
| Pre-Austronesian population | Absent: No evidence of human occupation prior to Austronesian settlement (Source) |
| Bellwood (1995), pp. 109 | |
| Hindu / Buddhist influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (Source) |
| Cribb (2000), pp. 2.21 | |
| Islamic influence on supernatural belief | No evidence of influence and not in region of known contact (Source) |
| Cribb (2000), pp. 2.23 | |
Subsistence and Economy
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Land-based means of subsistence |
| Animal husbandry as a source of food | Minor (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 134-141, 150-165 | |
| Land-based hunting performed by individuals | Absent (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 155 | |
| Land-based gathering | Absent (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 134-141, 150-165 | |
| Land-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Minor (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 155 | |
| Agriculture / Horticulture | Principal (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 151 | |
Water-based means of subsistence |
| Fishing and water-based hunting performed by one or more groups | Major (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 139, 153-155 | |
| Fishing and water-based hunting performed by individuals | Major (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 139, 153-155 | |
| Water-based gathering | Minor (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 138-141, 150-165 | |
Commercial Activity |
| Trade / wage labour as a source of food | Minor (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 150-165 | |
| Metalworking | Absent (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 150-165 | |
Physical Environment
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Geographical Range of Culture |
| Number of islands inhabited by culture | One (Source) |
| Humphreys (1926), pp. 123-192 | |
Features of Island with Largest Culture Population |
| Island type (island with largest culture population or largest island if unknown) | Volcanic high island (Source) |
| Spriggs & Wickler (1989), pp. 70 | |
| Island Size (km²) | 902.0 (Source) |
| Spriggs & Wickler (1989), pp. 70 | |
| Maximum elevation (meters) | 886.0 (Source) |
| Spriggs & Wickler (1989), pp. 70 | |
Location |
| Latitude | -18.8 (Source) |
| Google Maps (2014) | |
| Longitude | 169.2 (Source) |
| Google Maps (2014) | |
Post Contact History(1860-2014)Expand All +
Religious History
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Conversion |
| Use of force in conversion | Low (Source) |
| Crowley (2001) | |
| Adoption of a world religion | Present and predominant (Source) |
| Crowley (2001) | |
| Resident missionary involvement in conversion process | Present, and from non-Austronesian societies (Source) |
| Crowley (2001) | |
Syncretic Movements |
| Syncretic religious movements | Absent (Source) |
| Crowley (2001) | |
Secular History
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Modern Infrastructure |
| Air travel | Present, local only (Source) |
| 'Erromango' (2016) | |
| Sea port | Absent (Source) |
| 'Erromango' (2016) | |
Demographic and Social Changes |
| Language shift | Medium (Source) |
| Crowley (2001), pp. 241 | |
Current Culture(2014)Expand All +
Belief
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Religious Demographics |
| Dominant world religion | Christianity (Source) |
| Crowley (2001) | |
External Links
References
Bellwood, P. (1995). Austronesian Prehistory in Southeast Asia: Homeland, Expansion and Transformation. P. Bellwood, J.J. Fox, & D. Tryon (Eds.), The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives (pp 113-114). Canberra, Australia: ANU Press.
Blevins, J. (2008). Some Comparative Notes on Proto-Oceanic *Mana: Inside and Outside the Austronesian Family. Oceanic Linguistics, 47 (2), 253-274. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/ol/summary/v047/47.2.blevins.html
Blust, R. (2007). Proto-Oceanic *Mana Revisited. Oceanic Linguistics, 46(2), 404-423. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20172322
Cribb, R. (2000). Historical atlas of Indonesia. Surrey, UK: Curzon Press.
Crowley, T. (1997). What Happened to Erromango's Languages? The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 106 (1), 33-63. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20706691
Crowley, T. (2001). The Indigenous Linguistic Response to Missionary Authority in the Pacific. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 21 (2), 239-260, DOI: 10.1080/07268600120080587
Daft Logic Distance Calculator. (2014). http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm.
Erromango (2016). Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Erromango
Google Maps (2014). Retrieved from maps.google.com
Humphreys, C. B. (1926). The Southern New Hebrides: An Ethnological Record. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Keesing, R. M. (1984). Rethinking "mana". Journal of Anthropological Research, 40(1), 137-156, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3629696.
McArthur, N. (1981). New Hebrides Population, 1840-1967: A Re-Interpretation. Noumea, New Caledonia : South Pacific Commission.
Robertson, H. A. (1902). Erromanga: The Martyr Isle. NY: A. C. Armstrong And Son.
Spriggs, M. (1989). The dating of the Island Southeast Asian Neolithic: an attempt at chronometric hygiene and linguistic correlation. Antiquity, 63(240), 587-613.
Spriggs, M., & Wickler, S. (1989). Archaeological research on Erromango: Recent data on southern Melanesian prehistory. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, 9, 68-91.