Cultural traditions and customs are orally passed down from generation to generation, in the far northern isolated tropical islands of Vanuatu.
On the island of Ambrym, there lies a large rock in the Bay of Olal. The locals call it Pouviaserole. It tells of a monster that once was the guardian of the sacred bay.
According to tradition Pouviaserole, or Guardian, was a huge beast with the appearance of something between a savage dog and a wild boar. In the middle of its head there was a large horn.
Pouviaserole transformed itself into an innocent looking log. It would lie on the beach watch the children, from the nearby villages, enjoying a swim in the tropical and tepid waters of the bay.
For some of the children would throw the log, Pouviaserole into the water. Gales of laughter would fill the air as they watched drift onto the beach once more.
Suddenly Pouviaserole would transform itself back into the monster it really was, and consume some of the petrified children.
Its belly filled with children and undetected, the beast would slink back into its lair which was concealed underwater. It would hide undetected for many months, until it would once again repeat the deception.
That area of the ocean eventually became off limits, as the Chieftan of the neighbouring village finally declared the children were no longer allowed to swim there.
When the children no longer visited the beach, Pouviaserole decided to pay the village a visit. At the thought of the coming feast, it licked its lips as it slithered along the ground.
When the strongest and most handsome child ran to where the log lay, Pouviaserole quickly snatched up the unsuspecting child. He was unfortunately the son of the Chief.
The men of the village were ordered, by the enraged and grieving Chief, to hide in the bush which surrounded the beach. Finally revenge would be exacted on the guardian of the sacred bay.
Still on the hunt for food, the monster went searching for more children.
It had only slithered a small way out of the water when the revenging hunters were upon it. In spite of the enormous size of the beast the men of the village rushed forward. The first spear pierced the monster's eye. Another hit it in the stomach.
The beast, suffering grievous wounds, was determined not to breathe it's last on a beach in front of the assailants. It turned and headed for the safety of its lair.
In one last effort, a valiant warrior threw his spear. It embedded itself in the nape of the monster's neck.
Blood from Pourviaserole stained the sacred water. The warrior's spears rained down on the monster. Defiantly it transformed into a rock. The battle lost, immortality came to Pouviaserole.
The carnivorous rock is still known as the guardian of the sacred bay, and can be seen today in the popular travel destination, Bay of Olal.
In the book of oral traditions of Vanuatu, Nabanga, one can read many stories such as Pouviaserole the Guardian rock. For the first time outside Vanuatu, some of the sacred art of Ambrym was shared in a recent art exhibition in Australia. Vanuatu secrets are slowly being revealed.
Some may read the anthological tales with amusement. However, an underlying tragedy lies at the heart the beautiful tropical islands of the Happiest Country on Earth.
Many Children of the beautiful Vanuatu miss out on a formal education. Education is not free and remains beyond the realm of most of the isolated villagers, who live in a 'no-cash' economy, on under $1 per day. Paying school fees is totally beyond their meagre incomes.
For the villagers the disastrous consequences are...
26% of Vanuatu children will never go to school at allOnly 55.8% of Vanuatu kids will get to grade 6 of those only 18.2% will go to high school.
Education was not seen as a priority for the government of Vanuatu. In late 2007 they admitted they did not have the resources, or the finances to provide education beyond the main islands.
You can make a real difference by being part of an exciting Blue Moon Opportunity. You can help children who are hungry to embrace the benefits of the 21st century, while still appreciating their own rich cultural heritage. You can't afford to miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
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