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Vanuatu:
An Island Paradise in Transition
By Geoffrey Morell
Dr. Weston Price's visit to the South Seas included stops at Fiji
and New Caledonia, a route that would have taken him just south of the
island nation of Vanuatu. Inhabited by people of Melanesian stock, the
former New Hebrides is a chain of 83 islands covered in dense rain forest.
Blue seas, towering volcanic cones and raised coral islands with wide
beaches make this an island paradise indeed, one that has attracted
communities of French, British, Australians, New Zealanders, Vietnamese
and Chinese.
My visit to Vanuatu in 1999 left me with the same concerns that Dr.
Price had as he chronicled the disappearance of robust good health when
the peoples of the South Seas adopted the "displacing foods of modern
commerce."
A great many of the adults still have broad smiles and beautiful teeth.
To know their friendliness is a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Visitors
are reminded that there is no tipping and no bargaining on the islands--these
factors are part of the Island traditions. Many of the older generation
would not know how to use a toothbrush but have beautiful beaming white
teeth. Yet there were some toothless ones who quite freely admitted
to "too much sugar."
Those who grew up on the outer islands enjoyed a nutrient-dense diet
of seafood of all sorts, particularly the coconut crab and giant clams,
and many plant foods including coconut, island cabbage, manioc, yams,
taro, banana and other delicious native fruits. These are the ones with
beautiful teeth, and slender strong bodies that move with lightness
and grace.
There were no land animals in these areas until the 1700's when Captain
Cook left the first pigs. These have thrived and now constitute an important
part of the native diet. Cattle and goats were brought later and now
provide milk and meat for both islanders and tourists.
Unfortunately, many islanders seek work opportunities in Efate, site
of the government, harbor and main tourist centers. Here they receive
money for their labors and in turn spend their earnings in the modern
markets. These are filled with the same junk we find in western countries--canned
foods, white bread, cookies, crackers, corn chips, vegetable oils and
margarine. Although wonderful butter from New Zealand is available,
it takes up only a fraction of the space on the shelves that is devoted
to margarine. Soft drinks are sold by street vendors at fairs and markets.
Many foodstuffs are still bought in from the outer islands and sold
at outdoor markets. The diet is therefore mixed, part nutritious native
foods and part junk.
Among the children there is quite a bit of tooth decay and many have
narrow faces. Adults living on the main island suffer from many illnesses,
including paralysis and weakness. I met one family of three siblings,
all of whom spent most of their hours in wheel chairs.
Visitors are always welcome in the villages. There one sees the sharp
contrast of old and new--a plastic grocery bag hanging on a tree
outside a thatched hut, for example. Most houses have electricity--either
from oil burning generators in the towns or, in remote villages, through
solar energy panels donated by the Japanese--but few have running
water. Corrugated iron has replaced wood and thatch as the main building
material.
The villagers told me that rather than eat all the ripe papayas, they
left them as food for the flying foxes and birds, to fatten them. The
birds and animals were then hunted and enjoyed for their delicious flesh.
A local chef is now making jams of local fruits, including bananas,
pineapple, papaya, guava,and chimoiya (custard apple) but there is far
more nutrition in the birds and animals that have eaten the fruits left
for them.
A popular commodity available in the markets was fresh watercress.
This is grown in running streams using an ingenious method of propagation.
Stakes approximately seven to eight feet long are driven into the sand.
These become the adhering point as small rootlets move with the current
downstream. A wonderful clutch of fresh watercress grows up around each
stake.
A typical dish is laplap, consisting of grated yams, taro and bananas
in coconut milk, wrapped in leaves and placed on red-hot stones to bake
in an earth oven for about three hours. Kava, derived from the pepper
plant, is customarily prepared by young boys who chew the hard root
to a pulp, then mix it with water, giving it a brown muddy look. The
beverage is said to be nonalcoholic but it can have strange effects.
For example, it makes imbibers sensitive to noise, so usually drinkers
talk in whispers.
It was a delight to see the noni tree, morinda citrifolia.
The islanders use the leaves for medicinal purposes whereas in Tahiti
the fermented juice is consumed as a tonic.
In former times, Vanuatu islanders traveled freely in sail canoes.
They were used for fishing and carrying foodstuffs from garden to market.
Use of canoes was curtailed when Europeans began to capture their crews--usually
to sell them into slavery. The missionaries also actively discouraged
canoe voyaging along with most other traditional practices. Use of sail
canoes is being revived as a wonderful way of transport between islands.
There are some cars on the islands, but most people walk.
A notable aspect of village is the large numbers of babies and young
children. Many young women have one or more children before they marry.
This is not considered a disgrace and everybody assists in the child
rearing. They informed me that in earlier times, an herb was used as
a natural contraceptive, so that they could space their pregnancies.
I was interested to learn that boys are circumcised at the age of eight.
Plants are used to dampen the pain and prevent infection.
The challenge for the inhabitants of Vanuatu will be to adapt the conveniences
of modern life without abandoning the many positive aspects of their
culture, particularly the use of nutrient-dense foods that alows them
to have beautiful, healthy teeth and bone structure, even in this modern
age. But there are many temptations. An article from a local newspaper
advises mothers to serve cake at children's birthday parties.
About the Author
Geoffrey Morrell , JP, ND, is a practicing naturopath, specializing
in the past 20 years in the field commonly called magnetic, intuitive,
spiritual or psychic healing. He has developed his own unique Clendinning
Technique. He had a grass-based dairy farm in New Zealand for over 30
years. He is an expert in natural farming methods, including natural
methods for animal care and pest and weed control. He served as an elected
official in New Zealand for 6 terms and was a founder and candidate
for the Social Credit Party in New Zealand. He is a popular lecturer
at many health and New Age conferences throughout the world.
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