Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

A villager holds a tame adult male Blyth's hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus). Solomons *

15603-35001 Solomon Islands skink (Corucia zebrata zebrata) female. Largest of all living skinks, the two subspecies of 'monkey-tailed' skinks are nocturnal and arboreal giants. They are also remarkable for being herbivorous, and live in communal family-based groups. Solomons Group *

15603-35007 Solomon Islands skink (Corucia zebrata zebrata) female. Largest of all living skinks, the 'monkey-tailed' skink is a nocturnal and arboreal giant. It is also remarkable for being herbivorous, and lives in communal family-based groups. Solomon Islands *

15603-35010 Solomon Islands skink (Corucia zebrata zebrata) female. Largest of all living skinks, the 'monkey-tailed' skink is a nocturnal and arboreal giant. It is also remarkable for being herbivorous, and lives in communal family-based groups. Solomon Islands *

15603-35009 Solomon Islands skink (Corucia zebrata zebrata) female. Largest of all living skinks, the 'monkey-tailed' skink is a nocturnal and arboreal giant. It is also remarkable for being herbivorous, and lives in communal family-based groups. Solomon Islands *

DSC_8063 Yum-yum tree, or cut nut (Barringtonia edulis) detail of flowers, in Toru Village. Often found cultivated in villages, gardens and along tracks and roads. The tree germinates in the wild from fruits dropped on the ground or spread by bats. Humans transplant young saplings close to their dwellings, where they are carefully protected. The light wood is used for canoe paddles, and for quick-burning firewood. The bark is used medicinally for stomach ailments and gonorrhoea. Mature seed kernels are eaten raw or cooked throughout the eastern Solomon Islands. Makira

DSC_8064 Yum-yum tree, or cut nut (Barringtonia edulis), in Toru Village. Often found cultivated in villages, gardens and along tracks and roads. The tree germinates in the wild from fruits dropped on the ground or spread by bats. Humans transplant young saplings close to their dwellings, where they are carefully protected. The light wood is used for canoe paddles, and for quick-burning firewood. The bark is used medicinally for stomach ailments and gonorrhoea. Mature seed kernels are eaten raw or cooked throughout the eastern Solomon Islands. Makira

DSC_8394 Only men can perform the traditional Rom Dance on the island of Ambryn. The dance begins with the beating of drums, pounding of feet and chanting by the chief (pictured here) and his men. The pounding of feet sets the ground shaking as the giant tamtam watched over the proceedings. Half the men are naked but for their nambas or penis sheaths, while others were completely hidden beneath masks and cloaks of foliage as they represented various spirits. Fanla Village, Ambryn. Vanuatu

DSC_8394 Only men can perform the traditional Rom Dance on the island of Ambryn. The dance begins with the beating of drums, pounding of feet and chanting by the chief (pictured left here) and his men. Half the men are naked but for their nambas or penis sheaths, while others were completely hidden beneath masks and cloaks of foliage as they represented various spirits. Fanla Village, Ambryn. Vanuatu

DSC_8359 A traditional Rom Dance, in the village of Fanla on the island of Ambryn. The dance begins with the beating of drums and the pounding of feet which sets the ground shaking. Half the dancers are men, naked but for their nambas or penis sheaths, while others are completely hidden beneath masks and cloaks of foliage as they represented various spirits. Ambryn, Vanuatu

DSC_8376 Only men can perform the traditional Rom Dance, in the village of Fanla on the island of Ambryn. The dance begins with the beating of drums, pounding of feet and chanting by the chief and his men. The pounding of feet sets the ground shaking as the giant tamtam watched over the proceedings. Half the men are naked but for their nambas or penis sheaths, while others were completely hidden beneath masks and cloaks of foliage as they represented various spirits. Ambryn, Vanuatu

DSC_8386 A traditional dancer completely hidden beneath a mask and cloak of foliage dances in this Rom Dance, in the village of Fanla on the island of Ambryn. The dance begins with the beating of drums and the pounding of feet which sets the ground shaking. Half the dancers are men, naked but for their nambas or penis sheaths, while others completely hidden beneath masks and foliage, represent various spirits. Ambryn, Vanuatu

DSC_8335 A traditional dancer completely hidden beneath a mask and cloak of foliage dances in this Rom Dance, in the village of Fanla on the island of Ambryn. The dance begins with the beating of drums and the pounding of feet which sets the ground shaking. Half the dancers are men, naked but for their nambas or penis sheaths, while others completely hidden beneath masks and foliage, represent various spirits. Ambryn, Vanuatu

DSC_8397 On most of the islands in Vanuatu, the slit drum has little or no decoration, and is played horizontally on the ground. On the island of Ambrym such traditional drums or 'tamtam', stand vertically and are decorated with a huge carved face. This tamtam stands beneath a spreading banyan tree at the edge of a traditional dance platform in the village of Fanla, on Ambryn. Vanuatu

DSC_8146 Traditional dolphin tooth jewellery and headress, decorates a Melanesian woman dancer at a traditional ceremonial wedding dance on Makira. Solomons Group *

DSC_8106 Dolphin tooth jewellery decorates Melanesian women dancers at a traditional ceremonial wedding dance on Makira. Solomons Group

DSC_8094 Dolphin tooth jewellery decorates Melanesian women dancers, gathered at a traditional ceremonial wedding dance on Makira. Solomons Group

DSC_8067 Village children gather to talk in front of a traditional family dwelling, and beneath a flowering cut nut, or Yum-yum tree (Barringtonia edulis) in Toru Village, Makira, the eastern-most island in the Solomons Group

DSC_8065 Village children gather to talk in front of a traditional family dwelling, and beneath a flowering cut nut, or Yum-yum tree (Barringtonia edulis) in Toru Village, Makira, the eastern-most island in the Solomons Group *

DSC_8327 Traditional family dwellings and a concrete water tank in a forested glade in the village of Fanla on the island of Ambryn. Vanuatu