HELLO ALL VOLCANIC EARTHLINGS!

Welcome to the April 2007 Edition of "News From The Crater's Edge".

Wood carving is traditionally the domain of the man - not the woman. While any man can do wood carving as of right (provided he knows how), he is prohibited from carving either the tamtam or namange, unless he has gained this right in custom. In addition, a Tamtam can have from 1 to 6 faces and you must start at Level One (which entitles you to carve 1-face tamtams) and move through the other levels in order. In other words, you can't skip a level!

According to Samuel Vangomo, in THE WHOLE OF VANUATU, there are only 1 or 2 people alive who have the right to carve a 6-face tamtam. Samuel's father was himself a wood carver and he began teaching these traditional wood carving skills to Sam as a very young boy (approximately when Sam was in Grade 3).

However, Samuel's father wanted to gain the custom right to carve the tamtam and namange. To achieve this right, he had to find someone who already had that right and negotiate a price. In exchange, this person would be under an obligation to teach Samuel's father how to carve a single-face tamtam and the namage. Samuel's father was also required to seek the permission of the chief of that man's village. A custom ceremony was then held with Samuel's father being expected to kill a pig and supply fresh "ka kai" (food) AND pay the teacher his asking price.

From that time on until his death, Samuel's father had the right to carve single-faced tamtams and the namage. This right was then inherited by Samuel upon the passing of his father. Later, Samuel acquired the right to carve the 2-faced tamtam and later the 3-faced tamtam - in exactly the same way as his father acquired the right to carve the single-face tamtam.

		Samuel Vangomo (pictured left) is an outstanding artist. The quality of his carvings is unsurpassed. Sam chooses only the best timber. Samuel's pieces are carved without the aid of any power tools and are highly polished (not vanished as with many other Ni Vanuatu carvers). Through his carvings, Sam provides financially for himself and his family. In the same way, he also keeps the memory of his father alive through the preservation of traditional skills and custom rights attaching to the carving of tamtams and the namange.

If you decide to pick up any of Samuel's hand-carved pieces, you can use bees wax and Mr Sheen every three months to maintain and enhance their natural colour.

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