Most of the tours offered in Vanuatu involved swimming, snorkeling and hiking.  I was interested in a UNESCO intangible Cultural Heritage unique to Vanuatu, Sandroing (in the local Bislama language) or Sand drawing. 

In her family letter Suzi better explains UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage was developed and defined by a convention in 2003 focusing on community-recognized, inclusive, and evolving practices that foster cultural diversity and identity.  It considers living cultures such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, and craftsmanship—passed down through generations.

The Natural Museum was the place to go to watch a demonstration but the main preserver of the art, Edwin Hige, was advertised to be in New Mexico at the Museum of International Folk Art and I was not sure if I could see a demonstration.  I tried calling the museum before we arrived and got no answer.  The museum’s Facebook page said that there were demonstrations “in the morning” but gave no time.  Someone on Travel Advisor said the demonstrations were often given to cruise ship tours.  There was a tour that included the museum so I asked if it included Sandroing but no one could tell me.  It had been our plan to grab an early tender and show up at the museum but we, the night before, decided to grab two of the three slots still open on the tour.  It was a good thing we did.

At the museum we were introduced to Edwin (Eddie) Hige, the second son of the master.  He had studies with his father and was proficient in the art, as well as being an accomplished musician.  The museum and cultural center are attempting to keep the art alive by training young people in it.

Sand writing is ephemeral; figures are written in the sand and then blow away with the wind or wash away in the tide.  Vanuatu is a language dense country with more than 130 vernaculars in a land with fewer than 400,000 inhabitants.  Sand drawing was both a way of communicating across language barriers and of imparting local stories or family histories to a new generation.  Experts use their fingertips to create motifs in coral sand or volcanic ash in a single continuous line based on a grid, sometimes laid out in the sand, sometimes not.  The lines carry the stories and wisdom of generations. Skilled practitioners have memorized up to 400 designs along with the stories that accompany them.   Here is what the museum says about the artform.

“The drawings are produced directly on the ground, in sand, volcanic ash or clay. Using one finger, the drawer traces a continuous meandering line on an imagined grid to produce a graceful, often symmetrical, composition of geometric patterns. This rich and dynamic graphic tradition has developed as a means of communication among the members of some 80 different language groups inhabiting the central and northern islands of Vanuatu.

The drawings also function as mnemonic devices to record and transmit rituals, mythological lore and a wealth of oral information about local histories, cosmologies, kinship systems, song cycles, farming techniques, architectural and craft design, and choreographic patterns. Most sand drawings possess several functions and layers of meaning: they can be “read” as artistic works, repositories of information, illustration for stories, signatures, or simply messages and objects of contemplation. Sand drawings are not merely “pictures”, but refer to a combination of knowledge, songs, and stories with sacred or profane meanings. A master sand drawer must therefore possess not only a strong knowledge of graphic patterns but also a deep understanding of their significance. In addition, sand drawers should have the ability to interpret the drawings for spectators.” 

The museum is documenting these designs and has, with the help of Kawanis International, published a book for children with19 designs, the stories behind them and the music that can accompany them.  Some designs are traditional, some modern, realized by Hige.

At the museum we were mesmerized by watching Eddie Hige make the designs.  I have taken the video, with permission, posted below.  If you get this by email video does not transmit so you will have to click on the page and bring it up in a browser.  I’ve sandwiched it with still pictures.  The design he is drawing is the symbol for “love.”

Here is another design Mr. Hige drew.

American mathematician Marcia Ascher analyzed several of the designs in the 1980s and determined that they embodied some of the principles of advanced mathematical graph theory.   They are like Celtic designs in Europe and Tamil designs in South Asia and, according to Ascher, suggest an algorithmic kinship across indigenous cultures.

Elsewhere in the museum were wood carvings by Emmanuel Watt, a traditional carver who started including modern motifs in his carvings.