Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# off the beaten path in vanuatu Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Vanuatu
isherwood 20:15 UTC 16 Apr 2009 | Hi! I am looking for remote places in Vanuatu that have been visited by few outsiders, with interesting traditional music. Can you help? Thanks! Nick |
api 08:48 UTC 18 Apr 2009 | I don't know about traditional music, or how well visited it is these days, but - Gaua in the Banks Group. I was there in 2003 and the only guesthouse at that time was owned by a man who used to have a band (in Australia I think). He was really interesting and spent a lot of time with his guests (since he only had about 50 a year) and, given his interest in music, might be good to meet. | 1
Laszlo 04:21 UTC 20 Apr 2009 | While I doubt you could find lost tribes nywhere in Vanuatu, most islands still remain very lightly touristed. However, like Api, I don't know much about traditional music - most of what I saw was pure singing, or if using instruments it was more like "semi-traditional". The Cultural Centre in Port Vila should be worth visiting for some pointers in the right direction. | 2
uncle_sav 13:01 UTC 17 May 2009 | Most of the traditional music was killed off by the missionaries - devil's music you see. There are string bands everywhere which play guitar and ukelele and sing in pidgin or English. They play around all of the hotels. There is plenty of singing in the churches every Sunday. You can see some traditional dancing in the "kastom" villages bit I have never heard of music for its own sake. You will have to pay. Every hotel has tour brochures. Slightly fake but accessible. Even then the "music" is only drums, banging sticks, tambourine like things made from nuts that rattle and singing. They are just banging out a dance beat. There are no lost or even half lost tribes. Even the guys from the boonies who do their grocery shopping with a spear have radios and talk French. There are non tourist local festivals on every island but only 2 or 3 times a year. Ambrym is good for that type of thing. They have a large festival each July. Enter "rom dance" in the Youtube search. Vanuatu is best for traditional dance. Polynesians are much more musical. | 3