Tanna - Yakel Kastom Village

Together with Yasur Volcano, a visit to one of the Yakel kastom (custom) villages is a highlight of Tanna	"Village Green" of a small settlement of inland Tanna	Tanna man up on a banyan tree	Banyan Tree, Tanna
Welcome to Black Rooster Field, Tanna	Vanuatu election poster, 2012 - Ail-Atu Pipols Asosiasen	Shelter at the base of a banyan tree	Twisted trunk and vines
Tanna Evergreen Resort visits the Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, part of the Yakel tribe	Our guide for the Yakel village	A traditional hut, Yakel village	The guide explains some of the native crops
Tanna coffee	Taro, a common staple throughout the Pacific islands	Taro patch	Yakel tribe, Tanna - mother with 4 young children
We are invited into a kitchen hut to sample some native food	Preparation of traditional food in a Yakel village, Tanna	Cooking the meal on hot coals covered with banana leaf	One of the older women of the Yakel tribe preparing traditional food
I can't say it was particularly tasty	At 3 or 4, Yakel boys start wearing the namba	Yakel boy wearing a namba	Yakel girls in grass skirts
Yakel mother with a baby	The Yakel build storage huts on short stilts	Girls of the Yakel tribe demonstrate one of their games	Yakel girls playing, Tanna
Yakel girl wearing a flower and an odd stamp	Yakel girl, Louinio Village	Baby boy, Yakel tribe, Tanna	Yakel girl in a grass skirt, Tanna
Some Yakel women wear a "top" but most don't bother	Yakel girls, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village	Young Yakel woman wearing orange face paint	Yakel children, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna
Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Yakel tribe, Tanna	Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Yakel tribe, Tanna	Raised hut, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village	Raised hut, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village
A young Yakel boy playing with a girl	Yakel boy, Tanna	Pig pen, Yakel village	After visiting with the women and children, we move to the men's part of the village
Yakel elder with one of the boys	The elderly Yakel chief of Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna	Girls hoping we'll buy some of the handicrafts produced by the village	Yakel tribal handicrafts including outrigger canoes, jewellery, axes, tusks and shells
The namba worn by men of the Yakel tribe on Tanna	The men of Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna	Yakel man wearing a namba, Tanna	Yakel man demonstrates how they make fire without matches, Tanna
A demonstration for us, making fire	Tribal idol, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna	Yakel boy with a pipe, Tanna	Blowing on the pipe to get the smoke going
Yakel boy with a pipe, Tanna	The boy places the lit pipe in the mouth of the village idol	Yakel village idol with pipe, Tanna	Yakel chief, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna
Yakel men wearing mambas, Tanna	Yakel men seem to like fidgeting with their nambas	Men of the Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna	Namba man - Yakel tribe, Tanna
They're used to visitors	The Yakel men gather for a dance demonstration	Yakel men and boys dance, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna	A little action between two boys on the side
Yakel village, Tanna	Now a dance with the whole village	Traditional Yakel tribe dance demonstration, Tanna	Traditional Yakel tribe dance demonstration, Tanna
Traditional Yakel tribe dance demonstration, Tanna	Yakel teen, Tanna	Yakel tribe, Tanna	A burst of laughter
Yakel tribe, Tanna	Good looking young man of the Yakel tribe, Tanna	Yakel tribal dance, Tanna	Yakel tribal dance, Tanna
Yakel men and boys	Oops...someone lost their namba	Yakel tribal dance, Tanna	Tribal dance at the Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna
Most of the villagers here are very enthusiastic	...except this guy who didn't seem very thrilled with the family business	Yakel man wearing a low-riding namba, Tanna	The Yakel re-segrigate to relax by the men's hut after the dancing
Yakel girls, Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna	Not everyday you get a photo op like this	Me with the men and boys of the Yakel tribe	Spot the joker and the sourpuss
Visit to the Yakel tribe of Tanna	I should have "gone native" :)	Vanuatu village people, Tanna	One of the other guests goes for her memorable photos (we were only 3 tourists)
Yakel village, Vanuatu	Yakel men of the Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna	The namba on Tanna is very different from the penis sheath used on Malakula in the north of Vanuatu	Yakel village, Tanna
Close up view of a Yakel man's namba	I'm not sure how many villages are open to tourists, probably several	A hug from the elderly Yakel chief of Louinio Nambas Kastom Village, Tanna	VanuatuOct12 0839.jpg
The guys playing around, Yakel village, Tanna	It's not like they can put their hands in their pockets	Yakel guys with the village icon, Tanna	Yakel guys with the village icon, Tanna
Young Yakel men posing with the village icon	Young Yakel men posing with the village icon	Tourist at the Yakel village, Tanna	I wonder how many tourists try the native dress
Yakel village, Tanna	Men's hut, Yakel village, Tanna	Time to go and let them resume their lives	On the way back down from the interior, we stop at a giant banyan tree
These trees are just amazing	Tanna banyan tree, Vanuatu	The only two-level hut I spotted	Clearing beneath the banyan trees
Treehouse, Tanna, Vanuatu	After the Yakel village, we stopped at another tourism project, a small botanical garden	Botanical garden, Tanna	Botanical garden, Tanna
The guide tells us some of the legends of Tanna	Painting depicting on of the legends of Tanna, Vanuatu	One of the panels has a rather modern looking boat	Botanical garden, Tanna
Botanical garden, Tanna	Botanical garden, Tanna	Botanical garden, Tanna	Botanical garden, Tanna
Botanical garden, Tanna	Botanical garden, Tanna	Botanical garden, Tanna	Botanical garden, Tanna
Pig pen at the Botanical Garden	For sale back at the lodge (and at the airport), a DVD documentary on the Yakel tribe